Let’s face it, whilst you can make travel as glamorous (or not) in the air, whenever you land on the ground, you have to deal with the joy of border control.
Whilst some borders can be reasonably fast to clear (the French and German borders always seem pretty fast), some borders can be a real pain to clear.
Whilst the UK is pretty high on my personal list, the USA Border Clearance can be excruciating – especially after a very long flight.
Well, it seems United Airlines is doing something about this at their Newark hub, with the installation of Automated Passport Clearance kiosks at Terminal C.
The Automated Passport Clearing Hall at Newark – Image United Airlines
The BorderXpress system requires you to follow on-screen instructions to confirm identity and such – which generates a recpit which needs to be taken to an US Customs and Border Patrol Officer for final processing.
Unlike Global Entry or NEXUS, this programme does not require preregistration to use. It is limited however to US and Canadian passport holders (although there is conflicting information that BorderXpress allows clearance from countries that are in the US Visa Wavier system – the BorderXpress site indicates so, as does the CBP site, whilst United’s site doesn’t mention a word).
BorderXpress Kisoks are installed at:
- Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
- Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL)
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)
- Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Terminal 1 and Terminal 4
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Terminal 5
- Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL).
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
(data BorderXpress)
I’m all for these wonder-machines – especially after a long Trans-Atlantic flights (and for those in the Visa waiver countries… well beyond), providing the experience using them is simple to use.
Of course, the proof is in the pudding with these. But anything to improve passenger flow can’t be a bad thing.
Love these machines. Used them coming back from Vancouver, and it makes the process so easy. I didn’t know they installed them at LAX in the Delta terminal (my airline). I guess I’ll have to book an overseas flight on Delta to try them out. Thus far I’ve tried to stay away…but this is a good reason to go back.
What is the difference to Global Entry? Why would you pay $100 for GE if you can use these machines for free? Is GE dead?
For those without Global entry and Visa Waiver – it’s a big deal. Global entry will still be a good option for eligible travellers as you’ve cleared the US background checks. This does initial verification, before being sent to an officer for confirmation.
Also, it’s a slow rollout compared to Global Entry.
@Santastico – also GE gives you nearly 100% likelihood of getting TSA PreCheck on domestic travel. That is worth a lot. No more having to opt out of the scanners.
Tks for the reply. Well, I have GE for over 2 years now and I definitely see the value. However, I just spent $300 for wife and two kids to get GE so we can all avoid long lines when flying back from international trips. Neither wife nor kids would really benefit from TSA Pre since they do not travel much. Thus, I am now wondering if it was worth paying that money for GE since these machines will make the process much easier. Also, the GE agent specifically said that GE gives you a Known Traveller Number that you have to manually enter in your airline profile but it does not guarantee you will get TSA Pre. I also read many people that got GE saying they did not het TSA Pre. Very confusing. It seems more ways for them to charge us money for services they should be providing for free.
At least at JFK airport they definitely work for Visa Waiver travellers – I flew from a European country to JFK Terminal 1 last week, and was surprised that I was asked by some airport staff if I have an ESTA, and and by saying yes was directed to the machine (I got a paper that said in huge letters “ESTA”). I used the machine, got my receipt, and right after went to the CBP office who asked me 2 quick questions and that was it. This was my first time at JFK where I didn’t stand in line at least half an hour, but instead was through immigration after under 5 minutes. I was positively impressed 🙂
I’m hoping these make it to IAD by November. Considering it’s one of UA’s hubs, I’m sort of optimistic about it.