The Form I-94 is a List A document for the Form I-9 (more details from the USCIS found here). The “Duration of Status” or D/S on your Form I-94 is the official record of an individual's authorized length of stay in the United States.
When submitting your Form I-9 with the Form I-94, it can be unclear where and when you should put the D/S status.
In this article, we will go over what it will look like to fill out the Form I-9 in WorkBright with a D/S status.
Note: If your admission stamp or paper Form I-94 contains a specific date, then that is the date by which you must leave the United States. If you have D/S on your admission stamp or paper Form I-94, you may remain in the United States as long as you continue your course of studies, remain in your exchange program, or qualify for employment.
Let’s begin.
Your staff will follow the standard onboarding process for the Form I-9 once they enter their account.
Once they reach the section for Citizenship, they will select “A non-citizen authorized to work” and submit the date that their authorization expires.
On the second half of this page, they will fill out one of the options for identification. Once filled out, they may click next to move to the next page.
Here, they will choose their documentation. In this case, it will be the second option, “Foreign passport and Form I-94/I-94A for a nonimmigrant alien authorized to work for a specific employer because of his or her status”.
Once they have selected this option, they can move to the next page.
On this page, they will provide their identification information, in this case, their passport and associated information. Once filled out, they may click next.
Now we are at the Form I-94, where they will upload the associated documents and fill in the appropriate information.
In the expiration date section, if they have a “Duration of Status” or D/S on their form, they will put D/S in that section.
Note: The admitted-until date or D/S notation, shown on your admission stamp or paper Form I-94, is the official record of your authorized length of stay in the United States. You cannot use the visa expiration date in determining or referring to your permitted length of stay in the United States.
In the expiration date section, if they have a “Duration of Status” or D/S on their form, they will put D/S in that section.
Note: The admitted-until date or D/S notation, shown on your admission stamp or paper Form I-94, is the official record of your authorized length of stay in the United States. You cannot use the visa expiration date in determining or referring to your permitted length of stay in the United States.
Next, you will need to upload Additional Documentation for Student and Exchange Visas. As D/S was used in the expiration date for the Form I-94, you will need to provide either an I-20 or DS-2019 in this section.
Please take a look at these articles from the USCIS for more information. 7.4.2 F-1 and M-1 Nonimmigrant Students and 7.4.1 Exchange Visitors (J-1).
Once this section is complete, they will follow the steps to complete the Form I-9.
If the steps were followed correctly, they will see on their completed Form I-9 D/S in their expiration under List A.
If there are any errors, you can reject the Form I-9 submission, and the employee can correct the errors.
You have now learned the basics of the “Duration of Status” or D/S on the Form I-94.