Electronic I-94 Record Retrieval Tips

December 06, 2013

Compiled by the Travel Subcommittee of NAFSA's International Student and Scholar

Regulatory Practice Committee (ISS-RP).
To access an electronic I-94 record, visit: www.cbp.gov/I94. There are two tabs on the site, one
for inputting traveler information and searching for the I-94 record, and one for Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQs).
First, try finding the I-94 record using the FAQs on the CBP I-94 website. If you can't locate the
I-94 record using the CBP FAQs, try these troubleshooting tips:

Tips
Name
TIP: The name field on www.cbp.gov/i94 is not case-sensitive.
TIP: Try entering the name as listed in the various travel documents:

Passport Name

U.S. Visa Name

There are two locations for names on passports and U.S. visas: 1) the name field and 2) the
machine-readable zone. If the name is different, try both versions
TIP: Also try the versions of the name that appear on the traveler's:

Airline Ticket

Boarding Pass

This might work because the electronic I-94 system initially receives names from the carrier in
an electronic transfer of the flight manifest.
TIP: Try entering variations of the names that appear on the travel documents

If there are multiple last (or first) names:

o Try entering just one last (or first) name

o Eliminate the space between the names
o Add/remove a hyphen between names
o Truncate the last few letters if the names are long. (Note: each name field has a
25-character limit)
o Examples:

Last/Surname Lopez Garcia: try entering Lopezgarcia or just Lopez.

Last/Surname Fernandes Carvalho de Sousa: try entering

Fernandescarvalhodeso.

Last/Surname Al-Hamdi: try entering Alhamdi or just Hamdi.

First and middle name:

o Try entering both names in the First (Given) Name field with a space e.g., For
first name Claire and middle name Anne, try entering Claire Anne in the First
(Given) Name field.
o Try entering just the first and middle initials e.g., for Claire Anne, try CA or C
A.

Only one name

o If the traveler only has one name, the Department of State may have placed that
name in the Last/Surname field and placed the abbreviation FNU (First Name
Unknown) in the First/Given name field. Try entering whatever name appears in
the machine readable section of the passport and/or visa, including the
abbreviation FNU.

Birth Date
TIP: Try inverting the month and day. Example: Birth Date July 9, 1980 correctly entered would
be 1980 July 09; try instead 1980 September 07.

Note: an incorrect DOB in the entry record may cause SSA and DMV to be unable to
verify the record, so Deferred Inspection may need to correct this. Please see further
notes on contacting CBP below.

Passport Number
TIP: When both letters and numbers appear in the passport number, try entering a space after the
letter(s). Example: Passport number LA497327: try entering LA 497327.
TIP: Also try the passport booklet number; sometimes the booklet number differs from the
number on the bio page.
TIP: If the valid visa is in an expired passport, try entering the old passport number instead of
the new one used for entry.
TIP: For Mexican passport entries, try eliminating the first two digits of the passport number.
Also try dropping the last two digits.

Most Recent Date of Entry

TIP: Try "bracketing" the date, by entering dates one to three days before or after the actual date
of entry.

Class of Admission
TIP: For those in H-1B status, instead of selecting H-1, try H-1B.

Contacting CBP
TIP: Contact U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). For erroneous records, records that
cannot be retrieved, or for missing admission stamps in the passport, contact your local CBP port
of entry or deferred inspection office before recommending your student/scholar visit them in
person. Some CBP offices may assist with record retrieval by phone or email. Other issues, such
as a missing admission stamp, may require a visit in person. For information on all Deferred
Inspection sites, visit the CBP website.