ISSS News 22 June 2009

An electronic news service for international students and scholars, owned by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services at Binghamton University, State University of New York

Diane Sliwinski, International Health Insurance Coordinator in the office of International Student and Scholar Services, will be away for the next two weeks. Therefore, the Wednesday 1:30pm to 3:15pm walk-in appointments for those with health insurance issues/questions are cancelled for both June 24 and July 1. Walk-in appointments for health insurance issues will resume on Wednesday July 8.

Most students and scholars are familiar with the I-94 card, also known as a departure card. It is the long white card that is distributed on airplanes (as well as land and sea ports) prior to entering the United States. It has three parts, and the bottom portion, the small white “departure” card, is stapled inside your passport after it is stamped by a US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) official at a US port of entry.

Unlike your passport, your US visa stamp, or your I-20 or DS-2019, the I-94 card is the one official travel document that is filled out by you. However, if what you write on the I-94 card (especially your name and date of birth) does not exactly match the information on your I-20 or DS-2019, there can be problems later if you are applying for a U.S. social security number or a driver’s license.

The I-94 card may not look very important, but it is the one U.S. immigration document that confers your ability to legally remain in the United States. It is supposed to stay with your passport, which is why it is frequently stapled next to the US visa page. It is very expensive to replace if lost, as the filing fee for a new I-94 card is $320.

The I-94 card is supposed to be turned in to the airline whenever you travel outside the United States (except if you are traveling to Canada, Mexico or the adjacent islands for a trip of fewer than 30 days in which you will directly return to the United States to resume studies). However, sometimes airlines forget to collect the card.

In response to these issues, the Office of International Student and Scholar Services has added a new web page that explains how to correctly fill out an I-94 card, and instructions on what to do if your I-94 card is not collected when you depart the United States. This information on how to fill out the I-94 card will be provided to new students entering for Fall, but we want to share it with current students as well, since every return to the United States means you are filling out a new I-94 card.

Students who have lost their I-94 card should come to the ISSS for information on how to replace the card.

ISSS-BU is a listserv owned and managed by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, Division of Student Affairs, at the State University of New York at Binghamton. It is the publisher of ISSS-BU News . Permission is granted to freely distribute the information posted to this list as long as its contents remain unchanged.

To sign on to ISSS-BU from an e-mail account on the Binghamton.edu server, send an e-mail message to listserv@listserv.binghamton.edu
Leave the subject line blank. In the message text, type:
subscribe ISSS-BU first name last name
Replace “first name last name” with your name.

If your e-mail account is on a server other than Binghamton.edu,
send an e-mail message to isss@binghamton.edu
In the message text, type: Please subscribe isss-bu, your e-mail address, your first and last name.

If you are a registered student and don't have an e-mail account, you may claim an e-mail address and password from https://buonline.binghamton.edu/banner Be sure to read and follow the instructions carefully. If you encounter difficulty, visit the Help Desk in the lobby of the Computer Services building.