US CBP Mobile Passport Control App (MPC)
 

CBP has backed an app for mobile devices that may help speed up things to clear US passport control. Initially pilot is at ATL, but I've already got the app even as ATL is an airport I rarely use as a US POE.

http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national...-app-available

From the announcement press release:

ATL is the pilot.

To find the app in the Apple App Store, search for Airside or Airside Mobile. That should help get you to Mobile Passport - Officially authorized app for download.

So now I can use Global Entry kiosks, Automated Passport Control kiosks, traditional staffed station processing, or "Mobile Passport Control". It's nice to see CBP jumping in on the experimentation game if only to speed things up.

This thing only works for US and some Canadian passport holders.

Easy-peasy and thank you for this ^ (and now hoping the pilot at ATL goes well and it expands to other airports)

It's a very easy app to use. It involves taking your picture and putting in your passport biodata page details and a few other steps for actual use. Some of the additional steps have to be timed properly -- as in not more than say X hours before arrival or flight, and as in not doing the finalization process until on the ground using wifi network and doing so no more than two hours prior to presenting the receipt or something like that. [I don't have all the details on this -- as I haven't been into ATL yet using this app -- and I haven't had it looked at in extensive detail yet. I am saying I need check this out more or you need to do your own due diligence on it.]

This does have me wondering if/when this will mark the formal end of the no-phone/camera use policy/practices at CBP clearance facilities where this app is a means to facilitate CBP clearance of passengers.

Any word on when the app will be available for Android?

They likely chose one airport and one platform for the pilot. If successful and they move forward with it, they'll probably expand it to Android.

Or maybe they'll piss off a lot of people and make it an iOS exclusive ;)

Edit:

If you read the FAQ on their website, it mentions this:

Who can use the Mobile Passport App?
US citizens with a valid US passport and Canadian citizens with both a valid Canadian passport and B1 or B2 visa status may use the Mobile Passport App. You must have an Apple iPhone or other iOS device that can connect to the internet. A Google Android version of the app will be available in the fall of 2014

Tip: I tried searching for "Mobile Passport Control" and "MPC" at the App Store without it finding anything. So I searched for "Airside Mobile" and it found it.

Thanks. I didn't have the patience to go to the FAQ :-)

I didn't either at first, but then curiosity got the best of me :)

Interesting, especially because of no cell phones in the inspection area rule.

Since there is currently no way to add your Global Entry number into the form, you still need to carry your card. At least that is how I interpret it.

wasn't aware there was a Global Entry card. I applied for SENTRI and Global Entry simultaneously and I was just given a CBP sticker for my passport. There was a card for SENTRI but that is no good for international flights.

Either way, assuming most don't have this card, you would still have to carry your passport on an international flight regardless so it wouldn't be much different other than not having to go through the kiosks, saving a little bit of time.

The REAL question is when will a Windows Phone app come out :D

Just because someone has GE status and may use the GE kiosks doesn't mean they must always use the GE process where it is available; instead of using the GE kiosks, the other CBP-approved alternatives are allowed too.

To use this app for arrival into the US at ATL, a US citizen using a US passport need not be a Global Entry member and need not have the GE card. [While most GE applicants who have had valid GE membership seem to have been issued GE cards, not all have been issued such cards -- preciously GE stickers were provided for passport cover placement.]

If you applied early for GE, cards weren't available, although you can go back to GEOS or whateverr it's called and request a GE card for your account. I think the fee is about $10. The card is mailed to you and uses the photo taken at your GE interview. It's an alternative government issued photo ID but cannot be used as a substitute for your passport.