APC Kiosks Land at Portland Airport

PORTLAND, Ore.—U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Portland International Airport, (PDX) today unveiled Automated Passport Control kiosks. APC expedites the entry process for U.S. and Canadian citizens and eligible Visa Waiver Program travelers by allowing passengers to submit their customs declaration and biographic information electronically at self-service kiosks.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection remains committed to making the international arrivals process as traveler-friendly as possible as by offering new and innovative technology to streamline the process,” said Brian J. Humphrey, CBP director of Field Operations in San Francisco. “APC kiosks have been proven to reduce wait times for the ever-growing number of international visitors without compromising our important border protection mission.”

APC is a free service, does not require pre-registration or membership, and maintains the highest levels of protection when it comes to the handling of personal data or information. APC kiosks allow for shorter processing times by removing the administrative task from the CBP officer. The kiosks are procured, deployed and maintained through partnerships with private sector entities.

Easy-to-follow instructions guide the traveler through the process which includes scanning your passport, taking a photograph using the kiosk, answering customs declaration and biographic questions, and fingerprinting for Visa Waiver Program travelers. Travelers will then receive a receipt confirming their information and proceed to a CBP officer to complete their entry into the United States. The whole process takes about one minute. Travelers opting to use the kiosks will no longer have to complete a paper customs declaration form.

There are more than 900 APC kiosks deployed at 35 airports worldwide. At some APC locations, CBP has seen wait time decreases of as much as 25-40 percent, despite continued increases in international arrivals.

CBP constantly strives to make travelers’ entry into the United States as fast, intuitive, and paperless as possible, and is working towards eliminating paper forms like the customs declaration form, expanding the number of foreign visitors that can use APC kiosks, and expanding Mobile Passport Control, the first authorized app to expedite a traveler’s entry into the United States, to a significant number of airports this year. 

APC is part of a comprehensive strategy to optimize CBP’s current resources. CBP continues to explore automation, innovation, sustainable initiatives and trusted traveler programs to streamline the traveler inspection process. Last August, CBP rolled out MPC at Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and has since expanded it to travelers arriving at Miami International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and Chicago O’Hare Airport. CBP has enrolled more than 3.5 million travelers in trusted traveler programs such as Global Entry, NEXUS and SENTRI. These programs allow CBP officers to process travelers safely and efficiently while enhancing security and reducing operational costs.