CustomsMobile, a legal-reference platform that tracks the Federal Register, flagged a 27 September 2026 check-for-updates on 8 CFR §231.2—the regulation that obliges commercial carriers departing the United States to transmit electronic passenger manifests and surrender paper I-94 departure cards within 48 hours. Although the substantive text of the rule has not changed since a March 2013 amendment, the refresh signals that CBP is preparing to harmonise the regulation with forthcoming biometric-exit pilots and expanded Pre-Clearance locations. The agency has been testing facial-recognition exit gates at 30 airports and is expected to issue a notice of proposed rule-making later this year that would eventually eliminate the paper I-94 for most categories of travellers. For now, airlines and cruise operators must still collect and submit the paper stub for any non-immigrant alien who was issued an I-94 at entry—unless the vessel is sailing directly to Canada or the aircraft terminates there. Carriers that fail to deliver the forms on time risk fines under INA §231(g), which CBP can waive only with prior authorisation. Corporate travel departments rarely handle I-94 logistics directly, but the record remains critical when foreign assignees file for extensions of stay or future visas. Lost departure records can force employees into lengthy “status reconstruction” requests with USCIS. HR teams should therefore continue to remind foreign nationals to download their electronic I-94s after every trip and to keep boarding passes until the departure has posted in CBP’s system. Companies should watch for an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in the Federal Register that could usher in a fully electronic exit regime—potentially simplifying compliance but also expanding data-sharing with law-enforcement partners.
Source: CustomsMobile – 8 CFR §231.2
