I-94 number format checker.

What an I-94 number is

Form I-94 is the Department of Homeland Security arrival and departure record, issued to people admitted to the United States, adjusting status or extending their stay. USCIS says the I-94 number is also known as the Departure Number or the Admission Record Number. CBP’s sample record labels it “Admission (I-94) Record Number”. Since 2013 CBP has created most records electronically at arrival, so many travelers never hold a paper form and have to retrieve the number online when an employer, school or benefit office asks for it.

The two shapes

CBP’s I-94 page says I-94 numbers are 11 characters. Its notice explains that CBP was switching from all-digit numbers to alphanumeric ones beginning in May 2019, because the numeric-only numbers were running out. The new shape is nine digits, then a letter in the tenth position, then a digit in the eleventh. Unexpired I-94s in the numeric-only shape stay valid until the Admit Until Date printed on the paper I-94 or shown on the I-94 website. So two shapes are normal: 11 digits (older) and nine digits plus a letter plus a digit (newer). CBP’s published sample record shows the older form, 54813013030.

Where to find it

CBP and USCIS both point travelers to CBP’s I-94 website, or the CBP Link mobile app, to get the admission number and the most recent record. CBP says that at the land border travelers are now issued I-94s electronically with no paper stub, and that anyone who wants a paper form can print it from the website using “Get Most Recent I-94”. The admission stamp in the passport shows the date of admission, the class of admission and the admitted-until date, but CBP’s fact sheet presents the number itself as something to retrieve from the website. If you cannot get your record from the website, USCIS says you may file Form I-102 to request a replacement or initial arrival-departure record.

Reading the rest of the record

CBP’s sample record shows a Class of Admission (F1 in the sample) and an Admit Until Date (D/S). CBP’s fact sheet explains D/S as “Duration of Status”, used for students and exchange visitors; other classes get a fixed end date. It also warns that the electronic I-94 shows three dates and the one in the top right corner is the Office of Management and Budget form expiry date, which is not the end of a traveler’s status. The Admit Until Date is the one USCIS and benefit agencies should use. The sample also lists the passport number as its own field, so it is a different thing from the admission number.

How the check works

The checker removes spaces and hyphens, capitalizes letters and tests the result. Eleven digits is reported as the older shape. Nine digits, a letter, then a digit is reported as the current shape. Anything else is named for what it resembles: three letters and ten digits is the shape USCIS gives a receipt number (its glossary calls a receipt number a unique 13-character identifier of 3 letters and 10 numbers); six to nine digits is closer to an A-Number, which USCIS describes as seven, eight or nine digits. Other lengths are reported with the length found.

A worked example (invented numbers)

An exchange student’s record shows 12345678901 as the admission number, F1 as the class and D/S as the admit-until date. All 11 characters are digits, so the checker reports the older numeric shape; D/S means the stay is tied to the program rather than a calendar date. A traveler admitted later has 123456789A1: nine digits, the letter A, then a digit, which fits the current shape. A third person pastes 123456789 into an employer’s I-94 box. That is nine digits, so the checker says it looks like an A-Number, not an I-94 number, and the traveler should go back to the I-94 website for the 11-character value. A fourth pastes EAC1234567890, three letters and ten digits, which is receipt-number shaped. None of these numbers is real.

Common mistakes

• Copying the passport number or the OMB date from the record instead of the admission number.
• Dropping the letter or the last digit from the newer shape, which leaves ten characters.
• Using the A-Number or the USCIS receipt number where an employer or school asks for the I-94 number.
• Using the OMB form expiry date as if it were when status ends.
• Mistyping the letter O for a zero or the reverse; the nine leading characters must all be digits.

Who this is for

Students and workers filling in an employer or school form, HR and international-office staff checking what a person pasted in, and anyone trying to tell the I-94 number from other numbers on an immigration packet.

What this page does not cover

• It does not check that an I-94 record exists, belongs to you or is current. Only CBP’s website can show that, and the checker does not contact it.
• It does not show travel history, tell you how long you may stay, or decide your status.
• It does not collect or store the number. Nothing you type leaves this page.
• It is not legal advice; for a case question talk to a licensed attorney or accredited representative.