I-94 Deep Dive
Form I-94 is an arrival/departure record issued to aliens who are admitted to the US, controlled by the Department of Homeland Security. This record indicates which visa you’ve been admitted to.
Arriving by land
If you cross the US-Canada border by car, you’ll receive a paper I-94, which gets stapled to your passport. This can serve as an official I-94 (showing your work authorization like J-1, TN, H-1B) before it’s made available online. You’ll also get a visa stamp.
As of 2022, the I-94 will be issued electronically, not the paper stub, which is the same as arriving by air or sea. However, in the rare instance that you’re still issued the paper stub, keep in mind that you can always retrieve your I-94 online from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website, which acts as a source of truth for your I-94 status.
Arriving by air or sea
If you cross the border by plane or boat, the I-94 will be issued electronically only. You’ll also get a visa stamp. In a short amount of time, typically less than 1 hour, your official I-94 status will be updated.
Getting most recent I-94
Go to the I-94 website on the CBP website here.
Under “Already Visiting & Need Proof of Visitor Status?”, click “Get Most Recent I-94.”
Acknowledge the terms of service.
Enter your information including your legal first and last name, birthdate, passport number and country of citizenship.
If all the information was entered correctly, you get your most recent I-94 information:
I-94 record number: Uniquely identifies this record.
Date of entry: Official date you entered the US on this class of admission.
Class of admission: J-1 for interns, TN or H-1B for full-time workers, B-1 for business visitors, B-2 for tourist visitors.
Admit until date: Last date that you’re legally allowed to stay in the US under this class of visa.
At this point, it’s good to click “Print” and keep a record of your I-94. Your immigration lawyer and employer will most likely need a copy in the future.
Please ensure that the class of admission is correct. If you’re an intern, this should be J-1. If you’re a full-time worker, this should be TN or H-1B. These visas grant you work authorization in the US. If you’re interviewing for a position, this should be B-1.
It’s possible (and has been reported numerous times before by people) that the border agent admitted you under B-2 by mistake, which is the default visa for tourist visitors. This is also obvious if you didn’t receive a stamp (i.e. J-1, TN, H-1B) in your passport. You need to rectify this as soon as possible, because you cannot legally work in the US. See this article for more advice on what happens if you've been accidentally admitted as a B-2 visitor/tourist.