Part III of III: Tracking Travelers’ Entries and Exits –
Guest Immigration Law Post by Atty Mr. Jan Bejar
This post is a continuation of Part I and II of III: Tracking Travelers’ Entries and Exits – Guest Immigration Law Post by Atty Mr. Jan Bejar
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For travel between Canada and the U.S., DHS and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) have partnered in the “Beyond the Border” initiative to jointly track entries and exits. The idea of the program is that an entry into one country serves as a record of exit from the other. The initiative was planned to roll-out in four phases.
During Phase I, which began September 30, 2012, and lasted through January 15, 2013, DHS and CBSA exchanged biographic data regarding third country nationals, permanent residents of Canada who are not U.S. citizens, and permanent residents of the U.S. who are not citizens of Canada, at four land ports of entry.
During Phase II, which began on June 30, 2013, the biographic data about the same population was exchanged for crossings at all automated land ports of entry.
Phases III and IV were supposed to begin June 30, 2014, and would have expanded the initiative to virtually all travelers, including U.S. and Canadian citizens, and to air travel, but apparently these phases have been delayed.
Finally, for nonimmigrants issued paper I-94 and I-94W records (either in the past or presently at land ports of entry), submission of those records at a port of entry or to the airlines upon departure ideally should create, or should have created, an exit record. Presently, for nonimmigrants who arrive by air or sea and do not have a paper I-94, but who then depart by land, such that APIS does not record the departure, CBP instructs travelers to keep proof of the departure. Nonimmigrants issued a paper I-94, either in the past at any port of entry or currently at a land port of entry, who did not submit them upon departure, can mail them to a designated address with proof of the departure to create a departure record in the NIIS.
In sum, regardless of your immigration status, the U.S. government likely knows when you arrive but may not know when you leave, particularly if you depart along a land port of entry on the southern border.
