Not stamping my foreign passport at US border

Question

I have a question about having not been stamped in my passport at the US border. I am a non US citizen and arrived to JFK airport last year with a B1/B2 type visa. A woman officer standing at the lines asked me where I was from and then told me to use the APC machine.

So after filling all the steps at the APC machine a white little paper with my photo and info was printed which I gave to the officer who was standing thereby. He did not even look at my passport or the paper I gave to him and just let me in to the baggage claim.

I was so confused cause I knew for sure I needed a stamp in my passport, that's why I returned back to the same officer and re-asked if I needed a stamp. On this he started kidding me like "GO GO HOME GIRL" and smiling (meaning that I did not need tge stamp). So what else should I have done? I collected my baggage. After that I'm still confused and nervous about the fact that I don't have an entry stamp. How do you think will I have any problems when I travel to US again while entering

Answer 1

The USA (as well as many other countries) are moving away from passport stamps to digital entry records.

You can look up your USA entry record here: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/

It will tell you when you entered, how long you were granted entry until, what status, and when you left. It’s good to occasionally check to ensure it’s correct.

For other countries, you can usually find the government database by googling “countryname entry record”. For Canada such a search yields: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/agency-agence/reports-rapports/pia-efvp/atip-aiprp/thr-rav-eng.html

Sometimes you need a physical entry stamp even when its become optional at the airport. For example, Japan has moved to electronic passport entry but visitors still need the visitors passport stamp for JR Rail Passes and duty free. There’s a secondary station at immigration in japan where you can request a stamp but it’s an extra step. For Canada, for example, I’ve had to ask for a stamp even at a manned booth. If you really need a stamp, then ask the officer when he or she still has the passport in his hands as it becomes difficult for them once they clear the screen for the next visitor.

Answer 2

So what else should I have done?

Trusted that the officers were correct, or asked to speak to a supervisor who might have been able to explain the system in more detail and with more seriousness than you seem to have gotten from the officer.

How do you think will I have any problems when I travel to US again while entering[?]

As amply explained elsewhere, you will not.

Answer 3

Given that the entry stamp has some value to landlords and small shops who do not pay staff to keep up on immigration changes, I would have asked them to do the formality of the stamp, framing it as a souvenir of your travels. Entry officers may do this as a courtesy if asked.

If you happen to live near a land border with Canada, the border is festooned with sleepy little border crossings where a state highway meets a provincial road. An officer there might be more inclined to indulge a vanity request for a paper stamp. Just don't go too small, or you may face a TV camera instead of an officer.