CBP Stampless Entry Program

As of April 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) implemented “Simplified Arrival” at all 238 arriving airports, including Boston Logan and John F. Kennedy International Airports, at 34 seaports, and at all southern pedestrian and most northern secondary land ports. The goal is to streamline and digitize the legal entry process. As part of that program, CBP implemented in August 2022, a pilot program called “Stampless Entry” to eliminate ink stamps in passports at entry.

At the October 2022 AILA National-CBP Liaison Meeting, CBP also confirmed that this program is here to stay and will be expanded. CBP also indicated that officers can continue to stamp passports upon request. However, some ports might not comply with these requests.

Nevertheless, our recommendation is to:

1) always ask for a stamp in the passport as evidence of entry.

2) always download and keep a copy of I-94 from CBP’s online system.

3) check I-94 history each time entering the United States and promptly take action to make any necessary corrections.

Please note that, as of March 2022, all current I-94s and history for land entries are now entered into the I-94 online system, and CBP has stopped issuing paper I-94s altogether.

This program also poses a significant challenge for Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR). LPR entries are not tracked in the CBP I-94 online system, which can become an issue at the naturalization stage where LPRs have the burden of proof for documenting absences. At this time, LPRs may request an ink stamp upon each admission to the United States. Our office recommends to keep contemporaneous evidence of international travel such as itineraries, flight status emails, hotel, and other travel receipts.

If you have any questions about immigration-related matters, we encourage you to reach out to our office at 617-840-8515 / contact@ajvimmigrationlaw.com.