Do Canadian Visitors Have to Register After Staying in the US Past 30 Days?

Attorney Answer

Many Canadian visitors are already registered through the I-94 record created when they were admitted, but land crossings often do not create one, so check your record before your stay reaches 30 days.

Federal law has long required non-citizens who remain in the United States for 30 days or more to be registered with the government. For most travelers who arrive by air, this happens automatically: inspection and admission by a Customs and Border Protection officer creates an electronic I-94 arrival record, and holding a valid I-94 counts as registration. Land crossings are different. Canadians admitted at a land border are often not issued an I-94 unless they ask for one, so it is possible to be lawfully admitted and still have no registration document. Since you told the officer you were visiting a client for a meeting, you were likely admitted as a business visitor, but whether an I-94 was created depends on how you entered.

What to do:

1. Check whether you have an I-94 record for this trip. You can look it up for free on the CBP website using your passport information. 2. If a record exists, note the "admit until" date. Canadian business and tourist visitors are commonly admitted for up to six months, not just 30 days, though CBP sets the actual date at entry. 3. If no I-94 record exists and you will be in the United States for 30 days or more, talk to an immigration attorney promptly about the registration process for people without an I-94. The government's registration procedures have changed recently, so confirm the current requirements rather than relying on older guidance. 4. Keep the registration question separate from what you are allowed to do here. Attending meetings with a client fits typical business visitor activity, but actually working for a US employer requires separate authorization.

If you are considering staying longer to actually work in the US, that generally requires a different immigration status than a business visit, and Canadian citizens have some professional pathways not available to other nationalities, so it is worth discussing your specific plans with an immigration attorney before your current authorized stay runs out.

This is general legal information, not legal advice about your specific entry. An immigration attorney can pull your official entry record, confirm whether you are registered, and advise you on your exact status and options.