lost I-94W form

The US have not in the past done any exit checks on departing visitors - the I94W is collected by the airline who won't be bothered it's not there. (You will however ultimately be recorded as an overstayer if you don't rectify it)

However checks are being introduced - the extent of them and whether Boston participates yet are details that I'm not familiar with. I'm pretty sure they'd still let you travel though, whatever the checks.

Going to Canada would almost certainly work - again on a short term basis. They'd issue a new I94W - they would assume the original was collected when you left for Canada. The only possible snag I can see is that IF your replacement application is in the system AND is visible to the border guys it could cause problems - and I'm not sure what the upshot of those problems would be:

given a new one anyway
let in without one as they know you have one that's being replaced
refused entry

are the range of possibilities

But time in Canada counts towards your 90 days granted with the VWP and the I-94W. You hand in the card when you leave Canada for somewhere outside North America, so I'm not so sure that would work.

As far as I recall from trips in the past you could pretty easily get away without handing one back, there are lots of stories floating around with people who still had theirs on arriving back home (quite often the airline people only notice them if you actively have them sticking out of your passport), but they then post them back to the US to ensure they're not recorded as having overstayed.

But time in Canada counts towards your 90 days granted with the VWP and the I-94W. You hand in the card when you leave Canada for somewhere outside North America, so I'm not so sure that would work.

You hand the card to the Canadian official when you leave the US if you are not intending to come back - sometimes thay take it automatically, sometimes they ask.

I noticed that the site you link to is about replacing the i_94 form, not the i-94W. They are not the same. The I-94W is green, the I-94 (if i remember correctly) is white. Which one are you referring to? I don't really know if that makes much of a difference, but when I was there with a visa I was a bit more worried about any possible problems with my papers than when I have been under the VWP.

In any case, it's always been the airline personnel that collect the forms when boarding your plane, and probably you would not have a problem there. The problem, I guess, would be that you would be considered to have overstayed. But once a couple of years back I noticed that my I-94W had not been collected when I left the USA. I just discarded it before entering the US again (i noticed once in the next flight to the US). I have been able to travel to the US after that, at least once, and i think that twice, on the VWP.
In fact, at the US customs and border protection website it states "If you departed by a commercial air or sea carrier (airlines or cruise ships), your departure from the U.S. can be independently verified, and it is not necessary to take any further action"

Edited by: qwert_

#3 - I guess it depends how you leave. I flew from Dallas to London via Toronto, all with Air Canada, and handed my form in when I boarded the plane in Toronto - the guy in Dallas actually refused to take it when I offered it to him there.

Going to Toronto would not work. Time in Canada counts toward your 90 days, and they have the same computerized info they have in airports. They may ask you about it.

Your best option is to apply for a new form, if you can (#4 is right, the I-94 and the I-94W are not the same), and proceed to mail that, plus any evidence of your leaving the country (photocopies of passport stamps, tickets, etc.) to Kentucky.

Some of the other comments in this thread shows exactly how inconsistant US immigrations can be. Do NOT rely on these inconsistancies. Although they may occur, there is no guarantee they'll occur for you.

Although the site is about replacing the I94, the application form you download covers I94W as well.

At least that's one complication out of the way...

Although the site is about replacing the I94, the application form you download covers I94W as well.

I figured as much, but wasn't sure enough to say it.

Thanks for this guys. I'm not looking to get a new I-94W form, my trip to Toronto would just be to see a friend for a weekend, then return - all within my 90 day limit. I'm merely asking whether the absense of one will mean that I get denied re-entry into the US - and whether I won't be able to leave when the time comes, from Boston. Any thoughts?

Thanks

ps I know when I get back I'll have to follow the instructions re. the Kentucky office, as described here under "What should I do if I did not turn in my I-94 (Arrival / Departure Record) when I left the U.S.?"
http://www.path2usa.com/immigration/relatedinfo/i94card.htm