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I-485 Discussion Forum
I-94 not collected by airline travel on AP problem? |
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Airline left accidently i-94 in passport & I found out it later after bording the plane. Travel on AP , now while returning back what I need to submit? do need to mention to IO, they normally take you to seperate room as standard process of AP.
Anyone have similar experience in past 15 years this never happend but this is surprising experience. I think I need to go thorugh everything as I guess!!!
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to zest2003:
Planning to follow instructions as below . Anyone did this before as follows?
Must take steps to notify the Department of Homeland Security that you have already left the United States by mailing the I-94 card to the following address:
ACS –INS SBU
P.O. BOX 7125
LONDON, KY 40742-7125
To help the Department of Homeland Security validate and properly record your departure from the United States, you must include a statement in English as to why you were not able to return the I-94 card and also include corroborating documentary evidence such as:
(1) your original boarding passes used to depart in the United States that indicates the flight number, seat number, your name, and date of departure;
(2) photocopies of all pages of your passport and highlight the entry or departure stamps after you left the US;
(3) photocopies of other supporting evidence to indicate you were in another country after departing the United States such as dated pay slips or vouchers from your employer, dated bank records showing transaction, school records showing attendance at a school outside the United States, dated credit card receipts, showing your name, but, without showing your credit card number, for purchases made after you left the United States.
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to zest2003:
Hi zest2003,
I have a similar experience, but not sure if this will help you.
Airline did not take my I-94 when I left US for my home country, Japan. This was the 1st time to use AP. I came back here in the US, and did not tell and show my old I-94 to IO, and they did not even ask me about that. I showed the new I-94 that I filled out on the airplane, and was guided to the secondary inspection at LAX. I've heard that anyone on AP or suspicious people need to go thru the secondary inspection. There was no problem. I even forgot another copy of my AP. hahaha. :D I did not know that I needed 2 copies of the AP...... u know, those 2 are the same things....... why can they make a copy? well, IO blamed me that I did not read the paper work and forgot another copy of AP, and gave me an attitude, but that was it. They made a copy of my AP by themselves. At this moment, I was glad that I was in the US because IO in some other countries take this kind of thing more seriously.
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to SachiKitty:
Here is my experience with I-94:
I travelled to Canada (valid H-1 stamped) from SFO in 2007, for landing purposes. The airline staff did not remove the I-94 from my passport and I also did not realize it till later. After a week, when I was travelling back from Toronto to SFO, I went thru the US Immgration (POE Toronto) and the IO also did not point out anything to me. She just made the necessary entry in the system, took my photograph and fingerprints and let me enter. It did not take more than a couple of minutes (no questions asked). No stamps in the Passport either.
Thereafter, in July 2007, I filed my I-485 application and attached a copy of the I-94 that was originally issued in 2006 (same that I travelled with to Canada & back). Now, I have recd an RFE on my I-485 asking me to prove my evidence of entry in the US in 2007. I am in a fix now...no stamps, no I-94 proving entry dates.
Don't know if anyone else has had a similar experience or knowledge of anything similar. If any, please share your thoughts.
Thanks!
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to gcgirl:
GCGirl. your case is different. Traveling to canada for less than 30days to canada and mexico does not require to surrender the I-94!
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Hi zest2003,
I have a similar experience, but not sure if this will help you.
Airline did not take my I-94 when I left US for my home country, Japan. This was the 1st time to use AP. I came back here in the US, and did not tell and show my old I-94 to IO, and they did not even ask me about that. I showed the new I-94 that I filled out on the airplane, and was guided to the secondary inspection at LAX. I've heard that anyone on AP or suspicious people need to go thru the secondary inspection. There was no problem. I even forgot another copy of my AP. hahaha. :D I did not know that I needed 2 copies of the AP...... u know, those 2 are the same things....... why can they make a copy? well, IO blamed me that I did not read the paper work and forgot another copy of AP, and gave me an attitude, but that was it. They made a copy of my AP by themselves. At this moment, I was glad that I was in the US because IO in some other countries take this kind of thing more seriously.
to SachiKitty:
You are not free and clear on this by any means, especially if you still have that particular I-94 in your possession. You need to forward it to Kentucky as described in an earlier post. Won't be a laughing matter if you get an RFE because of it. |
to zest2003:
Zest - this is exactly what you need to do. It happened to me as well. here's my sample letter. I was told it is important to do this while still overseas, otherwise there might be trouble coming back.
ACS – INS SBU April 25th 2007
P.O. Box 7125
London, KY 40742 – 7125
USA
Re: Record proper departure
To whom it may concern:
My name is _______ and I am working on an H-1B visa for _____ in ____. My visa was set to expire June XXth 2007. In February 2007 my company filed an extension on my behalf which was granted XX 30th 2007. The receipt number is WAC-07-XXXX.
I left the United States on April XXth for my scheduled visa appointment at the US consulate in Frankfurt. Upon departure the airline employee failed to remove the I-94 departure record from my passport. To ensure proper departure recording I am sending you this letter of explanation including the original boarding pass of the Lufthansa flight 419 from International Airport Dulles, VA to Frankfurt am Main. Please find also enclosed said I-94 departure record.
Sincerely,
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to zest2003:
I was on visas (F1, then J1, then H1) for a total of 12 years. It happened to me MULTIPLE times that the airline didn't take the I-94. I never told the officer on my way back and never contacted USCIS about it. I still got my GC with no problems what so ever. Now after having the GC for 7 months I was trying to shred the humungous amount of paper work from the past 12 years and found at least 4 original I-94s. BIG DEAL
I know others won't like my reply and will try every way to scare you, I understand that this is not the right thing to do and hopefully it will be the only time for you before you get your GC. But now that it happened by mistake, just keep it on you (as I did) if they ask for it one day, submit it and if they don't they don't.
After all I don't believe that airlines submit all those I-94s to USCIS, so I'd rather have it on me when they ask for it and not try to convince them that I did really give it to the airline on departure but they didn't submit it. This is my 2 cents.
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to samshereen:
Folks,
Airline staff wont remove the I-94 card. When you pass through the immigration in US airports, the officer would take it. If not, please handover the I-94 to them.
S..
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Folks,
Airline staff wont remove the I-94 card. When you pass through the immigration in US airports, the officer would take it. If not, please handover the I-94 to them.
S..
to gettinggc:
Sure they do. At the check-in counter they take it out of the passport and staple it to your boarding pass. Later during the boarding procedure you submit the card to them. |
to Murphydc:
Oh ok...i didnt happen to me. Last month i traveled and airline didnt do that. The friendly officer who was sitting at the Immigration counter, carfully removed the pin and kept the I-94 card.
S..
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to gcgirl:
gcgirl,
You donot need to give I-94 if you are travelling to Canada for less than 30 days. I was in same situation & airlines asked me to keep the old I-94 if I am planning to come back within 30 days. But I gave it them ,as I was not sure about it. In your case some thing is missing.. IO cannot allow you to enter USA without the I-94, she must had your old I-94 & reissue the same again. if this is a case , you donot need to worry about it. You did not break any law, in my case also IO forget to stamp the passport... I would suggest to talk with lawyer & prepare the letter with complete explaination. Hopefully you will get GC with in a month after reply to ref.
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to amankm:
I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THE FUSS ABOUT THESE i-94S
MY ADVICE THROW IT IN UR GARBAGE CAN SIR !
fROM MY EXPERIENCE AS WORKING AS JANITOR AT JFK IVE SEEN AIRLINE BOARDING AGENTS COLLECT ALL THESE I-94S , DUMP THEM IN GARBAGE CAN , AND AS I WAS PASSING BY THEY SAID HEY U ! YES U ! THROW THIS FOR ME PLEASE.
I MYSELF WITH MY TWO HANDS HAVE THROWN THESE I-94 PLASTIC BAGS IN DUMPSTER ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS
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Folks,
Sure they do. At the check-in counter they take it out of the passport and staple it to your boarding pass. Later during the boarding procedure you submit the card to them.
to Murphydc:
i have two i-94's with me, it never happened that at the checkout counter they will take it out from passprt and staple to boarding pass..... |
GCGirl. your case is different. Traveling to canada for less than 30days to canada and mexico does not require to surrender the I-94!
to mu0305:
I had a similar experience returning from CANADA after the landing process..The IO did not take my old I-94 and did not stamp the date of entry either..
I called my local CBP office and they asked me to come to their office. the officer issued me a new I-94 and stamped the date of entry and scribbled H1B on the I-94.. he gave me a sheet of instructions to mail the old I-94.
I narrated my story to my Attorney and she said I did the right thing..
Please consult your attorney if you are not sure
thanks |
I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THE FUSS ABOUT THESE i-94S
MY ADVICE THROW IT IN UR GARBAGE CAN SIR !
fROM MY EXPERIENCE AS WORKING AS JANITOR AT JFK IVE SEEN AIRLINE BOARDING AGENTS COLLECT ALL THESE I-94S , DUMP THEM IN GARBAGE CAN , AND AS I WAS PASSING BY THEY SAID HEY U ! YES U ! THROW THIS FOR ME PLEASE.
I MYSELF WITH MY TWO HANDS HAVE THROWN THESE I-94 PLASTIC BAGS IN DUMPSTER ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS
to laddusingh:
Please don't listen to the above, this is bad advice.
I-94 might be getting discarded but not before the data is retrieved and entered into the appropriate system.
The only reason I'm posting this is so no one gets wrong information. |
to MiyaBhai:
here is my experience that i posted earlier
Posted in I-485 Forum on 16 Oct 2008
Topic: MY CANADA LANDING EXPERIENCE - Current status in USA - EAD/AP/EXPIRED H1B VISA
I went to the Local CBP office and explained the case to the officer on duty.
He looked at our documents and was just smiling..in a way that how did they do anything like this..
He actually asked me did I ever go through the Immigration as there were no entry stamps on my passport and nor my daughter's(US citizen) passport..
Luckily they had stamped 'paroled' on my I-94 and sticked into my wife's passport and they also gave back our Customs form which they were not supposed to..
The office went inside with our passports, my I-797 and Wife's AP..After quite a long time he returned and handed over my daughter's passport and my wife's passport with a new I-94 stamp on her name this time and the paroled stamp on it..
He said their case was easy and that he had a couple of questions in my case..he informed me that my visa had already expired and how did I enter into US..I respectfully reminded him of AVR.
The officer was cool and he said he knows about AVR and is just trying to find out if I need a new I-94. He did some thought process and then started making a new I-94 form for me..He had copied the I-94 number from the I-94 form that was on my name, stamped paroled and sticked into my wife's passport.
He then entered all the details and went back to his desk..He then stamped on the I-94 and wrote H1B on it..He informed me that he entered the information onto their system and I can call back to verify it..
He gave me a guidelines sheet and instructed me to send my old I-94 as per the guidelines. and let me know that the changes he entered into the system will take 4-6 weeks to be obtained by the SSN office...
I asked him and he confirmed that I am in H1B status now..
Guys thanks for all your feedback and suggestions..
Thanks a lot..Have a good day
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Folks,
Airline staff wont remove the I-94 card. When you pass through the immigration in US airports, the officer would take it. If not, please handover the I-94 to them.
S..
to Murphydc:
Sure they do. At the check-in counter they take it out of the passport and staple it to your boarding pass. Later during the boarding procedure you submit the card to them.
Sounds right to me! Maybe the confusing is that the immigration officer takes it and staples it to your passport on the way in, but the airline staff takes it on the way out. I have never seen an immigration officer on the way out and I have passed the border many times.
And for the original problem I think GreenMurphydc has the best solution too. You might give it to the IO on the way back, but I am afraid they may not know how to handle it properly. |
to MrVulcan:
I have a very similar case last year july 2008 when I came back from US using my AP. The stupid airline forgot to take out my i94 when i left for travel on june 2008. When i came back the iO officer bitch me up about this matter on the airport custom, he took my i94 and told me that next time to make sure to let the airline take my i94 before i leave the country. He corrected all my documents on the spot, and give me a warning to learn from this. No big deal and he just let me pass thru.
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to sensui:
It is confusing now because just responded to RFE & attorney sent document today. So sending this new stuff to Ins could intiate something else. At this moment I can live without green card but repsonding to RFE is really painful & depressing. See waiting this long RFE letter content is always very depressing.
I am planning to wait see status change to case resume then will send document of I-94. I don't why I need to go thorugh everthing ... well thank you for the information shared here...
Zest
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to gcgirl:
Hi gcgirl,
Could you please give an update as I am also in the same situation? No RFE yet.
Thanks.
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Hi gcgirl,
Could you please give an update as I am also in the same situation? No RFE yet.
Thanks.
to GCwaitloong:
GCwaitloong,
My lawyer told me to provide him with the travel itinerary, Tickets, Boarding Passes, Bills/receipts of Car rental, hotel bills etc to prove the travel to Canada. He will put together the RFE response with a detailed explanation and proof to show that it was only a visit to Canada for under a month (under rules), therefore, no I-94/stamps in the passport.
Unbelievable!...who saves Bills & Boarding passes etc. for years especially personal travel...doing my best! |
to gcgirl:
Gcgirl,
Check for bank record or statement. If you remember hotel of your stay you can call them to send duplicate copy of bill . I know it is very difficult for this just small mistake. For other RFE I could collect many record from the back to show proof as the joint transaction. If you take RFE letter to bank & ask them to help they pull up the archive data. Highligh by yellow on the statement showing transaction in canada.
I know it is lot of pressure i just repsonded to RFE with almost 500 pages document for each applicant that took my entire 5 days to put RFE response document together but I would say try to dig up as much as you can from every source to respond to RFE.
Send the passport pages those are stamped in /out as well highlight those pages. Read my second post it has list of the document.
I94 not returning look like serious thing so please every traveller needs to make sure airline took it. I notice one I boarded but by the time door closed & airline could not help.
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Hi Folks,
A Quick Question! I left US. in last year August 2008, I handed over my I-94 card to the Airline Counter, Is it Ok that my information to CBP has been updated. And once i travell again there is not problem, how gona i m 100% sure about that my departure information updated now.
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Users watching this thread:
gcgirl, GCwaitloong, mu0305, laddusingh, zest2003, SachiKitty, 408julian, Murphydc, gettinggc, amankm, GCkaPujari, MrVulcan, sensui, Lad123
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