Everyone arriving at a port-of-entry (airport, land, or sea) to the U.S. is inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. CBP officer will conduct the immigration, customs and agriculture components of the inspections process. If a traveler has health concerns, he/she will be referred to a Public Health Officer for a separate screening.

Before landing in the U.S. at a port-of-entry (the international airport where you land), one 6059B - customs form will be given to each family. Additionally, all nonimmigrants to the U.S. will receive an additional form,  Form I-94 (Arrival-Departure Record) or Form I-94W (Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure Form) . Flight attendants will distribute these forms prior to landing in the U.S. If you need any help filling out the forms, ask the flight attendant for help.

Fill out these forms using only capital letters. Wherever they mention TYPE or PRINT, it means you should write in capital letters.

Keep your watch in sync with current time zone as you get out of the plane. Take all of your belongings, including hand-baggage, and start walking towards the immigration check.

Upon arrival, follow the signs for immigration. The airline personnel will guide you to the inspection area. There may be separate lines for U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens. Permanent residents of the U.S. can go through the U.S. citizen line.

Depending on your legal status with respect to the U.S., you may need to present different documents.
Admission Documents

Keep two completed forms in the passport. In addition, make sure all other applicable papers are ready just in case. Everyone in the family can walk together to the immigration counter.

If you are a U.S. citizen, the officer will ask for your passport, verify your citizenship, and then welcome you back to the United States.

Form I94 (Arrival-Departure Record), Form I94W (Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure Form), or Form I95 (Crewman Landing Permit) shows the date you arrived in the U.S. and the "admitted until" date, or the date when your authorized period of stay expires.

Whenever a generic description below refers to Form I-94, you should consider that it also means Form I-94W or Form I-95 are applicable.

During the inspection, a CBP officer (immigration officer at the port-of-entry) may ask you several questions about the purpose of your trip, how long you will be in the U.S., where you will stay, and your residence abroad. Talk absolutely to the point. Do not try to lie. Make sure that whatever you say is written on the paper. Keep you answers simple and to the point, such as "6 months" or "visiting my son and seeing tourist places."

After successfully completing your processing, a CBP officer will stamp your arrival and departure portion of the completed Form I-94, the passport, and the customs declaration form. He/she will stamp your passport, signifying that you are permitted for an appropriate duration, e.g., six-months stay (for visitor visa holders) or for 3 years (H1B/H4 visa holders). The officer retains the arrival portion of the Form I-94, staples the stamped departure portion of the Form I-94, and returns the passport to the traveler. If you are not required to present a passport, the form will be handed over to you. The departure section of the I-94 is stamped with a date, which is the latest date you are allowed to be in the U.S. Prolonged stay after that date is illegal. Do not lose it.

All nonimmigrants to the United States will be fingerprinted and photographed under a program called US-VISIT.

Prior to departing the area, review the class of admission (such as B-2 for visitors, H-1 for temporary workers, F-1 for students, etc.) and period of admission recorded on the admission stamp. If there are any mistakes, it is best to have them corrected right away. The information written by the officer in the Form I-94 at the port of entry is the basis for all further immigration-related activity in which you may engage while in the U.S. Benefit agencies, namely the Social Security Administration, make decisions based on the handwritten endorsement recorded on the Form I-94.

File Form I-102 for correcting errors later or replacing I-94 in case it is lost, stolen, or mutilated.

If you would like to extend your stay beyond the date in the I-94 form, you will need to file Form I-539 . You may need to file additional paperwork depending on the type of nonimmigrant visa you are extending.
Visitors Visa Extension

Many people who come to the United States on nonimmigrant visa are confused regarding the duration for which they can legally stay in the United States. The visa stamp is used just to enter the United States. You can enter United States at any period during the validity of the visa. (Whether you are permitted to enter once or multiple times is dependent on whether your visa is single entry or is multiple entry.) At the port-of-entry, the immigration officer determines the duration for which you can stay in the United States. That is the legal period for which you can stay. For example, if you are traveling on a visitor visa and your visa is expiring next month, if the immigration officer grants you six months' stay, you can legally stay for six months.

More details on visa stamp vs. authorized duration.

Once you are in the United States, you are free to travel wherever you like without needing to follow any preset itinerary or check in with any government officials.

Everyone traveling to the United States on a nonimmigrant visa must fill out a white form called Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record. Each person traveling to the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa must complete one form per person.

Form I-94 has two specific perforated sections in it.

The top portion is the arrival form that asks for information related to your arrival in the U.S. The bottom portion is a departure coupon and must be returned to the U.S. officials upon exiting the U.S.

The back side of the I-94 form is for government use only.

Sample Completed I-94 Form
Blank Form I-94 that can be filled out prior to arrival in the U.S. and used to copy information into the original I-94 form.

Canadians traveling to the U.S. as a tourist or on business generally don't require the Form I-94. Certain Mexicans who have a nonresident alien Mexican Border Crossing Card (laser visa or a multiple entry nonimmigrant visa) may not require the Form I-94.

The green Form I-94W must be filled out by all nonimmigrant visitors traveling to the U.S. on a Visa Waiver Program.

In addition to the Form I-94 requirements described above, the Form I-94W indicates specific questions related to inadmissibility issues. If the traveler answers yes to any of the questions on the reverse side of the Form I-94W, he/she should contact the United States Embassy/Consulate in his/her home country to obtain a visa prior to traveling to the U.S. The traveler must sign and date the Form I-94, which indicates agreement to waive his/her right to a hearing before an immigration judge, if found inadmissible.

Sample I-94W Form

The general entry process at a land border port-of-entry is similar to that described above. A CBP officer will conduct the primary inspection in the vehicle lane. If required, the CBP officer may send you to a secondary inspection area for further review or issuance of needed papers. Once the officer determines that you should be allowed into the United States, you will either be sent for further customs inspection or immediately allowed to proceed on your trip.

Alien truck drivers may qualify for admission as B-1 (business) visitors to pick up or deliver cargo traveling in the stream of international commerce.

The general entry process at a sea port-of-entry is similar to those described above, if inspection facilities are available. Otherwise, passengers will be instructed as to where they should report for inspection on board the vessel.

• Grounds of Admissibility
• Time Bars Entering United States