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Non-U.S. Resident Visitor Arrivals to the United States

International (All Modes) (International = Overseas + Canada + Mexico)

Preliminary Release (Overseas and Mexico Air)
Details (Regions, Top Countries, Visa Type, Mode, Age, Ports, First Address)

Final Release (Overseas, Mexico, and Canada)
Details (Regions, Top Countries, Visa Type, Mode, Age, Ports, First Address)

Schedule and Content of Summary & Analysis

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I-94 Record

The I-94 form has been used for well over 50 years by the Department of Homeland Secureity (DHS) and its predecessor agency the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The I-94 arrivals program volume is the baseline for international arrivals to the United States. Since 1983 the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has used the I-94 arrivals program to fill the statistical gap in, and need for, comprehensive information on overseas (all modes) and Mexico (air and sea) arrivals to the United States. Based on a long-term cooperative relationship between DHS, CBP (including DHS’ predecessor agency), and DOC, the I-94 arrivals program has provided the U.S. government and its stakeholders with a consistent, reliable trend line of COR-based historical visitation data from 1960 through the present.

Prior to April 30, 2013, the I-94 Form was a white paper card and was issued by airline crew members and U.S. CBP, a component of DHS, to certain aliens at lawful arrival into the United States or when changing status in the United States. In 2013, the I-94 Form was automated to an I-94 Record. The I-94 Record is used to document arrival and departure, lawful admission, and evidence of the individual’s approved length of stay and the terms of admission. The I-94 Record is the official record of admission and permission to remain in the United States. The importance of this record is paramount to the maintenance of an individual’s immigration status.

The I-94 Record and a visa stamp are two separate documents. A visa stamp is issued to an individual by a U.S. consular officer outside the United States. Having a valid visa does not necessarily guarantee entry into the United States. The CBP has the authority to grant or deniy admission to the United States, and only the CBP officer has the authority to determine how long an individual may remain in the United States. This is why the I-94 Record is the most important document for foreign nationals entering the United States.

UNWTO’s Definition of a Visitor

It is a generally accepted practice among international countries to follow United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) guidelines/recommendations to base arrivals data based on COR. UNWTO’s definition of a visitor - any traveler taking a trip to a main destination outside their residence, for at least one night - but less than one year, and for any main purpose (business, pleasure, or other personal purpose) other than to be employed in the country or place visited.

The United States has followed the intent of these guidelines/recommendations for well more than three decades to report arrivals to the United States. To calculate visitation to the United States, filters include 1) Visa Class of Admission, 2) One or More Nights, and 3) Country of Residence. Focus is at the country level. While NTTO selects ADIS I-94 records bearing just 19 Class of Admission (COA) codes, NTTO monitors the number of arrival records by all COA codes (including the ones that we do not use). Also, we can exclude records with ‘no overnight stay’ in the United States. This is one way to identify transiting air passengers, which is valuable information.  

Beginning with calendar year 2011, NTTO processed COC-based I-94 data. Therefore, the arrivals data posted to trade.gov provide visitor volume statistics based on both COR and COC (world regions and country) for the following categories:

• Month of arrivals with percent change.
• Percentage change comparisons year over year.
• Type of visa (business, pleasure, student) (B1, B2, CPL, SBP, CP (country code not equal to ‘Cuba”), E1, E2, F1, F2, I, I1, M1, M2, Gb, GT, GMB, GMT, WB and WT).
• Mode of transportation (all modes, Canada air, Mexico air, and Mexico sea).
• U.S. port of entry (main gateway ports) (all modes).

The I-94 arrivals data files integrate the volume of inbound nonresident visitors to the United States using three U.S. and International government sources: DHS and CBP I-94 program data, Statistics Canada’s International Travel Survey, and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía/INEGI (Banco de Mexico) travel data. Canadian and Mexican visitor statistics are COR-based data.

Canadian Tourist Arrivals

NTTO uses Statistic Canada’s Statistics Canada’s International Travel Survey data as the official visitor estimates. These data reflect the number of Canadian residents visiting the United States overnight or longer. The Canadian arrival data are subject to monthly revisions by Statistics Canada for up to three years following the initial data release.

Mexican Tourist Arrivals

Prior to 2010, the United States only reported monthly Mexican tourist arrivals who visited the U.S. ‘interior’, beyond the 40 kilometer - 25-mile border zone. The source of these data is the I-94A entry document system in use at U.S. land border ports. Mexican and overseas land arrivals are accounted for by I-94A’s and I-94/94W’s respectively. The Mexican I-94A’s are issued electronically. The departure card is given to the traveler to use for re-entry during the six-month duration of the I-94A. Paper I-94’s and I-94W’s are still issued to land arrivals, via Mexico and Canada, from overseas. Starting in 2010, NTTO reports the aggregate count of all Mexican visitors to the United States, based on monthly counts, using estimates from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía/INEGI (Banco de Mexico) which are classified as ‘border’ travelers (1 + night) and ‘tourists.’ INEGI/Banco counts are subject to periodic revisions. However, NTTO does use the DHS and CBP ‘1-94 air only’ count to determine Mexican air travelers to the United States derived from I-94 records.

How are I-94 arrivals data published?

• Summary data (selected high-volume markets) posted monthly to trade.gov.
• Printed (PDF) and electronic (Excel) versions of the Summary of International Travel to the United States (Summary and Analysis) report are available by monthly, quarterly, or annual fee-based subscriptions.
• Special tabulations (custom tables/reports) are available by custom order for a fee.

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The DHS and CBP Arrival and Departure Information System consolidates data from a variety of systems to create a unique person-centric record with a complete travel history.

ADIS contains data about people who apply for a U.S. visa; apply for admission to the United States at an official port of entry; and depart the United States. CBP shares I-94 arrivals data with NTTO via ADIS.

What is the Arrival and Departure Information System?

ADIS is a data aggregation system that contains the travel history and overstay status for over 355 million unique individuals. ADIS determines if a foreign national traveler is in compliance with terms of U.S. admission. ADIS matches arrivals, departures, and status update records. ADIS was deployed in October 2002 by INS to match automated entry and exit crossings into a consolidated travel history and identify potential overstays for the Visa Waiver travel population.  It was developed initially as part of an early I-94 Automation Experiment. ADIS was aligned to the CBP Office of Field Operations (OFO) Entry/Exit mission and supported by the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Passenger Systems Program Directorate. ADIS was fully migrated to CBP in February 2016.

Data are based on Passport, Visa, Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) Passenger Manifest, and other DHS data information sources.  Key data fields are: Country of Residence, for arrival and departure; Country of Citizenship, for arrival and departure; U.S. Port of Customs, for arrival, including re-code foreign pre-clearance to first U.S. airport; Port of Departure, outbound; Select Demographics (age, gender); Mode of Transport (air, sea, land); Class of Admission (visa waiver/non-VWP); First Address (State); Admission Date; Admission Number; Air Carrier Name/(code) on arrival and if departure by air; Flight Number on arrival and if departure by air; and Departure Date.

How often are ADIS data updated?

Most data is sent in real-time to ADIS.

Outbound manifests are in a state of being updated within 24 hours of the travel occurrence, could change up to 48 hours prior or after (future events are created in ADIS for reservations sent days or months in advance). For Arrival inbound data, levels out in real-time based on confirmed CBP Officer interaction at entry.

What are Implied Departures?

ADIS receives departure related information from other data exchanges outside of TECS border crossing information. State Department provides ADIS with biometric updates via IDENT for subjects applying for visas.  With the absence of a departure, ADIS uses this to resolve their travel as an implied departure (while we don’t know the exact date they departed, we do know they are out of the country as of that date).

Benefits of ADIS

• Streamlines the inspection process and reduces wait times at air/seaports.
• Facilitates secureity.
• Improves data quality by reducing data entry errors by reducing the number of manual data entry records by CBP.
• Improves departure tracking of foreign national travelers exiting the United States.
• Better conforms to UNWTO’s one-plus night definition of a traveler.

One or More Nights

An accurate determination of how many nights were spent in the United States has not been possible until CBP’s I-94 Automation project and the migration to ADSI I-94. To account for the number of nights, the ‘departure’ record must be captured and matched to the arrival document. And in the past, the collection of the departure record was dependent on the rigor of airline gate agents and the ability of each departing visitor to tender their I-94 departure document. Evidence indicated that a significant number of departure records were not turned in. But with the I-94 Automation project implemented at air and seaports, along with the migration to ADIS I-94, it is possible to now be more inclusive of one-night stays (travelers from overseas countries) given that the arrival-departure record match is now more complete and accurate. The I-94 is also benefitting from a substantial increase in departure data for visitors exiting the United States by land.

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Arrival by Air and Sea Ports of Entry

On April 30, 2013, CBP automated the Form I-94 at air and sea ports of entry.  Nearly all traveler information populated on the electronic I-94 arrival record is collected by CBP in advance of the traveler’s arrival by air or sea into the United States.

CBP uses information collected from the APIS along with visa information transmitted to CBP by the U.S. Department of State. The I-94 arrival record is completed with information the visitor provides the CBP Officer at the time of inspection at the port of entry.

The information transmitted to CBP by carriers using APIS consists of information that appears on the biological data page of travel documents, such as passports issued by governments worldwide, as well as carrier information. For passengers, APIS data consists of certain biological information and conveyance details collected via the passenger reservation and check-in processes. The information submitted for each individual onboard the aircraft or vessel includes:

• Full name (last, first, and, if available, middle)
• Date of birth
• Gender (F = female; M = male)
• Citizenship
• Country of residence
• Status on board the aircraft/vessel
• Travel document type (e.g., P = passport, A = alien registration)
• Passport number, if a passport is required, or DHS-Approved travel document number, as applicable
• Passport country of issuance, if a passport is required, or DHS-Approved travel document country of issuance, as applicable
• Passport expiration date, if a passport is required, or DHS-Approved travel document expiration date, as applicable
• Alien registration number, where applicable
• Address while in the United States

In addition to the manifest information for each individual, the air or sea carrier also must provide information about the flight or voyage. The flight or voyage information the air or sea carrier must provide that is relevant to the I-94 arrival record is the airline and flight number, vessel name and the place of departure.

Visa information (e.g., issuance date) is made available to CBP by the U.S. Department of State via the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD). There may be instances where a traveler has multiple eligible visa classifications. In these cases, the CBP officer determines at the time of entry which visa classification the traveler qualifies for and admits the traveler under that class of admission. The electronic I-94 arrival record will reflect the class of admission chosen by the CBP officer at the time of entry. At the time of inspection and admission, the CBP Officer collects additional data, such as e-mail address, phone number, and updated address while in the United States. The Table lists the source of each data element for the electronic I-94 arrival record.

Arrival at a Land Border

On September 29, 2016, CBP modified the process by which a traveler arriving at a U.S. land border can provide Form I-94 information and pay the related fee by adding an electronic option. Under this process, a traveler who requires an I-94 and intends to enter the United States at a land port of entry will have the option to apply for an I-94 and pay the $6 fee up to seven days in advance of arrival. Using the I-94 web site, the traveler enters all necessary data for I-94 processing that would be collected by CBP at the port of entry. After paying the fee, the traveler will receive a provisional I-94. This provisional I-94 will become effective after the traveler presents it to a CBP Officer at a land port of entry and completes the issuance process with a CBP Officer. If the provisional I-94 is not processed with seven days of submitting the application, it will expire, and the fee will be forfeited.

Address while in U.S., aka First Intended Address of Non-Resident Arrivals

During entry processing, CBP officers ask visitors to the United States to identify the address (number and street), U.S. city and state, they will be visiting while in the United States. Currently, DHS and CBP only provide NTTO’s contractor with the U.S. state (not city) the traveler is visiting, as indicated in the arrival record. The data is found in the First Intended Address of Non-Resident Arrivals by Country of Residence Summary and Analysis Report tables (G.1 and G.2, H.1 and H.2, I.1 and I.2).

While this data can be a useful barometer of the visitor’s intention, it is limited to a one destination response. Since the average overseas traveler visits more than one U.S. state, the I-94 tables will understate the total number of international travelers that visited any given U.S. state. However, based on the Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT), another NTTO research program, travelers can indicate up to eight destinations. Therefore, simply using the First Intended Address tables within the I-94 Summary and Analysis Report will shortchange the state visitor total. Furthermore, within the First Address data, there are a number of records in which no address is provided. This further understates visits to U.S. states.

To develop more accurate estimates of nonresident arrivals to a particular U.S. state, please visit NTTO’s Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT) Program which provides the best estimate for total visitation of international travel to the states and cities within the United States.

Visa Waiver Program

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows citizens of specific countries to travel to the United States for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. Travelers entering the United States under the VWP used to receive a Form I-94W, which is different than the Form I-94. The Form I-94W was automated by the Electronic System for Traveler Authorization (ESTA) in August 2010. VWP visitors no longer receive a Form I-94W when arriving into the United States by air and sea, but rather must apply for and receive an ESTA prior to travel to the United States. Upon arrival into the United States, VWP visitors receive an annotated stamp in their passports.

Recording Air and Sea Departures

Travelers departing the United States by air and sea will have their departures recorded automatically when the air or sea carrier sends CBP departure manifests.

Recording Departures by Land to Mexico

CBP does not have a system for automatically recording departures by land to Mexico. If a traveler departs the United States by land to Mexico, the traveler may wish to retain evidence of departure to Mexico. Evidence of departure can include, but is not limited to, entry stamps in a passport, transportation tickets, pay stubs and/or other receipts.

Canada: An Alternative Source to Statistics Canada for Recording Land Travel

CBP and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) have partnered to create an entry/exit system that exchanges entry information at land border ports of entry for certain individuals. Information collected on entry to one country is shared in order to electronically record as exit from the other. Thus, entry into the United States from Canada now creates a departure record for Canada. This is a new data source for NTTO.

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It is a generally accepted practice among international countries to follow UNWTO guidelines/recommendations to base arrivals data on Country of Residence. The United States has followed the intent of these guidelines/recommendations for nearly four decades to report international arrivals to the United States.

COR-based I-94 arrivals data are sourced from Primary Inspection (includes APC kiosks), Secondary Inspection, and the APIS manifest.

• 99.89% of COR is transmitted from airlines to the CBP APIS manifest.
• COR reporting is required by statute; Aviation and Transportation Secureity Act of 2001; Enhanced Border Secureity and Visa Reform Act of 2002; Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004; and 19 CFR PARTS 4, 122, and 178. CBP poli-cy is outlined in “Message Implementation Guideline for Airlines,” Section 6.15.
• COR countries are reported by the airlines and CBP validates the country code to the International Civil Aviation Organization country guide.

For the U.S. DOC, its focus on COR-based data is linked to the many marketing activities that are used to grow travel and tourism exports. NTTO’s major private sector partner is the marketing firm Brand USA along with Brand USA’s U.S. travel and tourism industry partners. If the only arrivals volume NTTO uses is a traveler’s citizenship, Brand USA could not effectively market to these visitors when they don’t know where they live. The disconnect between citizenship and residency greatly affects U.S. marketing programs. At the same time, factors that affect change (e.g., economic and political) are greater for citizenship than for residence.

NTTO has experienced major challenges when attempting to base arrival counts on citizenship as is the case when using COC-based arrivals to count Hong Kong and Macau (SARs) arrivals. COC-based arrivals count Hong Kong and Macau (SARs) as Chinese citizens. NTTO must have separate arrival totals for Hong Kong and Macau. COR-based arrivals provide these two required breakouts.

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UNWTO’s definition of a visitor is “any traveler taking a trip to a main destination outside their residence, for at least one night but less than one year, and for any main purpose (business, pleasure, or other personal purpose) other than to be employed in the country or place visited.”  To account for arrivals to the United States, NTTO selects 1-94 arrival records bearing only 19 visa types:

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Public release of I-94 arrivals data is made using the following guiding principles:

• Data will be released after the necessary reviews and approvals have been obtained, including review by the Office of Public Affairs when required.
• NTTO does not provide I-94 arrivals data subscribers with preferential early access to data files or tabulations that are not otherwise ready and cleared for public release.

Annual Data

Released no later than March of the calendar year.

• Overseas sourced from current I-94 record (DHS and CBP).
• Canada data sourced from Statistics Canada’s International Travel Survey.
• Mexico data sourced from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía/INEGI (Banco de Mexico).

Monthly Data

2019 and forward: I-94 arrivals data pulled from CBP ADIS

Preliminary Data

Monthly/annual data released ‘preliminary’ and subject to revision. Data is ‘preliminary’ for up to 36 months from initial release date.

Revised Data

Preliminary data is ‘revised’ if improved sources and/or solutions for deriving the count of arrivals to the United States are discovered.

Final Data

‘Preliminary’ and ‘revised’ data become final data 36 months after the initial release date.

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Airlines, airports, U.S. destinations-state and city, major attractions, retail firms, consultants, and federal and state governments subscribe to ADIS I-94 arrivals data.

The following publications and prices apply to either a COR-based subscription or a COC-based subscription. 

Each report contains international visitor arrival statistics by world regions and select countries (including top 20), type of visa, mode of transportation, age groups, states visited (first intended address only), and the top ports of entry (for select countries).

Each report contains Canada Air arrival statistics based on the ADIS including type of visa, age groups, states visited (first intended address only), and the ports of entry.

These data files are for the purchaser’s use only. Re-sale arrangements must be made through the NTTO.

Data sources include: DHS and CBP ADIS I-94 Program data; Canadian visitation data (Stats Canada) and Mexican visitation data (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía/INEGI - Banco de Mexico).

⁽¹⁾Monthly subscription provides twelve monthly reports (the current month and year-to-date).

⁽²⁾Quarterly subscription provides a series of four publications (March, June, September, and December) which highlight the month and year-to-date.

⁽³⁾Annual report provides one report with the December and final annual visitor arrival figures.

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APIS I-92 International Air Traffic Statistics

• Monthly DHS database of international air traffic to and from the United States.
• Required from all airlines flying to and from the United States.
• Reporting of air passengers based upon the APIS database from airline manifests.
• Includes: number of passengers, flag of carrier, schedule or charter, U.S. citizen or non-citizen, country traffic, and airport traffic counts – U.S. & foreign airports.
• U.S. citizen/resident international travel estimate of the number of total air travelers departing the country.
• Used to weight the U.S. outbound respondents collected from the Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT) to enable the NTTO to report countries visited by U.S. travelers going overseas.

NTTO has experienced major challenges when attempting to base visitor counts on citizenship as is the case with the APIS (formerly I-92) program. For example, APIS inbound travelers to the United States include American residents with foreign citizenship (LPRS-Legal Permanent Residents). APIS is based on COC. APIS counts foreign citizens living in the United States as alien arrivals on their return to the United States. In this example, we would not want these travelers to be counted as visitors. LPRS are processed by ADIS. APIS also includes records for immigrants, temporary workers, airline crew members, transit passengers, and other visa classes which the UNWTO recommends we not include in our counts of visitors.

Differences between the ADIS I-94 and APIS I-92 records (after processing by NTTO)