Customs & Border ProtectionFocused onInnovation
BY JOHN P. WAGNER,
OFFICE OF FIELD OPERATIONS
U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Whether visitors travel to theUnited States for business, pleasureor study, the officers and staff at U.S.Customs and Border Protection areworking hard to ensure they have asecure, efficient and welcoming experiencewhen entering the United States.
As the agency that first greets visitors,residents and citizens from abroad, CBPis keenly aware of our direct impact onthe first impression of every arrivingtraveler and the key part we play in theoverall success of our nation’s traveland tourism industry. That’s why, overthe past few years, CBP has continuallyevaluated new processes and technologiesto improve the international arrivalsprocess.
There is good news in the air travelindustry: International travel to theUnited States is increasing. More than112.5 million international travelerslanded at U.S. airports during fiscal year2015, and this number is projected togrow at an annual rate of 4 percent. Astravel to the United States increases, CBPis actively pursuing innovations to bothenhance security—our primary mission—and improve the international arrivalsprocess in ways that are transparent,
seamless and autonomous for travelers.
CBP has developed initiatives suchas Global Entry, Automated PassportControl and Mobile Passport Control.Last year these automated innovationswere utilized, on average, by
35 percentof arriving passengers, which was a 20percent increase over 2014.
These innovations wouldn’t havebeen possible without strong governmentand private sector collaboration.That’s why CBP continues working withthe private sector on new technologies
that enhance the international arrivalsprocess. Global Entry, our signaturetrusted traveler program, is now availableat 60 airports at both domestic andpreclearance locations, with more than4.1 million members enjoying the program’sbenefits.
There are now more than 1,300 APCkiosks deployed at 38 locations. This initiative,a partnership with the industry,has seen incredible growth over the pasttwo years with corresponding benefitsto visitors. Each day these kiosks areused by approximately 140,000 arrivingpassengers, with an average CBP officerinspection time of 30 seconds.
MPC is a mobile version of our APCprogram, and it allows travelers to usea smartphone application to answerarrival questions, submit passportinformation and upload a photograph
prior to inspection. Once information issubmitted, the application generates anelectronic receipt, which is sent to thetraveler’s mobile device with airport- specificinstructions. Now available atseven international airports, MPC averagesmore than 6,500 uses per week. We
are on track to deploy MPC capabilitiesto the top 20 airport locations by theend of 2016.
CBP also continues to eliminate paperforms. Foreign visitors who arrive by airor sea are no longer required to completethe paper CBP I-94 Arrival/DepartureRecord, or the I-94W Non-Immigrant VisaWaiver Arrival/Departure Record. Instead,this information is now collected automatically from electronic travel records. We also plan to abolish the paper U.S.CBP declaration form by the end of thisyear. As such, CBP is testing severalegress options that are designed to facilitatean arrivals process that does notrely on paper forms.
Data from CBP’s latest traveler satisfactionsurvey reflects the positiveimpact our new initiatives are having onthe international arrivals process. Thenumber of travelers who perceived waiting15 minutes or less increased from63 percent in 2012 to 88 percent in 2015.
About 80 percent of travelers found thatCBP officers were professional, efficient,friendly and welcoming.
As technology advances, so do opportunitiesto find new ways to enhanceour operations, build greater efficiency,modernize our procedures and fulfill ourprimary border security mission. We arecurrently revamping our Airport TechnicalDesign Standards to incorporate newideas to better serve arriving internationalvisitors and improve our domestic facilityfootprint in the United States and at preclearancelocations abroad.
We continue to explore and evaluatenew technologies—including automatedbiometricsystems for both entry andexit—and how these innovations mightbest support and integrate into CBP’s primarymissions. We remain committed tothe national goal of a “best-in-class” internationalarrivals process, and we lookforward to the CBP facility of the future “welcoming you to the United States.”