The Paperwork Formalities to Be Completed When Entering the U.S.

Millions of people from all over the world visit the USA daily through various means of transportations like by air, by road or by sea. Each of such visitors has to fulfill certain paperwork prior to entering to the USA. These formalities are of immense importance and any small error in this paperwork can cause lot of problems at a later date. There are two main categories of people coming to the USA. First are foreign residents coming to the USA after obtaining visa in their home countries. And the second category is USA residents having valid green cards and the USA citizens.

Each transportation carrier supplies the necessary forms required to fill in the air crafts only. These forms are to be completed in all respects prior to landing at the USA. The foreign residents coming to the USA on any type of visa issued by USA consulate in their home countries need to fill in two forms, one for immigration that is form no. 94, and the second one is for customs declaration purpose. The immigration form no. 94 is a simple form in which the details of the passport and the visas are to be filled in. If you are coming from the countries that do not need the visa for entering inside USA, you have to fill in the form no. 94B. You have to print these forms in either black or blue pens and in all capital letters. Make sure to write your passport numbers and visa details very accurately avoiding the overwriting. Make sure to recheck all the details once the form is completed. The bottom counterfoil of this immigration form shall be stapled with your passport by the immigration officer after stamping the time period for which you are allowed to stay in the USA. You must be very careful to preserve this immigration counterfoil till your departure from the USA with your passport. If this counterfoil is lost or misplaced, you can have the problems while leaving the country. Make sure not to exceed your stay than the period mentioned on the immigration counterfoil. The maximum period allowed for stay in the USA for visitors is six months. However, the immigration officer has all the powers to put the stamp of time period based on the validity of the reason you give for your visit to the USA.

The second form that is to be filled in by every one entering the USA is the customs declaration form. This form is having some questions pertaining to the goods brought by you in the USA. The food items, plants and vegetations, weeds and the spices of some types are not allowed inside the USA. Be very careful while filling in the form and never try to lie about the type and the cost of the items brought by you. You must be very honest and truthful as otherwise you may have to face serious problems at the airport with the customs officer. If you are bringing more than $10000 in the USA, you must declare it and show the source of this money. The customs form is taken by the custom officer while you go out of the airport. Only one customs declaration form is to be filled per family, while the immigration form is to be filled one for each member of the family. The key factor in filling this form is the clarity and the truth. I have seen many cases where the tourists have to suffer a lot after exhaustive travel of many hours due to hiding of some of the facts while filling in the forms. If you have any doubts in filling of these forms, please consult the airlines officers. You must keep your passport and visa handy with you in the aircraft as you would need these while filling in these forms.

Though, this procedure appears simple, it can result in to major problems in the immigration and customs. Hence, all care and attention must be given while entering in to the USA. As I have been a very frequent traveler, I have tried to cover the most salient features of this procedure. I am sure this article shall help one and all while entering in the USA from abroad.