QUESTION:
Is the “Mobile Passport” app a legitimate app that works to get you through Customs and Border Protection lines faster?
ANSWER:
Yes, U.S. Customs and Border Protection the law enforcement agency confirms this is a legitimate app they sponsor.
SOURCES:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection website.
PROCESS:
According to Jennifer Gabris at the Office of Public Affairs for the United State Customs Border Protection (CBP), approximately 1 million travelers a day are processed through ports of entry.
In August 2014, a new state of the art app was launched by CBP called the Mobile Passport Control App launched at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Today the app is available for use in 21 airports. The app is intended to reduce passport inspection time and overall waiting time in custom related lines when traveling.
U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors who have a smartphone or tablet can download the Mobile Passport app from the Google play story then create a profile via the app, entering their passport information. This includes the traveler’s name, gender, date of birth, and country of citizenship. The passenger will then need to enter CBP questions related to inspection that are then directly submitted to the Control Border Protection through secure encryption protocols.
Since the launch of the Mobile Passport App, Control Border Protection says there have been more than 2 million downloads and more than 1.7 million trips processed with the app.
The CBP reports that a study in 2015 at Miami International Airport found that transit time for Mobile Passport Control travelers to be 15 minutes and 31 seconds faster when compared to Automated Passport Control and the average inspection time for Mobile Passport Control travelers to be 66 seconds faster when compared to APC.
Do remember that you must still present a valid U.S. passport to a Control Border Protection officer upon arrival. With the Mobile Passport app, travelers are now exempt from have to fill out a declaration form as they will answer questions electronically through their smartphone or tablet.
Here are a list of airports where MPC can be used: MPC is available to U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors at the following 21 U.S. international airports and one sea port of entry:
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
• Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
• Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
• Denver International Airport (DEN)
• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
• Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
• William P. Hobby Houston International Airport (HOU)
• Miami International Airport (MIA)
• Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP)
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• Orlando International Airport (MCO)
• Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU)
• Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
• San Jose International Airport (SJC)
• Seattle Sea-Tac Airport (SEA)
• Tampa International Airport (TPA)
• Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
• Port Everglades (PEV)
