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I have a question about the B1/B2 visa for Mexican citizens:

My Mexican friend will join me in the USA during Christmas and she has a Mexican passport with a Visa B1 / B2 "crossing border card".

She will fly from Mexico for the first time to Las Vegas.

She lives near the US border and, since April, she has often gone to the US respecting the area of ​​22 miles 'free zone' into the US.

She never needed to fill out the I-94 form because, until recently, Mexicans did not need to fill out this card if they entered by land.

I checked on the website for her I-94 forms and actually find all her entries into the US but nowhere are the departures mentioned.

Do you think this can be a problem or is it normal for Mexicans that the controls are different?

Anyway, will she have to fill out an I-94 form on the plane since she arrives in Las Vegas by air?

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The border crossing card allows its bearer to enter the US without a passport and without an I-94 under certain circumstances. Mexicans with a passport and visa (or BCC) can also be admitted without an I-94 in certain circumstances. The circumstances required include entering either at a land border crossing in Arizona or being admitted to the state of Mexico. This therefore does not apply to flights arriving in Las Vegas.

She never needed to fill out the I-94 form because recently apparently, the Mexicans do not need to fill this card if they go by land.

If they are staying longer than 72 hours or 30 days, depending on the circumstances of their entry, they need an I-94.

I check on the website forms I-94 and actually I find all entries in the US but by cons at no time it is mentioned the departures of the United States. Do you think this can be a problem or is it normal for Mexicans the controls are different?

This is probably not going to be a problem. If it were, it should have come up before.

Anyway, she will have to fill out an I-94 form on the plane since she arrives in Las Vegas by air?

No, paper I-94 forms for arriving air travelers were eliminated a few years ago. Her I-94 record will be created electronically using data collected from the airline and/or from her passport when she presents it to the immigration officer.

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  • Thank you very much for all these precisions. So there are so many things I did not know, about the I-94 form, I thought it still existed in paper format ... I still remain on a doubt. Why there is no US exit control for Mexicans with a B1 / B2 Visa by land, I think it's a bit tricky because at no point does the immigration officer can know if she returned to Mexico or not. Especially that in the website I-94 it is only mentioned entries. Do you know who we can help to make sure we do not have to go back to customs in Las Vegas?
    – Fred
    Nov 12, 2018 at 20:59
  • @Fred entry at the land border can still result in a paper I-94, but obviously it won't if the traveler doesn't require an I-94. The US has traditionally had no exit controls at all beyond collecting I-94s from people as they leave (usually done by the airline). They've concluded a mutual agreement with Canada to exchange land border entry records for use as an exit record in the other country, but I believe no such agreement exists with Mexico. If you really want to be sure, you can collect evidence of her presence in Mexico that would prove she had left the US on time.
    – phoog
    Nov 12, 2018 at 21:07
  • @ Phoog: Thank you for that answer. I find it really surprising that there is no control out because there are probably thousands or tens of thousands of Mexicans who go to the United States each year by car by land and also the same person who fly one day or another to the United States. she already has 6-7 one-day trips to the US by bus and I think it's very complicated now to collect evidence of returning to Mexico. Since there is no I_94 form for Mexiacans with a "crossing border card", how is it possible to find US entries in the I-94 website? is all that strange?
    – Fred
    Nov 12, 2018 at 21:19
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    @Fred The BCC is usually issued to people who live near the US border and cross frequently by land. While exits may not be tracked, it's generally not considered a problem as these cards are issued to known frequent visitors who are considered unlikely to remain in the US. It's not unheard of for such people to cross daily and return the same day.
    – Michael Hampton
    Nov 12, 2018 at 21:51
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    Anyway, she can travel by air, but unlike by land where she requires only the BCC card, when entering the US by air she must carry both her BCC card and passport. The procedure for her will be not much different than crossing by bus or walking.
    – Michael Hampton
    Nov 12, 2018 at 21:54

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