I-94 at Land Border, then Flying
 

I'm a UK citizen Canadian PR. I'll soon be making my first land entry into the USA.

IIRC, I'll receive a paper I-94 and that'll be good for multiple entries into and out of the USA within its 90-day validity.

However, what happens if I say, enter and leave the US via a land border, and then fly into the USA (from Canada) and leave again. Is my paper I-94 still valid for land crossings or has it been invalidated by the creation of another I-94 by the air entry?

Re: I-94 at Land Border, then Flying
 

You don't know that your I-94 will be good for 90 days. If they ask you when you intend to return to Canada, you're I-94 might only be for the length of the current proposed visit.

Re: I-94 at Land Border, then Flying
 

Sure, but what if I'm given a 90-day I-94?

Re: I-94 at Land Border, then Flying
 

If he's traveling under the VWP (assume so as he mentioned 90 days and no mention of a B-2 or not being eligible for the VWP) it's 90 days or nothing on the first entry. VWP is always 90 days, even if you specifically state that you will only be here for a week.

Re: I-94 at Land Border, then Flying
 

And it is per entry.

Re: I-94 at Land Border, then Flying
 

Well, not always. Time spent in Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas does not re-set the clock. As happened to me a few years ago. Arrived by air into the US, got 90-day stamp. Left a week later. 5 weeks after that entered by land from Canada. Had been in the U.K. for the 5 weeks between visits but did not get a new stamp as land border bloke said "the previous stamp is still valid - don't think you can re-set the click by hopping over to Canada". I was only staying 10 days so it wasn't worth arguing but the assumption had been made that I'd spent the 5 weeks in Canada.

For the OP it might be different as Canada is his home, not a side jaunt.

Re: I-94 at Land Border, then Flying
 

I would assume that your most recently issued I-94 takes precedence just as it would have done in the days when paper I-94 forms were issued for both land, air (and sea) travelers.

In any case, why does it matter?

Re: I-94 at Land Border, then Flying
 

That would be my guess as well.

As for why, I have four trips scheduled to the US within the next few months and they'll be split between air and land crossings. I want to make sure I do everything right, and knowing how complex US immigration law is, I wondered if I could fall foul of something by using a land I-94 after an air trip, for example.

Re: I-94 at Land Border, then Flying
 

The last I-94 (paper or electronic) you get is what controls the period of admission. You can use the passport stamp electronic I-94 obtained at the airport to reenter at a landborder crossing if you have not left contiguous territory of adjacent islands. I would monitor the validity of the electronic I-94 online. You don't want to enter for a 5 day visit with 3 days left on your 90-days. They can issue a new 90-day period of admission if they want to. You may want to surrender tThe paper form upon departure by land if your next arrival will be by air to reduce the likelihood of confusion.

Re: I-94 at Land Border, then Flying
 

Yeah I would just surrender it and get a new one next time you enter.

I just thought I would point out the reverse scenario appears to have caused DHS some huge confusion with Canadian visitors, because if you arrive by air, they record your arrival through the manifest, but if you then leave by land, there is no record of the departure as Canadian visitors don't get I-94s. As a result you will often see newspaper articles going on about the huge amount of overstays by Canadians but in the DHS statistics there is an asterisk which points out that the figure is almost certainly wrong.

This will change shortly as C-23 now has royal assent so CBP and CBSA under the "beyond the border" agreement will sometime next year link their entry systems together for Americans and Canadians. It was linked in 2014 for third country nationals, so if you have an I-94W, CBSA knows about it when you enter Canada.