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The Lukeville border crossing (US-Mexico) apparently has a US exit checkpoint, which is a huge advantage for foreign visitors, as their exits need to be electronically recorded.

(for those who don't know, the US doesn't do border control on exit in general, and a US exit stamp doesn't exist)

What other crossings, if any, have this facility? Particularly at the Mexican border, since when entering Canada, the information is transmitted by Canada to the US anyway.

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    Is there anything at Lukeville that actually would record your exit differently from other border crossings? They may have people there sometimes who are interested in looking for weapons or currency, but that doesn't inherently mean they collect passports and electronically record exits there.
    – Zach Lipton
    Commented Oct 6, 2018 at 6:55
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    @ZachLipton What it means is that there are CBP officers available to help you with it. "Hello, I'm going to Mexico and am not returning anytime now, so could you please record my exit in the I-94 system?" Normally when exiting to Mexico by land, it's not recorded at all, which obviously isn't an issue for US citizens, but could well be for foreigners, esp. VWP travellers.
    – Crazydre
    Commented Oct 6, 2018 at 6:58
  • @Crazydre since the VWP period of admission nominally persists while a VWP traveler is in Mexico, it is not clear to me what advantage would be gained by most VWP travelers in having an exit to Mexico recorded in the I-94 system.
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 22, 2019 at 23:26
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    @phoog If they're leaving the US across a land border and not coming back, they need to get their exit recorded so they're not listed as having over-stayed, right?
    – David Richerby
    Commented Jan 23, 2019 at 0:28
  • @DavidRicherby well yes, but many of them will also need evidence of having left Mexico.
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 23, 2019 at 2:45

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It's not clear to me that the officers in the video you link to even looked at the driver's passport; they certainly did not scan it. I also doubt that they would have done so had the driver presented a foreign passport.

CBP inspects travelers sporadically on exit. There's no way to guarantee that this will happen, and if it happens to someone with an I-94, there's no way to guarantee that the exit is recorded in the I-94 database.

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  • At least you can ask for it since the officers are available, and what I wonder is at what other crossings this is possible (as it's not most according to what I've read)
    – Crazydre
    Commented Jan 23, 2019 at 6:08
  • @Crazydre it's also not clear to me that those officers would be willing or even able to record the exit, although I suppose it's likely. I would guess that they'd send you to the office for that. Also, consider what would happen if those officers hadn't been there: it would be like any other US border crossing. It should be possible for outbound travelers to visit the office (for example if they need to declare something). A departing alien ought to be able to ask to have the departure recorded, though CBP would need a way of ensuring that they actually leave after that.
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 23, 2019 at 15:48
  • What I'm trying to get at is finding out abotu possibilities to exit by land to Mexico without having to roll the dice on re-entry (because that's what you're doing if not returning within the original admission period - I've had a person not be lucky in this regard, with the officer simply "not feeling like buying" the countless evidence presented, and having grief with the person's nationality to boot)
    – Crazydre
    Commented Jan 23, 2019 at 16:09
  • @Crazydre did that person leave Mexico? If not, then why would recording the exit have helped? The VWP "clock" rules apply when someone is in Mexico regardless of whether the exit from the US was recorded. In what way was the person "unlucky"? I suppose they were denied entry to the US -- on what grounds? What was the person's nationality?
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 23, 2019 at 16:13
  • The person had spent 2 weeks in the US, then one week in Mexico before flying home. As evidence of having left the US, they had a Mexican entry stamp from the land border, while as evidence of having left Mexico, they had the original boarding pass. The officer, though, even after being shown the Mexican entry stamp and outbound boarding pass, essentially shrugged his shoulders saying "I see no hard proof that you left the US" and "sorry, I'm not feeling like buying it like that" so the person was sent to secondary for 3 hours and then sent back home on the false grounds of overstaying.
    – Crazydre
    Commented Jan 23, 2019 at 16:18
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The border crossing you mentioned does have CBP officers and that's it. There is no difference or speciality from any other border crossing. You definitely won't get an exit stamp or recording from there.

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  • Not exit stamps, but records need to be made somehow or else you'll be classified as an overstayer
    – Crazydre
    Commented Jan 22, 2019 at 16:34
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    @Crazydre You can get a record made by sending your docs to the appropriate address, or by re-entering and exiting again by air or to Canada. They won't classify anyone as an overstayer for not having an exit record; they just presume that you are an overstayer and allow you to rebut that presumption with appropriate evidence.
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 22, 2019 at 23:21

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