Houston Immigration Attorneys │Wrong Expiration Date on I-94

Every Houston immigration attorney can attest to the fact that several calls are received from panicked individuals who just realized that the expiration date on their Form I-94, will soon approach or has already passed. This is often due to the rush at airports or ports of entry when individuals are hurried to go through immigration line quickly and forget to verify if the information on the document is correct.  A wrong class of admission or shortened authorized period of stay can cause a nonimmigrant to violate the terms and conditions of his or her nonimmigrant status and encounter devastating consequences. The Arrival-Departure Record is a small but important document that should not be easily overlooked.  It crucial for an arriving nonimmigrant to take a few moments to review the document to ensure that all the information is correct. The  document contains delineates a nonimmigrant's status and valid period of admission and its contents should not be easily overlooked.

Customs and Border Patrol issues the arrival-departure document to non-immigrants entering the U.S. There are various versions of this document including Form I-94, I-95 (crewmen) or I-94W (Visa Waiver) depending on the manner of entry and whether a visa waiver program was utilized to enter the country.   Regardless of which version of the document is issued, each arrival-departure document indicates the person's name,  the date of arrival, class of admission and very importantly the "Admitted Until Date" which represents the date when the person's period of stay expires.  

CBP officers process countless individuals seeking entry into the U.S. and they are required to perform at a diligently at an accelerated level but mistakes will occur. For this reason, individuals should be keen to observe that the officer complete the arrival-departure document with the correct information. If a mistake has been made, the individual should politely indicate to the officer that an error has been made on the form and provide the officer with correct and sufficient information to correct the mistake.   

 If you recently noticed that the class of admission or period of admission expiration date is incorrect  on your arrival-departure document it is important to immediately contact a Houston immigration attorney to assist you in getting this error correct. The attorney can provide you with a list of CBP deferred inspection office or CBP office located within an international airport to get a corrected arrival-departure document.  Regardless of where  the arrival-departure was issued, it can be corrected by CBP. Currently there are no mail-in procedures to obtain a correction on an arrival-departure document. 
It is important to note that CBP officers have authorization to correct only wrong information due to CBP Officer error. In other words, if the officer incorrectly marked a class of admission or expiration date despite being provided correct and sufficient documentation then this may be corrected by CBP.  However, it will not be considered a CBP error if an individual provided incorrect information or insufficient documentation to allow  the officer to allow to make a proper determination of the class of admission or period of stay. If CBP makes a determination that an error on Form I-94 was not due to CBP oversight, then it is the responsibility of the individual to take proper measures to ensure that he or she remains in a valid and correct status by either filing for a change or extension of status with USCIS or re-entering the country with the correct documentation. A Houston immigration attorney can provide additional information to help determine if an error on an arrival-departure document can be corrected by a CBP office or if a change or extension of status should be filed with USCIS.