30.4 Replacement of Arrival-Departure Records. (Revised 03-13-2005)

(a) General .

A nonimmigrant alien who needs a replacement Form I-94 or I-95 (or in some instances was not issued such form upon admission) may do so by filing Form I-102, Applicati on for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival Record or Crewman’s Landing Permit.

Form I-102 is used by a nonimmigrant to apply for replacement of a lost, mutilated, or destroyed Form I-94 or Form I-95 (Arrival-Departure Record). A Form I-102 may also be filed by an nonimmigrant who was not issued a Form I-94 when he/she entered as a nonimmigrant (for example, a Canadian citizen who was admitted as a visitor without being issued an I-94), and is filing the Form I-102 with an application for extension of stay or change of status.

Form I-102 is NOT to be used in the case of an alien who was not properly inspected and admitted at a port-of-entry, through oversight or error on the part of the government and whose improper inspection is now being corrected in accordance with Chapter 15.12 of the Inspector’s Field Manual.

Although nominally an adjudication, such applications involve little more than a record check to verify the fact of initial inspection and admission. Form I-102 is required pursuant to 8 CFR 264.6 .

(b) Initial Receipting .

Follow general procedures described in Chapter 10 . An application on Form I-102 with a revision date of 10/13/98 is required.

(c) Preliminary Screening .

USCIS personnel perform preliminary review of the application. In addition to the general actions described in Chapter 10, a preliminary review should determine jurisdiction:

(1) A Form I-102 to replace a Form I-95 will be filed with the local USCIS office having jurisdiction over the temporary location of the applicant.

(2) Forms I-102 for issuance of an initial Form I-94 (in the case of someone who was properly admitted as a “non-control” nonimmigrant, such as most Canadian B-2 visitors), and those submitted in conjunction with another application being filed at a local office, must be filed with the local USCIS office having jurisdiction over the alien’s location.

(3) In cases involving a vessel, applications requesting a replacement of Form I-95 are filed at the local office where the crewmember’s vessel is located.

(4) In all other instances, the Form I-102 will be filed at the Service Center having jurisdiction over the temporary location of the applicant.

(5) The applicant must complete and sign the application, pay the fee as required in 8 CFR 103.7 , and (if he or she is requesting replacement of a mutilated card) submit the original card.

(d) Adjudication .

Forms I-102 are ordinarily fairly simple to adjudicate. Because the benefit sought is short-lived, these applications should be processed as quickly as possible, to insure the request is acted upon while it is still relevant. In addition to the steps described in Chapter 10.3 , the following actions are ordinarily required during the adjudicative process:

(1) Lookouts .

Check to determine whether there are any lookouts on the applicant.

(2) Review Supporting Documentation .

Applications for replacement arrival records must be supported by some evidence of admission: a copy of the passport biographical data page and admission stamp; a copy of the original I-94/I-95 (or the mutilated original I-94/I-95 itself). Lacking such evidence, an applicant may submit a statement explaining the facts of admission and reasons why other evidence is unavailable.

(3) Verification .

Verify arrival and current status through:

· The Nonimmigrant Information System (NIIS) . This system has arrival information on all nonimmigrants who entered the United States after January 1, 1983.

· Manual Check by Records Operations . If the applicant arrived in the United States prior to January 1, 1983, a manual check by Records Operation in Headquarters for verification of entry data can be done. In order to request a manual check, documentation submitted by alien (e.g., passport showing admission stamp or a photocopy of the Form I-94/95 if submitted).

· The Central Index System (USCIS) . If USCIS shows that the applicant has an A-File, it may be reviewed if necessary.

(4) Interview .

Interview the applicant (or transfer the case to a local office for interview if the case is pending at a Service Center) if he or she is claiming arrival as a non-controlled nonimmigrant or if there are doubts about the veracity of the alien’s claims. The interviewing officer should be alert for:

· Honest errors in the information which the alien may be providing. For example, if the alien was inspected at a pre-flight inspection station outside the United States, he or she may have provided incorrect information regarding his or place of arrival.

· [(b)(2) or (b)(7)(E)]

NOTE:

INS and USCIS have encountered situations where (1) an alien has applied for adjustment of status claiming a legal admission/parole on the I-485 , which resulted in (2) USCIS creating a record in USCIS showing the alien as having been admitted/paroled in accordance with the claim on the Form I-485, followed by (3) the alien filing an I-102 claiming the original had been lost, and (4) INS or USCIS approving the I-102 and issuing a Form I-94, which (5) the alien then presented at interview to avoid the section 245(c) prohibitions and/or the section 245(i) penalty fee. While I-102 fraud may not be common, it is far from unheard of.

(5) Approve or Deny the Application .

If USCIS records or evidence submitted support the claimed nonimmigrant admission, no further adjudicative effort is necessary. Form I-102 is not a discretionary application, and there is no requirement to verify maintenance of status, etc. It is unlikely that fraud would be attempted by an I-102 applicant solely to obtain an I-94 or I-95. However, a fraudulently obtained I-94 can easily be used to commit more serious fraud. Therefore, inconsistencies should be resolved by further record checks or additiona l inquiry with the applicant.

(6) Case Closing Actions .

(A) Approval .

Complete the following steps:

· Endorse the action block on the application and indicate the actions taken in the “USCIS or INS use only” section of the form.

· For CLAIMS-processed cases, upon approval, update CLAIMS and order approval notices. The CLAIMS approval notice, Form I-797A, co ntains a tear-off section which serves as a replacement Form I-94 indicating the status and admission date.

· If the application is not processed in CLAIMS, the replacement arrival I-94/I-95 must be manually prepared with the action taken (e.g. “ admitted at NYC as D-1 on Feb. 2, 2000, I-102 approved 2/10/00 DET E-975” where the adjudicating office is Detroit and E-975 is the officer’s stamp number).

· Even though a record of admission is already present in INS or USCIS records, you still need to update NIIS and an I-530 is required.

(B) Denial .

Complete the following steps:

· Endorse the action block on the application and indicate the actions taken in the “USCIS or INS use only” section of the form.

· For denials processed in CLAIMS, select proper standard denial paragraphs from CLAIMS, adding special text if necessary.

· In non-CLAIMS cases prepare a letter to advise the applicant of the reasons for denial.

· Follow local procedures for placing the applicant into removal proceedings, if appropriate.

(7) Appeal .

There is no appeal from an adverse decision on Form I-102.