US Departure Record on UK Visa Waiver

[betterfromabove]

Does anyone know the answer to the following?

- Why a green US "Departure Record" would end up being left in my (UK) passport when departing the US by air?

- If this is an issue?
......I'm pretty sure it is, since it says "this may cause delays when returning to the US...."

- Who I can talk to officially to try and resolve the situation?
......have trawled DHS and USCIS websites but there is no clear contact point. The US Embassy in London charges £1.32+network extras per minute (yes, you read right....) for any discussion related to visas (even waivers, whose paperwork amounts to nearly to a visa anyway....). I may have to waste a whole day going there, even though this is clearly not my fault.

Any ideas?

[intortola]

I use the white I94 and have had that left in my passport, handed in next time i arrived and it was no problem. Maybe if you live near the airport you could give it to a stafff member of the airline you flew from the USA with.

[betterfromabove]

Hi Intortola.....that's a good suggestion! Yes, am fairly near Heathrow, so could do that.

Cheers for that.

[Hartington]

In 2011 we flew to Seattle then up to Juneau, crossed the border into Canada near Skagway, crossed back on the Alaska highway cruised down to Vancouver BC and flew home from there. The last port in the USA had no facilities to hand back the I94W so I looked around on the TSA website when I got home and found a contact address. I sent them my details (and my wifes) and they confirmed they knew we had departed the USA.

Given that you have to fill in your ESTA before you leave that means an electronic record has been created. The you have to submit passport number etc to the airline. Then the airline has to submit an electronic passenger list which includes passport numbers so that can be tagged to the ESTA record. Based on my experience it is my belief that the cruise line submitted a similar passenger list as we departed the USA for Vancouver BC and that was also tagged to the ESTA record showing I had departed and I see no reason why airlines don't do the same thing (i.e. submit a departure passenger list for tagging against your ESTA record).

But the cruise line handed out a piece of paper that said I had to hand in my I94W and completely failed to understand why the fact that I could see no way to do it was a problem. It seems to me that the message about electronic lists hasn't got through to the people who set up SOPs in airlines, cruise companies an the like and the US seem to have an unlimted supply of potentially misleading I94W. But then if you finally exit via a land crossing where there is no airline to submit an electronic list THEN you do need to hand in your I94W.

EDIT: No, the above is wrong. The coment about entering the USA by land woke me up. We filled in ESTA and did NOT need to fill in I94W. The problem on the cruise was that they said I HAD to have an I94W to give up. But it still remains a fact that I couldn't find a way to give up my I94W (which I didn't have but I was interested) and I contact DHS by e-mail and they confirmed we had been recorded out and the only way that could have happene would be if the cruise line told them.

[betterfromabove]

This US visa waiver system really is about as complicated as a visa itself in terms of use, even if we do avoid the whole application hassles.

I came into US by land from Canada and flew out from Boston direct to UK. Not sure if this played a part, although can't see how.

Wasn't clear about who was meant to pull out the green slip, as only encountered one DHS official going airside and he seemed more interested in my boarding pass than my passport.

Think I'm going to check with airline....

[Bealzebub]

This might help?

I did not turn in my I-94 when I left the U.S.; what should I do?
If you returned home with your Form I-94 (white) or Form I-94W (green) Departure Record in your passport, it is possible that your departure was not recorded properly.

If you departed by a commercial air or sea carrier (airlines or cruise ships), your departure from the U.S. can be independently verified, and it is not necessary to take any further action, although holding on to your outbound (from the U.S.) boarding pass - if you still have it - can help facilitate your reentry next time you come back to the United States.

If you departed by land, private vessel or private plane, you will need to take steps to correct the record. Under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), visitors who remain beyond their permitted stay in the United States cannot reenter the U.S. in the future without obtaining a visa from a U.S. Consulate. So if you are a Visa Waiver Program visitor who traveled by land to either Canada or Mexico for an onward flight, it is particularly important for you to register your timely departure if your green I-94W was not taken when you exited the U.S. If you are a VWP visitor and you left the U.S. by an air or sea carrier, you don't need to worry.

If you still have retained your I-94 Departure Record, please send it, along with any documentation that proves you left the United States (see the last question on this page) to:

DHS - CBP SBU
1084 South Laurel Road
London, KY 40744
USA

Do not mail your Form I-94 Departure Record or supporting information to any U.S. Consulate or Embassy, to any other CBP Office in the United States, or to any address other than the one above. Only at this location are we able to make the necessary corrections to CBP records to prevent inconvenience to you in the future. The London, Kentucky office does not answer correspondence, so please do not ask for confirmation that your record has been updated.

[Hartington]

Please note the edit to my post.

[mutt]

Wasn't clear about who was meant to pull out the green slip, The airline is supposed to do it....

Bealzebub gave you the correct answer, i had to do the same thing about two months ago. I sent the form to that address, I also made sure that the next time i entered on a D visa, that i had the CBP stamp an entry.