The I-94 - Your legal stay in the USA
The I-94 - Important for you!
When you enter the USA with your E2 visa, you receive a stamp in your passport. The immigration officer writes the date until which you may legally stay in the USA. There is no difference here compared to other visa categories or tourists entering under the Visa Waiver Program. However, as an E2 visa holder, you receive a two-year right of stay upon entry, whereas tourists under the Visa Waiver Program only get 90 days, and B1/B2 visa holders get 180 days. After that, you must either apply for an extension with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or leave the USA and re-enter with a valid visa to receive another two years of stay. You will receive a two-year right of stay even if you enter on the last valid day of your visa. However, you only get a two-year right of stay if you enter with a visa still valid for five years.
To understand all this, you need to know the difference between a visa and the I-94. A visa is basically a travel document and only relates to the journey to the border, not to the legal length of stay. A visa allows you to travel to the border and shows the border officer, whom you then ask for entry, that you want to legally enter the United States and that this is approved by the consulate or embassy, or that the United States consular service believes you meet the requirements for travel to the United States under the visa in your passport.
The US visa
A US visa is affixed inside the passport and always looks the same. Depending on the visa, under “Annotation” for an E2 visa, for example, the visa company is listed, while for an F1 student, the university where the visa holder studies is usually listed.
The visa category is noted on the visa, for example, E2, and under “Entries,” an E2 visa normally shows an “M,” indicating multiple entries are allowed. The “Expiration Date” is the last day on which you can enter the USA with this visa. The visa’s validity duration has nothing to do with the possible length of stay, only with entry.
The I-94, on the other hand, is a document, called the "Arrival/Departure Record Card" in English, that documents when you entered the USA, when you must leave it, and ultimately when you actually left the USA. Previously, upon entering the USA, you received a copy of this I-94 form (a white card), which was usually stapled into the passport and surrendered upon exit. Today, the information is stored electronically, and only the admitted stamp with the entry date and latest exit date is placed in the passport.
A short validity period of the passport may affect the length of stay. Also, border officers sometimes make mistakes, so it is always advisable to check the data on the I-94 when you have entered the USA. You can retrieve your current I-94 via the following website: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home.
The I-94 is important in many respects, not only for determining the holder’s legal length of stay, as the document is needed when applying for a Social Security number and a driver’s license. Usually, the staff there are kind enough to look it up for you, but sometimes there are computer issues or problems retrieving the I-94 because the Social Security Administration or DMV (driver’s license office) enters the wrong birthdate and then cannot find a valid I-94. We recommend all our clients, after arriving in the USA, print out the I-94 forms for themselves and their family members and bring them to such official appointments.
I-94 Renewal
As already mentioned, the I-94 shows, among other things, the so-called “Admit until” date, that is, the date until which you may stay legally in the country. You must absolutely leave the country by the specified date at the latest and re-enter with a valid visa or apply for an extension at USCIS.
The latter option is possible for many visa categories, including E visas, but not for the Visa Waiver Program. Note that an application fee of $460 applies to the applicant (as of August 2020). A separate application must be submitted for family members, for which a fee of $370 plus a biometric fee of $85 per person applies. Due to the rather high costs, you should consider whether to combine the renewal with a (short) vacation during which you leave the USA and upon return receive a new I-94.
Note: This text does not constitute legal advice but is for general information purposes only!