lost I-94W form

Hi all,

Like a true fool, I lost my I-94W form, and see on this website that a hefty $320 dollars are needed to replace it...

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=e5d95d4c6608e010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

• which is cool, I am insured, but I fly on 5th October from Boston, and am wondering how it would go down there at the airport, since I don't have time to wait for a replacement card to come through the system.

My question is, is it really needed to leave the country? If I turned up at the airport and explained my situation, would they let me go?

Question 2 is, I've been considering hopping over the border to see a friend in Toronto. Would they let me back in without my I-94W? Would they issue a new I-94W when I came back in?

Thanks very much for your help guys, getting a little scared here!

Fraser

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

The US has no exit immigrations, which was clearly stated in #1. You will not be barred from leaving.
The issue is leaving and coming back. Without the turning in the form, you likely will go into the computer as having overstayed. That means you are ineleigible to return, until you convince them otherwise. If you leave for Canada even, there is no guarantee you'll be able to re-enter the country for your flight (they may not let you in under a new wavier, since you are supposed to be on the old one, which you lost), meaning there is a chance you will need to buy a ticket home that does not transit the US (which are often very expensive).

So it's your choice: stay in the US until you leave, or see your friend with the chance of major issues.

agree with #10. You will not have problems leaving the US from Boston, but trying to cross into Canada... I wouldn't risk it.
I do not know if they will let you in without your I-94W, so I would not risk it. Once you try to get back in without your I-94W, I assume they will see you are already in the country by entering you in the system, so you might have a problem there.

Exiting the country should always be possible, but reentering is risky, as others have said above.

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?

Your I-94W is your proof that you're exiting and entering while still on the VWP. If you're entering the country without an I-94W, the border official will treat you as a new arrival, who needs a new VWP start date. One look in their computer will tell them that you did not submit your I-94W when you left the country. What happens next is up to the border official. If you're still within your 90 days, they may be lenient. If it's past the 90-day term, they'll likely assume you are an overstayer. I don't think anyone can predict what will happen.

One thing you could do is mail a plane/train ticket or credit-card receipt from Canada that shows that you exited the country. (That's what you're supposed to do when you leave the country and find out your I-94W wasn't taken from you at the border. You can either send the I-94W or other proof.) When you come back to the US, you can tell them you submitted this info. (Not sure if this will help, but at least that way you're playing it by the rules, more or less.)

One thing you could do is mail a plane/train ticket or credit-card receipt from Canada that shows that you exited the country.

Except Canada counts toward the 90 days, so a ticket or receipt from Canada shouldn't work (doesn't mean it won't, but don't rely on that).

There is only one safe option: stay in the US until you leave, then mail in your form. All other options carry with them varying degrees of risk that you may get screwed.

I see. I thought that as Canada is a country that counts towards my 90 days, I would not be leaving the waiver zone, and so I would hold on to my I-94W, enter canada, re-enter the states, and no official would pay any attention to it. So you guys really do think it's an issue, even though my passport stamp says I have like 20 days left on my waiver?

I thought the people on the waiver, within their 90 days, could hop back and forth over the canada border as much as they liked within that period, and that the I-94W was basically only used once that traveller exitted the waiver zone entirely.

Thanks for this folk, I really apreciate the tips.

I thought the people on the waiver, within their 90 days, could hop back and forth over the canada border as much as they liked within that period, and that the I-94W was basically only used once that traveller exitted the waiver zone entirely.

Correct, but this assumes that you have your I-94W.

One look in their computer will tell them that you did not submit your I-94W when you left the country

No it won't - I really doubt those I94W stubs handed in are processed instantaneously, so there must be a period of uncertainty. 'The Canadian guy took it yesterday' would probably get you back in - though no guarantee.

Hey, an update - at the Peace Bridge border by Buffalo, I told the Canadian guard that I had lost my I-94, and would it be a problem if I wanted to re-enter the states in a few days? She consulted with her American counterpart, and came back to tell me that it would be fine, I would just have to buy another I-94 for $6 when I came back. I'll let you know how that goes - fingers crossed!!!

I have two issues with your update:
1) You do not "buy" a new waiver. There is a $6 fee for using it, just as their is a $131 fee for applying for a visa. This always applies but is usually included in the cost of airline tickets, which is why most don't notice it until traveling overland.
2) I'd be highly skeptical of relying on info about entry to one country coming from a border guard from another. It doesn't mean it's not going to happen, but "the Canadian said this is what should happen" is not a valid excuse if the American denies your entry.

Either way, good luck!

lol, shit, we'll see! I leave tomorrow.....!

resultat! am sat on the old grey hound heading to buffalo station, US border guard just stamped my passport here, charged 6 dollars for a new green I-94 form, and sent me on my way. Who's the daddy? That's right, yours truly.

I'm glad it worked. Thanks for reporting back!

Thats cool, glad you didnt get stuck or screwed....

Man, I wonder if you lost Passport (destroy it on purpose) so you get a new Passport # and then a new I94, as they wont have the new # in the system yet...