Homeland Security Phases Out I-94W

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said that it will start phasing out use of the I-94W Arrival-Departure Card. Immigration lawyers at Romben Law, APC have been practicing law a very long time, and the I-94 is a venerable old immigration law fixture. It appears that DHS has decided to attune to the times, automating the gathering and review of biographic information about persons entering on the Visa Waiver program.

The Visa Waiver program allows nationals of certain countries to enter the USA without a visa, provided the entry is for touristic or non-employment business reasons. In the past, Visa Waiver entrants had to fill out the green I-94W card and present that card to a border guard at the Port of Entry (POE). Over a period of time, DHS will phase out the use of the I-94W, and a Visa Waiver entrant will simply show a passport at the POE, be photographed and fingerprinted, and then the passport will be franked (stamped). This new arrangement is similar to the pre-arrival gathering of information used by Australia’s “electronic visa” system. –jcf