Most people never look at their I-94 until something depends on it — a job verification, a green card or status application, a university registrar check, or a problem at a border crossing. By then, an error that has sat unnoticed for months can be a real headache. Here is what the record actually is, how to pull it up in under a minute, and the exact path to get it corrected.
What the I-94 actually is
The I-94 Arrival/Departure Record is CBP’s official record of your admission to the United States: the date you entered, the port of entry, your class of admission (the status you were actually let in under — F-1, B-2, H-1B, and so on), and your admit-until date — either a fixed date or “D/S” (Duration of Status) for most F-1 and J-1 holders.
This matters because your lawful status in the US is governed by your I-94, not by your visa stamp. A visa gets you to the border; the I-94 says what happened when you got there. If the two disagree — say your visa says F-1 but your I-94 was mistakenly coded B-2 — the I-94 is what USCIS and future CBP officers will look at.
Since April 2013, CBP has automated the I-94 for almost all air and sea arrivals, so you will not get a paper card or a stamp confirming your status details. You are expected to retrieve and keep your own copy.
How to check and download your I-94
- Go to the official CBP site: i94.cbp.dhs.gov. This is the only authoritative source — be wary of third-party sites that ask for extra personal data to “generate” an I-94.
- Enter your name, date of birth, and passport/document number exactly as they appear in your travel documents.
- Review and download the PDF immediately after you land, not weeks later — records can be harder to retrieve once travel history ages, and if something is wrong you want maximum time to fix it before you need the document.
- Check three things specifically:
- Class of admission — does it match the status you were actually traveling on?
- Admit-until date — a fixed date where you expected D/S (F-1/J-1) is a common and serious error.
- Name and document number — compare character-by-character against your passport.
Travelers who entered by land (common on the US-Canada and US-Mexico borders) typically still receive a paper Form I-94 at the port of entry rather than an electronic record — keep that card with your passport, since it is your primary proof of admission in that case.
How to correct an I-94 error
Where the error came from determines who fixes it:
- Error made at the port of entry (CBP’s record): Correct it with CBP, not USCIS. Identify the office nearest where you entered — many land and air ports maintain a Deferred Inspection Office that handles these corrections. An in-person visit is generally faster, especially if you’re on a tight deadline; email requests to CBP are often queued behind in-person cases. Bring your passport, visa, I-20/DS-2019 or approval notice, and anything showing the correct information.
- Error on an I-94 attached to a USCIS approval notice (for example, after an extension or change of status approved inside the US): this goes through USCIS’s correction channel, not CBP, since USCIS issued that record.
When you contact CBP, be specific and complete: full legal name as in your passport, passport number, the date and port of entry, a clear one-paragraph description of the error, and copies (not originals, unless asked) of the documents proving the correct information. Do this as soon as you notice the problem — an error that sits uncorrected can complicate a later visa, status, or green card filing, and fixing it under time pressure is much harder than fixing it calmly.
Why this matters for your broader application
If you’re mid-process on an extension, change of status, adjustment of status, or even an employer’s verification, your I-94 is frequently the first document an officer checks. A mismatched class of admission can trigger an unnecessary Request for Evidence or, in the worst case, a status finding you have to argue your way out of. Building the habit of checking your I-94 right after every US entry — and keeping a saved copy with your other immigration records — costs five minutes and avoids a problem that can otherwise take months to unwind.
VisaMet’s document-screening tool checks your I-94 against your underlying status documents alongside the rest of your file, and our visa processing times guide covers what typically happens downstream. None of this is legal advice — for a status question specific to your case, confirm with CBP, USCIS, or an immigration attorney. Join the waitlist to get notified when VisaMet launches.
Sources: CBP’s official I-94 retrieval portal (i94.cbp.dhs.gov); university international-student office guidance on I-94 corrections (Washington University in St. Louis OISS, Emerson College ISS); CBP Deferred Inspection Office correction procedures as summarized by immigration-law practitioner guides.