US Automated Passport Control -Dublin Airport

Thoie

I just noticed that apparently there's now APC at Dublin airport for US immigration
http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/automated-passport-control-apc

Automated Passport Control (APC) is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that expedites the entry process for U.S., Canadian and eligible Visa Waiver Program international travelers by providing an automated process through CBP’s Primary Inspection area. Travelers use self-service kiosks to submit their Customs declaration form and biographic information.

Whereabouts are these kiosks - are they obvious? Do they really reduce the queueing time at US border control, and by much?

Travelling in a few weeks, and eager to spend as little time queueing as possible

jaymcg91

Yes, you're automatically directed to them now instead of a booth. They're cool. You scan your passport and it asks you some questions, takes a photo of you, then prints out a receipt you take to the CBP officer. It did speed it up slightly but I went during a quiet day so it'll be interesting to see how speedy these make going through immigration during the summer.

empacher

just wait until you get a bus load of OAPs ahead of you. you'll be there for two days.

ProudDUB

Because hordes of OAP's use their bus passes to go on a day trip to Boston?

Sure, that's mad Ted !

I reckon the kiosks saved me all of 5 minutes, the last time I flew to the US. You still need have to present yourself to an agent that is standing close to the kiosks. He asks you some brief questions, asks you to ID your bag (he'll have a picture of any checked bags displayed on a screen beside him) and then sends you on your way. The self serve kiosk now does the scanning of your passport (and you) that the agent used to.

Thoie

jaymcg91 wrote: »

Yes, you're automatically directed to them now instead of a booth. They're cool. You scan your passport and it asks you some questions, takes a photo of you, then prints out a receipt you take to the CBP officer. It did speed it up slightly but I went during a quiet day so it'll be interesting to see how speedy these make going through immigration during the summer.

Will let you know when I get back. At the time I'm going there's around 6 US flights leaving in the space of an hour, so that's up to nearly 2,000 people all thinking they'll go "early to avoid the queues", so that should be a good test for it.

Thoie

ProudDUB wrote: »

Because hordes of OAP's use their bus passes to go on a day trip to Boston?

Sure, that's mad Ted !

I reckon the kiosks saved me all of 5 minutes, the last time I flew to the US. You still need have to present yourself to an agent that is standing close to the kiosks. He asks you some brief questions, asks you to ID your bag (he'll have a picture of any checked bags displayed on a screen beside him) and then sends you on your way. The self serve kiosk now does the scanning of your passport (and you) that the agent used to.

Yeah, I never found the time with the agent to take very long in the first place once you got to the desk. If nothing else it will break the tedium of the queue a bit I suppose. After you've done the automated bit, do you end up queueing again for an agent, or is there one sitting waiting for you?

jaymcg91

Thoie wrote: »

Yeah, I never found the time with the agent to take very long in the first place once you got to the desk. If nothing else it will break the tedium of the queue a bit I suppose. After you've done the automated bit, do you end up queueing again for an agent, or is there one sitting waiting for you?

You end up queueing again. All the machines are together in a zone, when you're done you proceed to join the line to be processed.

Thoie

jaymcg91 wrote: »

You end up queueing again. All the machines are together in a zone, when you're done you proceed to join the line to be processed.

So "check in 3 hours before your flight so that you can join a minimum of 5 queues - even more if you decide to buy anything!"

Queue for:

1. Check in/bag drop
2. Security
   
3. Coffee*
4. Duty free*
5. Bottle of water for the plane*
6. US APC
7. US Border Control
8. To get to your seat on the plane

* Optional

endofrainbow

Last trip through, I asked the Agent did it make their lives easier and he replied, no, not that you'd notice. Apparently, sometimes people place their fingers at the wrong place for scanning and if the printout isn't crystal clear, they have to do it again at the kiosk.

I do not mean to be ageist, but the people who were struggling the most were people who had not grown up with technology; similar to people you see trying to get a handle on LUAS ticket machines and self service kiosks in supermarkets......

Thoie

endofrainbow wrote: »

Last trip through, I asked the Agent did it make their lives easier and he replied, no, not that you'd notice. Apparently, sometimes people place their fingers at the wrong place for scanning and if the printout isn't crystal clear, they have to do it again at the kiosk.

I do not mean to be ageist, but the people who were struggling the most were people who had not grown up with technology; similar to people you see trying to get a handle on LUAS ticket machines and self service kiosks in supermarkets......

Oh god, that'll probably include me. I'm a whizz at the Luas machine, but have taken to avoiding self-service in supermarkets. Mainly so that I'm not tempted to shove an avocado where the sun don't shine (the coin return slot, in case you were wondering).

Yamanoto

It's a real pity Irish citizens are currently precluded from applying for the Global Entry programme, unlike our fellow EU citizens from Germany, NL & the UK (who each have their own 'trusted traveller' schemes). There's a background check & interview process involved to be approved, but for those in and out of the States on a regular basis, it'd be a handy one to be able to clear CBP in quick time at any port of entry.

endofrainbow

Oh man I would pay extra for that !

Yamanoto

You'd have to - the processing fee is $100 or so.

endofrainbow

As i said, I would pay EXTRA for that

ardmacha

Did this on Tuesday. Machines are quite slow as you have to move your head to be photographed and so on and then queue up for the actual border guy. On Tuesday, things were backed up and my plane was delayed as not everyone has passed through.

Thoie

ardmacha wrote: »

Did this on Tuesday. Machines are quite slow as you have to move your head to be photographed and so on and then queue up for the actual border guy. On Tuesday, things were backed up and my plane was delayed as not everyone has passed through.

Poot. Oh well.

solargain

Used them in Philly last week. Nightmare there . 1.5 hours before we got to the passport control guy with our bit of paper having taken the photo. He then asked the exact same questions that were on the form we filled out with the machine. Our bags were off the unit that goes around & heaped on the floor another flight number on the screen . Had to clear the bags after that to get a connecting flight onwards. Time wasting exercise

Stinicker

Do you still get a passport stamp if you use one of these? Stamps in my passport are one of my most prized souvenirs of travelling. My cousin told me they have something similar in Australia and last time she flew in there they never stamped her passport.

endofrainbow

you get an entry stamp

solargain

Got nothing when they looked at mine & its a brand new passport. Looks like it was never used

Thoie

Stinicker wrote: »

Do you still get a passport stamp if you use one of these? Stamps in my passport are one of my most prized souvenirs of travelling. My cousin told me they have something similar in Australia and last time she flew in there they never stamped her passport.

I haven't got a stamp in my passport in years, even without the machines. I actually asked someone once if I could have a stamp, and they said no, because stamps are so unusual from that country now that having one might get you into trouble later on, as it could draw a lot of attention from other places.

jaymcg91

I've never not got them from the US?

Thoie

jaymcg91 wrote: »

I've never not got them from the US?

I've none from the US in my current passport since they brought in the ESTA and visa waiver. Previously they used stamp your passport with the entry date and staple a green piece of paper to it that you had to hand in when leaving, but last 2 times there's been nothing.

jaymcg91

How funny. I don't get the i94 anymore obviously because it's electronic, but I still get the stamps.

endofrainbow

Very odd - I have 8 stamps since I got my new passport in 2011

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Yamanoto

I get stamped on each & every entry, although it's WB (waiver-business) as opposed to WT (waiver-tourist).

You can check your own entry records at the CBP link below.

https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/consent.html;jsessionid=hH2hXgnZq7hMyfLjff0lwjBDv1rvyszpbcGztDlWCt2nzDhn8KQB!-151403046