U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) quietly signaled another step in its long-running digital modernisation drive this week, confirming that officers have begun **discontinuing the routine placement of ink entry stamps** during primary inspection at airports and land borders. The change, revealed in a Carrier Liaison Program bulletin dated 1 October and widely reported on 3 October, means most foreign visitors will leave inspection with a clean passport but an automatically generated electronic I-94 admission record instead. The ink stamp has been a familiar—if increasingly ceremonial—feature of international travel for decades. CBP began moving away from paper I-94 cards in 2013 and has steadily expanded mobile-first tools such as the CBP One app. For business-mobility teams the latest shift eliminates yet another physical document that had to be photocopied and archived in HR files. Employers sponsoring non-immigrant staff are now reminded to pull the I-94 print-out from i94.cbp.dhs.gov within 24 hours of arrival and to update internal compliance systems promptly. Travellers may still **request a physical stamp** and officers retain discretion to stamp during secondary inspection or certain visa-processing scenarios. Immigration attorneys note that a stamped passport can still be helpful evidence in DMV or Social-Security encounters, so travellers with time-sensitive downstream tasks may wish to ask for one at the booth. CBP did not publish a single nationwide “go-live” date, and carriers have been told implementation may roll out by port. Global mobility managers are therefore advising staff travelling in the coming weeks to double-check both the passport and the I-94 to ensure class of admission and expiry dates align. Any error must be corrected swiftly, ideally before leaving the airport.
Source: VisaVerge
