ESTA authorisation and the I-94 W

I have my ESTA authorisation, do I need to fill out the I-94 W form? 

The answer is NO. The famous I-94 W form was previously required for ESTA authorisation holders. However, since the summer of 2010, US Customs and Border Protection as well as Immigration Services in the USA have lifted this obligation.

The reason for this is simple: when you make the ESTA request online, the questions included on the green I-94 W form are already answered on the ESTA form:

• Do you have a communicable disease; physical or mental disorder; or are you a drug abuser or addict?
• Have you ever been arrested or convicted for an offense or crime involving moral turpitude or a violation related to a controlled substance; or have been arrested or convicted for two or more offenses for which the aggregate sentence to confinement was five years or more; or have been a controlled substance trafficker; or are you seeking entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities?
• Have you ever been or are you now involved in espionage or sabotage; or in terrorist activities; or genocide; or between 1933 and 1945 were you involved in any way, in persecutions associated with Nazi Germany or its allies?
• Are you seeking to work in the U.S.; or have you ever been excluded and deported; or been
• previously removed from the United States or procured or attempted to procure a visa or entry into the U.S. by fraud or misrepresentation?
• Have you ever detained, retained or withheld custody of a child from a U.S. citizen granted custody of the child?
• Have you ever been denied a U.S. visa or entry into the U.S. or had a U.S. visa cancelled?

So, if your answers to these questions are negative, the American authorities can be assured that you do not represent any threat to the country. There is no need to answer them for a second time, which is why the I-94 W form is no longer required.

IMPORTANT: If before the summer of 2010 you visited the USA with a visa or ESTA authorisation, and if the I-94 (white) or the I-94 W (green) has not been removed from your passport, it is IMPERATIVE that you let the relevant authorities know to avoid any problems.

Attach the ‘forgotten’ form to an explanation letter, including the reasons for your travel to the USA, and send it to the following address:

ACS Inc.

1084 South Laurel Road,
London, Kentucky 40744
USA

Returning the I-94 or I-94 W form when leaving the USA is an obligatory step that allows the authorities to confirm that you have left US territory and that you are not staying illegally.

Make sure you complete this step to avoid any problems when you return to the USA with a new ESTA authorisation.