visa waiver part 2 not taken on departure [Archive] - Orlando Villas

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janice

20-08-2006, 06:21

Hi,

Friends of mine visited the USA last year on the Visa Waiver Form, on their departure (Boston to Toronto, then on to England), the stub of the I94 form was not taken from them when leaving the USA. They only discovered it was still in their passports when they were travelling to Cyprus this year. What, if anything, should they do about this? Can they inform US immigration of this as they have read that it may cause problems if they want to return to the USA again? Any info would be gratefully received, Thanks.

blott

20-08-2006, 10:04

Your friends need to follow the instructions here relating to this in order to avoid any potential problems when they visit the USA again. http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/cbp/i94.html

andrewandcarole

20-08-2006, 13:20

Jan

Blott is spot on - and your friends really do need to do it.

I have known it happen to a couple of people - and as long as they follow the procedure and return it your friends will be fine. Otherwise they are likely to be refused entry into the USA next time.

Carole

mizzy

20-08-2006, 13:59

can i just ask when you say stub

is this the green strip that they stapled into my passport or is this something else?

i still have green strips in my passport about 1" wide by 4" long are these what you're talking about because if so i still have these in my passport too[msnscared]

Mizzy

steph_goodrum

20-08-2006, 14:21

Mizzy if they are just the perforated strips then you are fine but if they have any information on then they should be returned as per instructions , as they are the socondary proof of you exitting the country. At least noe passports are swiped there is also further proof but prior they were the ONLY way to prove you hadn't overstayed a visa or waiver entry time.

mizzy

20-08-2006, 14:31

thanks Steph

i think they are just perforated strips but i cannot remember a passport being swiped, where is this usually done?, we checked our bags in at dtd

i will get my husband to get the passports out of our safe box to double check just in case

Mizzy

Southsider

20-08-2006, 16:02

This happened to us on one of our visits and we just left them in our Passports.
On our next visit, the immigration guy just took them out and stapled in the new ones, it did not cause any problems at all.

blott

20-08-2006, 16:34

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Southsider
This happened to us on one of our visits and we just left them in our Passports.
On our next visit, the immigration guy just took them out and stapled in the new ones, it did not cause any problems at all.[/quote]This is not something I'd recommend as I think US Immigration are quite hot on this now that they have increased their security.

steph_goodrum

20-08-2006, 16:58

We foudn when we checked in at Downtonw Disney our form wasn't taken (obviously as we still had the rest of the day before our flight and therefore needed to keep it as proof if asked), we had to remember to hand them in at the gate before we boarded.

andrewandcarole

20-08-2006, 17:38

I'm with Blott on this - I wouldn't chance it! How awful to arrive at immigration and be put on the next plane home. OK - worst case scenario - but it could happen.
Then you would never be able to answer truthfully on the visa waiver form that you had never been refused entry to the USA........

Not worth the risk - get it sorted!

Carole

floridageoff

20-08-2006, 17:46

This happened to us quite a few years agp and we were advised to send the green cards to the US Embassy in London. It would appear from the link in Blott's post that they should be now sent back to the US. We have never had a problem since and have travelled many times to and from the states. Definitely tell your friends to sort it before they travel back to the US. It would be awful for them if they were denied entry.

janice

20-08-2006, 19:14

Thank you so much for all your replies on this matter. I will do this for them to make sure they have no set backs in the future. They are both in their 60s and I have just managed to get them to travel further afield in the last year or two so I would hate it to end now with a refusal to enter the USA, when they love it so much. Once again thank you, I knew I would get the right advice.

dolphinv

20-08-2006, 21:19

We just returned via Newark and as well as handing our green slip at the gate we had to "check out" of the USA with new computor terminals near gate 90. IT scans your passport, takes copy of finger prints and takes digital photo then issues a receipt from homeland security. Its the first time I have seen this in the airport, is it put in elsewhere too?

T2M

20-08-2006, 21:58

chrizzy100

20-08-2006, 23:13

Funny enough my friend tattoos barcodes on people with blood problems and HIV etc...it easier for hospitals to get info on people who may need different care...He is one of the few people who can tat people who have HIV with this info...its done in hospital...

karenhaworth

21-08-2006, 00:32

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by dolphinv
We just returned via Newark and as well as handing our green slip at the gate we had to "check out" of the USA with new computor terminals near gate 90. IT scans your passport, takes copy of finger prints and takes digital photo then issues a receipt from homeland security. Its the first time I have seen this in the airport, is it put in elsewhere too?
[/quote]

Make sure you do not leave the receipt in your passport when you next return. We had this done a couple of years ago at Atlanta I think and it had been in our passports ever since. We have been in and out of the US about 6 times since then. However about 2 Months ago we crossed from BC to Washington State and the officer at the Immigration gave us a right telling off for keeping it and demanded that we hand it in

Michelle

21-08-2006, 03:46

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by steph_goodrum
We foudn when we checked in at Downtonw Disney our form wasn't taken (obviously as we still had the rest of the day before our flight and therefore needed to keep it as proof if asked), we had to remember to hand them in at the gate before we boarded.
[/quote]

When we checked in at Down Town Disney Friday 18th they actually did take the white stub from our Passports, and our flight was not until 8.40pm.

steph_goodrum

21-08-2006, 12:27

Michelle and Geoff
If your stub was white I am guessing you have a Visa? This may be why they took it or it may just be now procedure. We travel on Visa waiver so of course there is nothing in our passport other than the emtry stamp and gree stub. We go this week so we'll find out in a few weeks if they take ours when we check in at Downtown Disney.

luckylady

21-08-2006, 14:35

Please sort this problem out before you go back.
Same happened to us only we didn't realise until we arrive back in Orlando
The immigration officer said according to his records we where still in the US as illegal immigrants ,was very stressful and delayed us for hours.we will never do that
again.
[msnwink]

21-08-2006, 17:25

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by steph_goodrum
Michelle and Geoff
If your stub was white I am guessing you have a Visa? This may be why they took it or it may just be now procedure. We travel on Visa waiver so of course there is nothing in our passport other than the emtry stamp and gree stub. We go this week so we'll find out in a few weeks if they take ours when we check in at Downtown Disney.
[/quote]

My hubby has a white homeland security slip still in his passport from his last visit to Chicago in January, we have been in and out of the US since and he is on the visa waiver, but had no problems going to NY?

with new computor terminals near gate 90. IT scans your passport, takes copy of finger prints and takes digital photo then issues a receipt from homeland security. Its the first time I have seen this in the airport, is it put in elsewhere too?

My hubby did this on his dept from Chicago too so maybe the slip is from doing so??

steph_goodrum

21-08-2006, 19:25

They were trialling the EXIT program in several airports in the US a while back and were supposed to be rolling it out on a greater scale but dont know how far it has gone.

On a similar vein has anybody registered for the IRIS programme available from certain airports in UK and does it really make reentry to the UK quicker? I didnt realise it was available at Heathrow last time we flew. Cant do it this time as its only available at Gatwick North and we fly from South Terminal (it's beyond security so you can only register when you are flying out from there).

Michelle

21-08-2006, 19:27

allyjack

01-09-2006, 15:01

I had the grren forms taken from our passports in Downtown Disney ( also on 18th )
We were there for 2 hours while they sorted our connecting flights with BA who had cancelled all their flights to Dublin from Gatwick after the one we were going to miss. Couldn't say more for the guy. He eventually got us rerouted and all home safe and sound.

Michelle

01-09-2006, 23:56

Glad you got home safe and sound.

ujpest doza

12-12-2006, 18:19

USA I-94

If you have been to the USA. and have have not had your green I-94 removed by US. immigration please return it to the following address:

ACS, USCI, SBU

P.O. BOX 7125-LONDON

KY40742-7125

USA

Tonish

03-02-2008, 02:56

Just came across this on another site:

Detained in US because of missing departure card

Carole Humphrey from London wrote
I travel to the United States several times a year on business. Last October, when I arrived at JFK airport in New York, I was detained by immigration officers. I was told to go into a room and, when I asked what was going on, I was told to wait my turn. There were no other passengers in the room.

The officials were rude, unhelpful and jingoistic. In the end, I lost my temper (it was 2am) and they threatened to send me back to London if I did not shut up. So I sat and read my book for half an hour, while they took their time doing very little except talk very loudly about me.

Eventually, I was told that US Immigration records did not show a departure from the US after a visit that commenced on September 23, 1997. I explained that Immigration in San Francisco - where the officers seemed pleasant and efficient - had informed me of this six months previously and had said they would sort it out. However, the officers at JFK said the problem had not been sorted out.

I had not handed in my green departure record when I left New York in 1997, but it had been removed on entry at Los Angeles airport in 1998 (Immigration has a record of this on its computer). The officers at JFK ultimately agreed that it was a clerical error. I was allowed into the country after an hour of deliberation, but they said they could not fix the problem.

I was given an address in Kentucky to write to with proof that I did not overstay my 1997 visit. I sent this to the US by courier in January, but I have had no response and there is no number to call. How do I know that I will not be detained by Immigration on my next visit?

Gill's response
Yours is one of dozens of letters The Daily Telegraph has received from readers who have encountered rudeness and aggression from US Immigration officials at JFK airport.

If you sent your letter to this address - ACS-USCIS, SBU, PO Box 7125, London, Kentucky 40742-7125, USA - your record should have been corrected.

However, no acknowledgement or confirmation that all is now well will be sent. Because of this, the US Consulate in London recommends that you take copies of the covering letter, proof of posting or courier delivery, and copies of documentation proving you returned to Britain in 1997 in case you are stopped again at Immigration.

This seems sensible advice - although there is nothing to this effect on the US Embassy's website (www.usembassy.org.uk).

Many readers have written to say they still have the I-94W (departure) card stapled into their passport. Instructions on how to return it can be found on the embassy's website (click on "Immigration" at the bottom of the home page).

In the light of Carole Humphrey's experience, it is essential that you return the departure card, filled in correctly, with a covering letter explaining why it is still in your possession. You must also send proof that you left the country within 90 days (boarding cards and passport stamps for other countries are best, but otherwise bank statements, pay slips or credit-card receipts are acceptable).

If you no longer have the I-94W card, but know that it was not surrendered, you must follow the same procedure, sending a copy of your passport details, dates of arrival and departure, and proof that you did leave the country. The US Consulate in London does not have the authority to update records.

Ms Humphrey's experience highlights how important it is to make sure the airline's check-in agent collects the departure record. If there is no one to collect the card, find someone to give it to. A spokesman for the US Embassy in London said he would ask authorities at JFK airport to investigate your case.

Loooks like it's well worth making sure the stub is handed in.

julieanne

04-02-2008, 13:01

There have been 2 or 3 times in the past when the departure card has not been removed from my passport and I have always returned it as per the instructions. I now take great care to watch it is removed at check in.

But it has occurred to me that some of those cards must go misssing given the numbers involved [?]