The I-94 form is used as your official proof that U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspected you and admitted you to the country as a nonimmigrant, and it records the visa category you were admitted under, a unique admission number, and the date your authorized stay ends. Employers use it to verify you can work. State DMVs use it to issue driver’s licenses. The Social Security Administration uses it to decide whether to issue you a number. The IRS uses your entry and exit dates on it to determine whether you owe taxes as a U.S. resident. In short, almost every government or employer interaction you have while visiting the United States runs through this one record.
What the I-94 Records
CBP creates an I-94 electronically when you arrive by air or sea. Three fields on that record come up over and over:
- An 11-digit admission number unique to that entry, which links your record across federal immigration databases.1U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Arrival/Departure Forms: I-94 and I-94W
- Your class of admission, meaning the visa category you entered under (B-1 for business visitors, F-1 for students, and so on). This controls what you’re actually allowed to do while you’re here.2OHSS. Nonimmigrant Classes of Admission
- The Admit Until date, which is the last day you’re authorized to remain. This is often not the same as the expiration date printed on your visa stamp, and where they differ, the I-94 date is the one that governs.
If you were admitted in F or J status as a student or exchange visitor, the Admit Until field usually reads “D/S” for Duration of Status. That means your stay lasts as long as you keep meeting your program’s requirements, rather than ending on a fixed calendar date.3U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I-94 Fact Sheet
What Agencies and Employers Use the I-94 For
Employment Verification
Every U.S. employer has to complete a Form I-9 for a new hire. For nonimmigrants, a foreign passport together with an I-94 showing work-authorized status counts as a “List A” document, proving identity and work authorization at the same time. For certain categories such as H-1B workers and asylees, the I-94 by itself can serve as a “List C” document showing employment authorization.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
Driver’s Licenses and State ID
State DMVs need to confirm you’re legally present before they’ll issue a license or ID card. Most states check applicants through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program (SAVE), which runs your I-94 admission number and biographical data against DHS records.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Verification Process If SAVE can’t confirm your status, the license doesn’t get issued.
Social Security Numbers
When you apply for a Social Security number, SSA pulls the class of admission directly from your I-94. That classification determines whether the agency can issue a number for work purposes, non-work purposes, or not at all.6Social Security Administration. POMS RM 10211.140 – Entering Nonimmigrant Evidence into the Enumeration System
Tax Residency
This one catches a lot of visitors off guard. The IRS decides whether you’re taxed as a U.S. resident using the substantial presence test: at least 31 days of physical presence in the current year, and 183 days over a three-year period counting all days in the current year, one-third of the days in the prior year, and one-sixth of the days two years back.7Internal Revenue Service. Substantial Presence Test Your I-94 arrival and departure history is the primary evidence for counting those days. If the calculation puts you over the threshold, you file as a resident; if it doesn’t, you file as a nonresident. Getting it wrong means filing the wrong return.
Some days don’t count, including days you couldn’t leave because of a medical condition that developed while you were in the U.S., and days spent in transit between two foreign points for less than 24 hours.8Internal Revenue Service. Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
Why the Admit Until Date Matters More Than Your Visa
People confuse the visa in the passport with the I-94, and the confusion is expensive. The visa controls whether you can present yourself at a port of entry. The I-94 controls how long you can actually stay after you’re admitted. If your visa doesn’t expire for another two years but your I-94 says you must leave in six months, you leave in six months.
Staying past the Admit Until date creates “unlawful presence.” Rack up more than 180 days but less than a year of it and then leave, and you’re barred from returning for three years. Hit a full year or more, and the bar is ten years.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens Those bars start running from the date you depart or are removed.
How to Get Your I-94
If you arrived by air or sea on a commercial carrier, your electronic I-94 already exists. You can pull it up at i94.cbp.dhs.gov or through the CBP Link mobile app.1U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Arrival/Departure Forms: I-94 and I-94W You’ll need four things entered exactly as they appear in the machine-readable zone of your passport:10U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I-94/I-95 Frequently Asked Questions
- Your last and first name
- Your date of birth
- Your passport number
- The country that issued your passport
“Exactly” is doing real work there. A single character off, and the system returns nothing. If your lookup fails, verify the passport number before assuming your record is missing.
The site shows up to 10 years of travel history, along with your most recent I-94 going back to 1983 for most admission classes.11U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I-94/I-95 Website – Official Site for Travelers Visiting the United States Print a copy after every entry and keep it with your passport for job applications, license renewals, and tax filings.
At land borders, the I-94 works a little differently. Air and sea travelers pay nothing separately because the cost is folded into the carrier fees, but land border crossers pay a fee. As of September 30, 2025, the fee is $30, which reflects the original $6 land border fee plus a $24 fee added by federal legislation, and it adjusts annually with the Consumer Price Index.12U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I-94 – Payment Process13Federal Register. CBP Immigration Fees Required by HR-1 for Fiscal Year 2025 You can apply and pay for a provisional I-94 online up to seven days before you arrive, then finish the process at the port of entry. Miss the seven-day window and the provisional I-94 expires with no refund.10U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I-94/I-95 Frequently Asked Questions
Fixing Errors or Replacing a Lost I-94
If CBP made a mistake on your I-94 at the port of entry (wrong name, wrong class of admission, wrong Admit Until date), go to a CBP Deferred Inspection Site with your passport, visa, and any supporting documents from your entry. There are more than 70 of these sites across the U.S. and its territories, and most require you to call ahead for an appointment. Mail-in corrections are generally not available.14U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Deferred Inspection Sites
If the I-94 in question was issued by USCIS with an approval notice for an extension or change of status, you’ll typically file Form I-102 with USCIS instead. If the I-94 came from a USCIS asylum office, contact that office directly.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration Documents and How to Correct, Update, or Replace Them When the error is the agency’s fault, you generally aren’t charged a fee.
Lost or damaged a paper I-94? Most travelers today can just reprint theirs from the CBP site for free. If yours was a paper I-94 that no longer exists electronically, file Form I-102 with USCIS for a replacement. The filing fee is $560, waived if DHS caused the loss.16eCFR. Part 106 USCIS Fee Schedule Check the online record first before paying anything.