Dr Jabadski

Datapoints: 2 BAD recent experiences with MPC (my choice over GE) in the past month at JFK. 3-4 weeks ago, JFK T8, returning from Israel, did MPC on the plane while taxiing, asked CBP line director which line was for MPC, she sent me to a short line (which initially looked good) from which people were told to move to the screening kiosk only AFTER all the people who were entering the general CBP line, much slower the GE, absolutely infuriating, clearly poor line management.

2 days ago, JFK T4, returning from Ecuador/Galapagos, did MPC on the plane while taxiing, asked CBP line director which line was for MPC, she sent me to a short line behind 1 other person, sent to kiosk immediately, agent said she couldn’t process MPC and said “you have GE, why didn’t you use it”, I said “CBP has stated that MPC is faster”, she was going to send me to another line but the line director said the other line wasn’t open, agent did an abbreviated Q&A and said “have a nice day”.

Both times I was made to feel as though I was doing something wrong by using MPC.

Question: Is MPC supposed to be the fastest way to re-enter the USA (for those with GE and MPC)? Thank you.

seawolf

MPC is not much different from a immigration process perspective than a general public kiosk except you have a "kiosk in your pocket." It is suppose to be "faster" than general kiosk as MPC passenger have pre-filled the declaration.

Some locations may provide for a dedicated lane for MPC but process-wise it make sense for MPC to line up with post-kiosk general US citizen line at kiosk locations.

It's not suppose to be faster than GE.

Dr Jabadski

Thank you. My bad, I recall reading on the CBP website that MPC was supposed to be the quickest.

Looking now I see “As a result, travelers may experience shorter wait times, less congestion and efficient processing”, obviously “may” being the operative word, travelers also may NOT experience shorter wait times. (Kinda like Geico COULD save me 15%, could also cost me 60% more .)

Serendipitous timing, this interesting article was in yesterday’s NY Times: Whatever Happened to Those Self-Service Passport Kiosks at Airports?

TWA884

This article is already being discussed in the US CBP Simplified Arrival Replaces Mobile Passport App & Automated Passport Control thread.

Please continue the discussion of that topic there.

Thank you,

TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator

worldiswide

So I read the differences on the customs site this morning, and there are now 44 airports where Mobile Passport control is available for free. Will this eventually replace Global Entry? Do we need to keep paying for GE? I would like the FT opinions vs the Govt FAQ. I think I am on my third renewal of Global Entry and feel like I am enriching the government for something they are now giving away for free. I understand the difference in the application process, but I am interested in the outcomes at airports especially post pandemic traveling. If this should be moved to an existing thread, please do so.

joshwex90

​​​​​​​MPC is great. Issues:

1. CBP sometimes randomly decides they don't have it, so you need to be in the regular line, unlike GE where even if the kiosk doesn't work you can still skip to the front of the line
2. GE includes pre-check for security, MPC doesn't
3. MPC requires an internet connection on your phone, usually not an issue, but can be

Weyland Yutani Corp

Can anyone confirm what the method is at SFO? Are the kiosks gone and using just facial recognition now? Is the MPC still able to be used? What is the quickest method? My wife and I are GE, but...not my 9yr old, so we are going the full-family regular route.

minhaoxue

I traveled into SFO from SIN last month and used MPC. It has a dedicated line near the GE Kiosks and there are signs directing you. The Kiosks are gone as they went over to Simplified Arrivals using facial recognition. As for the quickest method. I was on a UA flight and there was a line to use the GE kiosks. There was only one other person ahead of me in the MPC line. With the Simplified Arrivals, you need to line up in line like everyone else and to be honest, the lines were not moving that fast with the new method. There are other factors to consider like multiple flight arrivals.

JakiChan

If I am arriving at SFO and both I and my partner have the MPC app *and* GE what's the play? I know it's hard to guess because it depends on what the lines look like, but it sounds like if the MPC line is shorter we should do that? I'll be honest, I've never used GE before because we either didn't both have it, or the last trip where we did we flew direct to SJC which never has lines.

andreiz

My experience with MPC at DFW customs was not great. I expected separate lanes for MPC, but everyone was funneled into the same long queue and only at the end told to go to MPC marked lanes. So time-wise, there are almost no savings.

JackIs

Datapoint for MIA Passport Control on 1/3 at 6:25PM (PSA: stay away from tight connections @ MIA over holidays)

U.S. Citizen, CA: 1hr 25min
Foreigners: 2hr 20min
Global Entry: 35min
MPC: 10min (shocking)

Datapoint for MIA FIS TSA Checkpoint on 1/3 at 6:40PM
U.S. Passports: 35min
Foreigners: 1hr 5min

We had an hour and 40 min intl. to domestic layover at MIA, and almost missed the flight. We did MPC which saved us. F
All in all, the 3rd afternoon was a mess at MIA, and almost everyone there had missed connections. Strangley enough, MPC was almost empty and way faster than GE....
YMMV

cafeconleche

It is indeed shocking how few people use MPC. Arrived in SFO with the three kids and VWP partner thinking we'd need to wait an hour. Then after talking to a couple of people decided to do MPC for us four and just bring my partner with us to see if it would work. I'd forgotten to download MPC and prepare passports so hurriedly did so while walking from the plane and saw that VWP passports are now allowed. Idiot. Did it and we're or of two families in the MPC queue. Bag was also waiting for us. We were off the plane and out in 20 minutes!!!

vasantn

Is it the consensus that MPC is faster than GE? I have both.

TWA884

The Global Entry facial recognition kiosks are pretty darned fast; I've never had to wait in line to use one at MIA, JFK T8 and LAX. However, now there is an additional option:

vasantn

Thanks. I downloaded the app but for some reason it doesn't support JFK as a port of entry. Weird.