Does the US still stamp passports in 2026?
Decreasingly - the US never stamps on exit, and CBP is retiring the ink entry stamp port by port in favour of the digital I-94.
Status Phasing it out
The United States has only ever stamped on the way in. There is no exit stamp, and never has been, so an American trip leaves at most one mark in the book.
Even that mark is going. Customs and Border Protection began a pilot in 2021 to stop putting admission stamps in passports and has been expanding it port by port ever since. Where the policy is live, the officer inspects your documents and admits you without touching an ink pad.
The record moves to Form I-94, which has been electronic for years. Your admission date, class of admission and authorised stay are all on the I-94 rather than on the page - and if you are a visitor with status to prove, that online record is the document that counts. Pull your I-94 after each entry. Immigration lawyers keep flagging the same thing: the electronic record gets it wrong often enough to check, and a wrong date is far easier to fix in the first week than in the third year.
How to still get a stamp
Ask at a land crossing rather than a major airport. Small northern and southern ports still process manually and are the likeliest place to come away with ink.
Sources
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Eliminating Entry Stamps in Passports - CLINIC
- Passport Entry Date Stamps to Be Eliminated - The National Law Review
- CBP Is Discontinuing Passport Entry Stamps, Transitioning to Online I-94 Records Only - Fredrikson & Byron
Sources last checked September 7, 2026.
Read next
Frequently asked questions
Does the US still stamp passports in 2026?
Decreasingly - the US never stamps on exit, and CBP is retiring the ink entry stamp port by port in favour of the digital I-94.
How do I get a the United States passport stamp as a souvenir?
Ask at a land crossing rather than a major airport. Small northern and southern ports still process manually and are the likeliest place to come away with ink.
Does a missing stamp mean my entry was not recorded?
No. Border authorities keep an electronic record of entries and exits regardless of whether ink goes in the passport. The stamp is a copy of the record, not the record itself.