LupineChemist

Will this also work with perm. residents with chipped passports from their home country? What about someone with an advance parole document awaiting decision from USCIS?

HNL

I have a valid passport - good through April 2016 - without a chip.

ords

The reason these were installed as it shifts U.S Citizens into a faster moving system of processing and opening up immigration officers to non U.S. lanes. This worked as intended and has reduced processing times dramatically.

The 1st software upgrade will make it possible for Canadian passport holders to use the kiosks with the 2nd software upgrade will make it possible for all passport holders to use them.

One point, no taxpayer funds were used for the purchase, installation or maintaining of these kiosks, this was all self funded locally by the airlines here in Chicago.

Other airports/airlines within the U.S will have to decide if it's worth the cost or not to install.

MDtR-Chicago

I'd never really consciously thought about this - at a traditional immigration desk for returning US citizens, is the officer also taking a picture and keeping it on file in their system? I guess I had assumed it was just a visual comparison but then again, why would the US govt give up an opportunity to collect data on soneone?

BigFlyer

Doesn't mean that the photo is kept - but, it probably is.

14940674

U.S. citizens are not photographed by officers stationed at desks.

N1120A

They are not supposed to, but do at times.

Majuki

Yes, but the SmartGate process is a little confusing if you haven't done it before. I had watched the instructional video a few times, but it still didn't mean I was any more functional after a 15-hour flight into SYD.

I was searching for the first ticket kiosk available - there was one before the duty free store. I also saw a bank of them right before the SmartGate portals with people waiting to get tickets there too.

While the system is automated, I don't understand the extra step of having to get a validation ticket. I know you hand it to the agents at the quarantine exit as sort of a receipt, but it seems like an unnecessary extra step.

RadioGirl

So everyone understands what we're talking about, there are three transactions:
1. At kiosk, scan passport, answer question(s), get paper ticket.
2. At SmartGate, submit ticket, get photographed; photo is matched to data on paper ticket.
3. At quarantine, hand ticket back to agent.

I assume by "extra step" you mean getting a ticket from the kiosk and then submitting the ticket at the SmartGate, instead of just scanning your passport at the SmartGate. I guess the benefit is that people who don't have an RFID passport or who otherwise can't use SmartGate are making their mistakes at the kiosk, where it's easy for other passengers to move around them to another kiosk, and where the passenger in question can then leave the kiosk and join the "regular" line in Customs. Otherwise the SmartGate line would be slowed down by people having problems, and the person who finds they can't use SmartGate would have to extract themselves from the front of the line and go to the back of a regular line. Just a guess.

I agree that handing the ticket to the agent at quarantine doesn't seem all that useful, but perhaps they get recycled that way, instead of ending up as litter or in the trash.

WilcoRoger

SmartGate - what a misnomer

Majuki

I agree with your assessment, but it's functionally no different than the X slip from a GE kiosk telling you to report to passport control. My argument was that the process with SmartGate doesn't have any fewer steps with the exception of that fact that one doesn't talk to anyone if SmartGate can do the photo comparison. It's similar for GE most of the time, but apparently not for the recently installed non-GE kiosks.

Furthermore, I would say the customs process is probably the most visible in the US and Australia because it's another formal step before you exit the baggage claim area. Contrast this with EU airports where you self select the green, red, or blue lane and many people don't even realize they're going through customs.

TuffPuppy

A little off topic, but just curious what is the purpose of questioning US citizens at a port of entry? As a US citizen I have the right of entry to the US. What are they going to do? Deny me entry?

One of the reasons I got GE is that I was sick and tired of explaining myself to surly CBP officers. I do not have to explain where I was and how long I was out. I can be out for 50 years and as a US citizen I still have the right of entry regardless of what some uniformed officer thinks. The last couple of times entering via GE lanes I noticed the officers were trying to ask questions again - I just resort to responding in monosyllabic sentences - "yes", "no", "personal", "business". The US has become such a police state - it is sickening. Everyone is deemed guilty till proven otherwise when it comes to CBP.

BigFlyer

Because they have a uniquely American fascist police mentality. Other western countries do not subject their returning citizens to any questioning at all.

My guess would be that the justification might be that the passport guy is also performing a customs function as well - that, depending upon your answers, you might be sent to secondary customs inspection.

Of course other Western countries do not ask every returning citizen customs questions either, but have a red line/green line system and pull people out for questioning at random or based on observable characteristics.

It's called American exceptionalism.

(having said/ranted all of that, I am not sure what Canada and Australia do re questioning and immigration/customs for returning citizens.)

gglave

At the US (& Canadian) border, immigration and customs are performed by one person.

The 'questions' are customs-related to detect nervousness which might indicate you are smuggling, be it food, birds, drugs, cuban cigars or a bottle of rum.

Kind of a silly system, but there you go.

gglave

Can't speak for Australians, but for Canadians it's a similar experience. Although anecdotally I get the sense that it's a friendlier one...