How to get and read your I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record)
Your I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, is U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) official record of your admission — your I-94 number, most recent date of entry, class of admission, and admit-until date. You can get it, and your travel history, free at the official CBP site i94.cbp.dhs.gov or in the free CBP Link app. The single most important thing to read on it is the admit-until date — that date, not your visa’s expiration date, controls how long you may legally stay. This is general information, not legal advice.
What the I-94 is, and the admit-until date
The I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, is CBP’s official record of the terms of your admission to the United States. It documents four key facts:
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| I-94 number | The identifying number for this admission record |
| Most recent date of entry | When CBP last admitted you |
| Class of admission | The status you were admitted in (for example F-1, B-2, H-1B) |
| Admit-until date | The date your authorized stay ends — or D/S |
Two points cause the most confusion:
- Your I-94 admit-until date — not your visa’s expiration date — controls how long you may legally remain. A visa is only permission to travel to a US port of entry and ask to be admitted; it is the I-94 that sets the terms of your stay once CBP admits you. A visa can expire while you are still lawfully present, and a visa can be valid long after your authorized stay has ended. Read the admit-until date.
- “D/S” means Duration of Status. When the admit-until field shows D/S instead of a calendar date, you may stay as long as you maintain your status — for example, by remaining a full-time student — rather than until a fixed date. D/S is used for F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors; M-1 vocational students are admitted for a fixed period (8 CFR 214.2(m)(5)).
Update — September 14, 2026: on July 17, 2026 DHS published a final rule that would end D/S for F, J, and I admissions, with an effective date of September 15, 2026. On September 14, 2026 the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts postponed the rule’s effective date and preliminarily enjoined DHS from implementing it (Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration v. DHS, No. 26-cv-13799). USCIS says it will proceed under the previous regulations, so D/S remains in effect for now. Details: End of “duration of status” (final rule).
Arrivals today receive an electronic I-94 — CBP says land-border travelers no longer get a paper stub, though a paper form can be requested in secondary inspection — which is exactly why you can retrieve and print it online.
How to get your I-94 free
Retrieving your I-94 is free at the official CBP website i94.cbp.dhs.gov, or through the free CBP Link mobile app. You will enter your name, date of birth, passport number, and country of issuance — exactly as they appear on the passport you traveled with. For looking up your record, the site offers two options:
- Get Most Recent I-94 — returns your I-94 number, most recent date of entry, class of admission, and admit-until date, and lets you print the official I-94.
- View Travel History — returns your arrivals and departures for the last 10 years.
Looking up your record is free. A separate fee — $30 as of September 30, 2025 (up from $6) — applies only when you apply for a new provisional I-94 before you arrive at a land border. It does not apply to retrieving the I-94 or travel history you already have. No one should charge you to look up your record; if someone says you must pay to see your I-94 or travel history, that is wrong.
If you need a fuller border-crossing history than the 10 years the I-94 site returns, you can also request your immigration records through FOIA — CBP holds travel and border-encounter records.
What you use your I-94 for
Your I-94 is how other institutions verify your status and how long you are authorized to stay. It is commonly needed for:
- Form I-9 employment eligibility verification — proof of your status and work authorization for an employer.
- A Social Security number (SSN) application.
- A driver’s license at the state DMV, which verifies lawful presence.
- Immigration filings with USCIS that ask for your most recent admission.
Before you apply for any of these, check your class of admission and your admit-until date to confirm you are in status. If either looks wrong, resolve it before you rely on it for a benefit.
If your I-94 has an error
If your I-94 shows a mistake — a wrong class of admission, wrong biographic information, or a wrong admit-until date — that happened at the port of entry, your first stop is a CBP Deferred Inspection Site, which can correct errors made at the time of entry.
Form I-102 is filed with USCIS to replace a lost, stolen or damaged I-94, or to correct an I-94 that USCIS issued. It carries a USCIS filing fee — but if CBP made the error, USCIS says not to file Form I-102 and to go to a CBP port of entry or deferred inspection office instead. Because USCIS fees change, see our Form I-102 replacement page for the current amount and how to file.
Related information
- Form I-102 — replace or correct your I-94 — when CBP Deferred Inspection cannot fix the record, and the current USCIS fee
- How to get a copy of your immigration file (FOIA) — request fuller travel and border-encounter history from CBP
- How to change your address with USCIS, the immigration court, and ICE — keep your address current so notices reach you
- USCIS forms — forms, fees, and case status
- How to find an immigration attorney — licensed lawyers and DOJ-accredited representatives
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Last verified: 2026-09-24. General information, not legal advice. Retrieving your I-94 and travel history at i94.cbp.dhs.gov is free; CBP and USCIS fees and procedures change — verify current details on the official CBP and USCIS pages before acting. For any specific situation, contact a licensed immigration attorney or DOJ-accredited representative — never a notario. This page has no compensated or affiliate links.