Originally Posted by
SteelCityBoy
Agreed to an extent - but what about the fact that those requiring an I-94 or I-94W (in the 'old' days
)? They would have presumably surrendered these at check-in prior to clearing into the sterile area... Is this not a form of departure control?
Nope, the I-94 forms are surrendered to the airline agent at the moment of boarding (as your boarding pass is scanned and you enter the jetbridge). From that moment on, you are "undocumented" and need to continue down the jetbridge to the plane that will take you out of the country.
Of course, some airlines collect them at check-in counters (or prior to boarding begins, at the gate) for the sake of convenience, but that could pose a problem because then the foreigner could simply walk away, out of the airport, and be in the USA undocumented.