GENERAL INFORMATION · PORTS OF ENTRY
Form I-94 and a visa expiration date record different things
A visa is generally a travel document used to request admission at a port of entry. The I‑94 is CBP’s record of the admission decision and the authorized period of stay.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection photograph by James Tourtellotte, 2009. It shows routine passenger processing at an airport and is illustrative. It does not depict a particular I‑94 record, admission decision, denial, detention, or the reader’s case. Original CBP media record ↗
A visa and an admission record answer different questions
The State Department explains that a visa’s expiration date shows how long the visa may be used to travel to a U.S. port of entry, subject to the visa’s entries and other conditions. It does not determine how long a person may remain after admission. CBP makes the admission decision at the port of entry and creates the I‑94 record for many nonimmigrant travelers.
What appears on an I‑94
An I‑94 record identifies the traveler’s class of admission and either an admitted-until date or the notation “D/S,” meaning duration of status. State says a specific admitted-until date is the official end date of that authorized stay. “D/S” is used for certain classifications whose authorized stay is tied to maintaining the qualifying activity or status rather than a calendar date.
Most air and sea records are electronic
CBP says most foreign visitors arriving by air or sea no longer complete a paper I‑94. CBP creates an electronic arrival record, and travelers can retrieve the current record through the official I‑94 service. Paper forms may still be used in some circumstances, including certain land-border processing.
The record is not a live enforcement counter
The I‑94 system records individual admissions and travel history. It is not an ICE administrative-arrest database, detention tracker, airport-raid map, or current city ranking. CBP port-of-entry inspections and ICE interior enforcement are different federal activities.
Primary federal sources
- CBP: Arrival/Departure Forms—I‑94 ↗ — agency overview updated July 22, 2026.
- State Department: What the Visa Expiration Date Means ↗
- CBP: I‑94 automation fact sheet ↗ — historical process document updated September 30, 2025.
Corrections: No corrections have been made. Material corrections are published transparently with an updated verification date.