Your Passport May Come Home From the US With an Empty Page

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has stopped routinely using the admission stamp during primary processing, the first immigration check visitors face. The change took effect October 1, according to a CBP Carrier Liaison Program bulletin distributed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Officers can still stamp a passport during secondary inspection and in limited cases at primary, so a stamp is not gone altogether. But travelers who collect them as souvenirs, or who relied on them as proof of dates, should not count on getting one.

The official record of entry remains electronic. It is kept in the I-94 arrival and departure record, which CBP began automating in 2013 for many air and sea travelers, meaning most no longer receive a paper version.

Visitors can look up their I-94 online and check four things: their personal information, the date of admission, the authorized period of stay and the admission category. If something is wrong, the guidance is to contact the relevant deferred inspection office to have it corrected.

Sources: El Cronista, U.S. Customs and Border Protection