This from Wall Street Journal:
Get Through Airport Customs Faster With This Free App
"Skip paper forms and kiosks with Mobile Passport—and get on the fastest border-control line at large U.S. airports. It’s a model for how government and the tech industry can team up to join the mobile revolution"
Here's where to find the app:
It took some looking but I finally found the list of airports on the app site (not on CBP's website?). It's currently available at 13 airports but CBP says they will have 20 airports up and running by the end of 2016.
MOBILE PASSPORT service is currently available at:
I used it in Miami last week. It worked like a champ!
So does this obviate the need to get Global Entry?
Another recent thread about it...
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/mobile-passport-control-app-review
Global Entry also gets you preferred treatment from TSA security screenings, but I think it will go a long way to cut wait times for people who don't travel enough to justify the $100 cost.
I was going to post about this too but you beat me to it. The WSJ article was incredibly positive. Downloaded the app and can't wait to try it, even though my airport (Logan in Boston) isn't on the list yet.
We used something electronic at Dulles last week.
The booth scanned the passport page, took our photo and we were up to see the passport man in a flash. He said he didn't think Global Entry was needed at IAD due to this system. So now we can have it all ready to go on our phones, too. Great.
Please clarify, Brad. You wrote customs twice, but did you mean passport control?
I generally use "Customs" as a generic term for both customs and immigration/passport control. The people in blue uniforms used to be "U.S. Customs", part of the Department of the Treasury. After 9/11, they were consolidated into Department of Homeland Security and became "Field Operations" in Customs and Border Protection (along with Border Patrol).
I haven't done the app yet, my next trip is in September, but I gather it covers both passport control (immigration) and your customs declaration form.
Great idea! I'm so hoping that the included airports list grows soon. But, for now, we're in France and will re-enter the US in San Francisco, so I just put the app on my phone. Sitting in our hotel room, it took about five minutes to put both my husband's and my passports and our pictures in the app.
Question: would we get through immigration and customs faster with this app than we would with Global Entry which we already have? This is specifically for Miami Airport which we will be flying into from Buenos Aires ( flying business class so we will be off the plane quickly). We will have a 2.5 hour connection to our next flight and don't want to spend all that time in the immigration and customs line.
I think Global Entry would be consistently faster because you are pre-cleared (your Global Entry initial interview covers every time you enter the country for five years unless something changes on your background check). With this, you are just reducing the paperwork so you can be processed more quickly; you still need to do an interview each time you come in.
My average interview has been about 30 seconds but that doesn't mean the next one won't be longer.
Either option won't guarantee you won't be sent to secondary inspection (a more thorough review of your bag and customs form). They have to randomly review a percentage of travelers, even when there is no real reason to suspect anything. I've never been sent to secondary. If you do, it will add maybe a minimum of 15-20 minutes to your entry - and can add a lot longer if you have to wait your turn or there's a problem with your form or bag.
My understanding and it is just my understanding is that it for customs only. Supposedly there is a special line for customs with the app, avoids filling our the standard paper declaration. Just show to custom's officer and go. But our recent experience with customs is nearly the same, hand them the paper slip and go. At the moment I am not sure I understand the value of this app.
It does not have any impact on immigration/passport control. You still use the normal lines for passport control while G Entry allows you to skip or use the special line for passport control. So I am still not sure what is being gained.
Your wait depends on the airport and arrival time. CBP publishes average waits: http://awt.cbp.gov/
I don't use this much but you can match up traffic from last year to your arrival (think time of year, day of week, and time of day) to see what the average wait was.
It might be good to use when you're shopping for flights. As far as I can tell, this only looks backward. When flight schedules change, this won't predict new wait times. Flight schedules used to be pretty static for years on end. They don't change often, but new flight/carrier arrivals put more people in line and this won't predict it.
The wait times that site references is for the immigration check, the app is only for the customs check.
Frank's point is that there really isn't any kind wait at Customs. My experience is the same no matter which airport I have used to enter the US there is a very short line after the baggage carousels (two minute wait at the most)where you hand over your landing form, the agents looks it over very quickly and lets you either exit the airport or sends you to the tables for a hand search.
Unless I'm missing something I see no benefit in using the app?????
Micheal,
This really is for both passport control and customs, the passport control part is the time saver because, according to the story, you get to use an "express" lane with the app.
I've never had more than a waive through customs either. I don't buy many souvenirs and anything I do have I detail exactly. I travel with only a small carry on and I don't have any criminal history - so I'm a low risk traveler. Filling out your form completely and correctly is about the best thing you can do to reduce your chance of delay.
For legal reasons, however, they need to show they do a certain amount of random checks of people like me. I never know if the next time they will send me to secondary and significantly increase my time getting out of the airport. I don't think the app reduces your random chance of going to secondary.
Although the article is less than clear (e.g., the repeated references to Customs only), it looks like the App speeds you through Passport Control and Customs. So that does give it some value, although I assume that Global Entry is probably better.
Thanks--we loaded the app but will stick with Global Entry for our next trip.
However, Global Entry actually did not work all that well when we arrived at SeaTac from LHR last month. it was not clear where we should go, some tried the regular kiosks and they sent us to the line to see an agent! Fortunately the line was short and the guy showed us the way to the special line for Global Entry. But then I had trouble getting the machine to accept my fingerprints and gave up trying. I was directed to "secondary" but I don't know if it was because of the fingerprints or because I checked that I had food, including "seeds" on the form. Turns out that roasted peanuts need not have been declared on the form because they will not germinate.
I hope it goes more smoothly at Miami as we have a connecting flight to catch. I will be careful not to bring in anything I need to declare!
We used the Mobile App in May while coming back into the country from London. We were through immigration in maybe 90 seconds and then waived through Customs. It definately saved us time. And since we don't travel as much as others on this forum, I will probably not sign up for and pay for Global Entry, so this App is a time saver for us.
Lola,
More often than not, the fingerprint problem is related to dehydration. Flying dries you out. You may have an easier time if you make an effort to drink plenty of water, especially toward the end of your flight.
Hopefully now you will know where the kiosks are and won't have trouble finding them.
As far as declaring things, you should always list everything you have. Generally, if you buy a packaged product at a grocery store it will be okay while something purchased from an open bin at an outdoor market may not be. The biggest exceptions are anything, even canned food, with beef (it may be from a mad-cow disease country), and non pasteurized cheese (Europe doesn't prefer pasteurized dairy but we require it). Seeds, including tulip bulbs, are another problem area because most states protect their agriculture from imported invasive species or plant diseases.
When I was at CBP I think the most bizarre was monkey meat someone carried with them from Africa. Mexican families always bring cheese from home because they make their own - so it's like bringing a taste of home to their relatives in the U.S. It's never pasteurized so we always take it away.
Robert,
If nothing else, Global Entry also allows you to use TSA's trusted traveler program (when it's available).
I think the app will help but Global Entry is pretty consistent in saving time. If the kiosks get full, it's easier to add an extra kiosk than it is to hire and train (and pay) another customs/immigration officer.
Thanks Brad---that is very helpful,to know about dehydration and the fingerprints. I am fortunate in that I can sleep on the plane, and I may have gotten a little behind in my water consumption. I will try harder next time!
As for declaring things, I always err on the side of declaring everything, which drives my husband crazy. Coming back from a Canada ski trip I mentioned an orange! which I never imagined would be a problem as we had bought it in the US, took it into Canada ( and declared it then) and then brought it back unused. This not only got us sent to "secondary" but led to a diligent search of our car for more "contraband". We had to fill out a declaration form while they were searching and the agent kept asking, "Are you sure that it all?" before he let us sign the form. It took over an hour and was fairly humiliating, especially since I am a long-time federal employee with a security clearance to work in the federal courts. And my husband is still mad at me, but I do insist on declaring everything.
So the question on the customs form ( I still have it) is whether you are carrying " fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, food, insects". I always answer "yes" because I am always carrying a bit of emergency food---I have the metabolism of a hummingbird and cannot go long without food. Peanuts ( roasted and packaged) are my food of choice, and I know they are OK to bring in, but the way the question is worded one must declare all "food." In fact the question is meant to identify plant and animal products that could be carrying pathogens or could propagate an invasive species, so it is too broad. The inspector was amused that I declared my peanuts. Apparently they do not care about these, as the beagle did not "alert" to my bag.
I understand the need to identify the products that could potentially carry diseases or bad organisms, and I have enough awareness to know what they might be---I do not bring in meat, cheese, tulip or other bulbs, fresh fruit, or anything else that could be a problem. But that "food" question always gets me.
When we return from South America I will ditch any food I am carrying before we leave the plane!
We just used the Mobile Passport app arriving in San Francisco from Paris. I showed the "receipt" on my app and a line was opened up for us and we went straight to the front, where we were immediately processed. Saved tons of time. Now, if only our luggage hadn't taken 1.5 hours to come off the plane☹️. Unfortunately, that kind of cancelled things out.
My husband fly back Monday from Paris to SFO and the mobile app worked like a breeze- he too had to wait for luggage. I flew back yesterday and after submitting on the passport mobile app the message said to go to normal line and didn't process. But I was on standby for the direct flight to SFO instead of original flight which connected in Chicago., so I'm suspecting the last minute change may have been the reason. However I was one of the first people in line at the Kiosk, scanned my passport, received a receipt and was curbside 23 minutes after the plane landed (no checked bags).
So was it the passport inspection line or the customs inspector line you were able to bypass---or both?
Here's my report fresh from JFK yesterday. Before leaving Nice, I answered four simple questions, and submitted the form. Then on landing and getting access to my cell signal (wifi works if you can be sure you'll get access quickly after landing), I confirmed we had landed and submitted. I had set both my husband and me up on the same submission, and got QR codes for both of us after a few seconds processing time. When we approached passport control/immigration, one person was in line ahead of us, then it took less than a minute for the agent to look at our passport, our QR scan and our faces and pass us through. We walked past people waiting in line for the Global Entry kiosks and, of course, longer lines for regular clearance process. We passed by the baggage claim area smiling (because we carried on, of course), up to the queue for customs, and we were waived to the line for Mobile Passport/Global Entry, where no one was waiting. From wheels touching the tarmac to getting on the JFK jitney to our C gate was less than 40 minutes. Needless to say, I am a big fan. DO IT.
Celeste, I love your post. A true testimonial.
Cynthia
Thanks Celeste,
It's always my goal to get through the airport as quickly as possible.
This app, if you don't have Global Entry, can help with part of it - the long lines at immigration.
I like getting through security quickly, but it doesn't really save time because I can't plan on it so still have to get to the airport early anyway.
I don't like to be slowed down for luggage so I always carry-on only.
I commute into DC on a train daily. Some of the people on the train bring more stuff for their daily commute than I bring for six weeks in Europe :-)
