U.S. Customs and Border Protection is ending the routine passport admission stamp. In a Carrier Liaison Program bulletin dated October 1, 2026, CBP says it "will cease the routine use of admission stamps during primary processing." Primary is the first inspection when you arrive; secondary is the extra screening some travelers are sent to.

Your entry record doesn't go away. It lives online. CBP says travelers can get evidence of their admission and their authorized length of stay from its I-94 website or the CBP Link mobile app.

Here's what the bulletin says, the cases where you can still get a stamp, and where to find your record after you land.

What CBP Announced

CBP posted the bulletin, publication number 5680-1026, in its online documents library. It's titled "U.S. Admission Stamp Elimination During Primary Processing."

CBP puts the change inside a wider push that includes automated forms and biometric facial matching. Its stated reason is short: dropping the routine stamp "reduces primary processing times and operating costs."

The bulletin is dated October 1, 2026. It closes with a reminder to airlines to send accurate passenger data, because that data "directly feeds into the I-94 website portal."

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer looks across his booth at an arriving traveler at Dulles International Airport
A CBP officer at an arrivals booth at Dulles International Airport. CBP Photo by George Felton (public domain).

When You Can Still Get a Stamp

The stamp isn't banned. In CBP's words: "When appropriate, admission stamps may still be used during secondary processing and in limited circumstances in primary when processing immigrant visas or upon a traveler's specific request."

That leaves three cases:

  • Secondary processing. If you're referred to secondary, a stamp may still be used there.
  • Immigrant visas. An officer at the primary booth may still stamp when processing an immigrant visa.
  • You ask. A traveler's specific request is one of the limited cases CBP lists for primary.

Note the qualifiers. CBP says stamps "may" still be used, "when appropriate" and in "limited circumstances." If you collect them, ask the officer at the booth.

Where to Find Your Entry Record

CBP's I-94 website is at i94.cbp.dhs.gov. As of October 6, 2026, its "Get Most Recent I-94/I-95" option lets a traveler look up and print their latest Form I-94. CBP calls that form "your lawful record of admission" and says, "If someone requests your admission information, this is the form you would provide."

The same site has a travel history tool for your U.S. arrivals and departures. CBP says that tool is "not an official record for legal purposes," so the I-94 printout is the document to keep.

If the site or the CBP Link app won't give you your record, the bulletin says to contact your local CBP Port of Entry for help.

Our advice: look yourself up after you land. The bulletin says airline passenger data feeds the I-94 site and that travelers rely on that data for things like banking, schooling and employment. Without a stamp, the online record is the proof you'll be asked for, so it's worth checking that it's there and correct.

Who This Affects

The bulletin covers admission stamps at primary processing for arriving travelers. The record CBP points travelers to is the I-94, and CBP's I-94 site says a Form I-94 is needed by all visitors except U.S. citizens, returning resident aliens, aliens with immigrant visas and most Canadian citizens visiting or in transit.

If you need to prove when you were admitted and how long you can stay, that proof now lives online, not in your passport.

If your passport is due for renewal anyway, our look at the U.S. passport changes coming next year and in 2028 covers the State Department side. And if you clear customs with Global Entry, CBP replaced that app in September; here's what changed.

What to Do Now

Don't expect a routine stamp at the primary booth. If you want one, ask the officer. If you're visiting the U.S., pull your I-94 from i94.cbp.dhs.gov or the CBP Link app after you land, check it, and save a copy. If it's missing or wrong, contact your local CBP Port of Entry.

Sources

  1. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Carrier Liaison Program bulletin "U.S. Admission Stamp Elimination During Primary Processing" (dated October 1, 2026; publication 5680-1026; read 2026-10-06): routine stamps cease at primary; reasons; stamps still possible in secondary, for immigrant visas or on request; evidence of admission and length of stay via the I-94 website or CBP Link app; contact local port of entry; airline APIS data feeds the I-94 portal
  2. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, I-94 website (read 2026-10-06): Get Most Recent I-94/I-95; lawful record of admission; travel history not an official record; who needs a Form I-94

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