How to Properly Record Your Departure from the United States

International Student and Scholar Services | How to Properly Record Your Departure from the United States

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) informs that, if you returned home with your Arrival/Departure Record (I-94 white or I-94W green) still in your passport, your departure was not properly recorded. It is your responsibility to provide the DHS sufficient information to properly record your timely departure from the United States.

If you do not show a timely departure from the United States, or if you cannot reasonably prove so when you next seek entry into the United States, DHS may conclude you remained in the United States beyond your authorized stay. If so, your visa may be cancelled, your entry into the United States may be barred and you may be returned immediately to your foreign point of origin.

To show your departure, DHS will consider a variety of information, including, but not limited to: 

• Original I-94 white or I-94W green.
• Original boarding passes you used to depart the United States
• Photocopies of entry or departure stamps in your passport indicating entry to another country after you departed the United States (copy all passport pages that are not completely blank and include the biographical page containing your photograph).
• Photocopies of other supporting evidence that shows your name and date, to indicate you were in another country after leaving the United States, such as:
• • Dated pay slips or vouchers from your employer outside the United States
  • Dated bank records showing transactions outside the United States
  • School records showing attendance at a school outside the United States
  • Dated credit card receipts, with the credit card number deleted, for purchases made outside the United States

Your statement alone, without supporting evidence, is unacceptable. If you send original materials, please retain a copy since DHS cannot return original materials after processing. To help correct your records quickly, please include a signed, dated explanation in English.

Please mail your explanation and supporting documents to the following address:

ACS-INS SBU
P.O. Box 7125
London, KY 40742-7125 USA

Do not mail your I-94 or supporting documents to any United States consulate or Embassy, any other DHS office or to any address other than the one stated above. Only at this location can DHS make the necessary corrections to your records to prevent serious disruption to your United States travel in the future.

Note: Additional departure procedures might apply to you if you are a subject to special registration (NSEERS). Click
here to learn more.