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What immigration processes occur at an U.S. airport? 

The foreign national will be inspected by an U.S. officer. The officer will evaluate his reason for coming to the U.S.  She’ll see if the alien has the necessary documents and determine how long he should be permitted to initially stay in the U.S.  In most cases, an alien will have to present a valid visa and passport. 

Certain aliens from participating countries do not need to present a visa to enter the U.S. because of the Visa Waiver Program which permits visitors to come to the U.S. for up to 90 days.  Beyond these 90 days, participants in this program may not stay in the U.S.  Also, Canadians generally do not need a visa to enter the U.S. unless they are entering under the E treaty/trader visa category.

If you are admitted, the officer will write an expiration date on your I-94 form indicating the length of your initial stay. Blank I-94 forms are issued to non-U.S. citizens from the airline they traveled on.  The completed I-94 form should be kept stapled into the alien’s passport.  F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors may have “D/S” instead of an expiration date written on their I-94 forms. “D/S” is the abbreviation for Duration of Status and indicates that the alien is in valid status for the duration of their studies as indicated on their I-20 or IAP-66 form issued by their sponsoring institution. 

If an alien is not permitted to enter the U.S., he may be placed in detention or temporarily held to be returned on the next available flight.  Appeals can be made to an administrative law judge if the alien had a valid visa.  A denial for an alien entering the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program is final. Also, a denial based on fraud, willful misrepresentation, false claim to U.S. citizenship or lack of a valid immigrant visa is final and cannot be appealed.