International travelers arriving at Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) have a faster way to get through the Customs entry process.
The Port of Seattle and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection have introduced 14 automatic passport control kiosks, which they say cut the time of the entry process in half for eligible U.S. and Canadian citizens.
“This is the latest in our cooperative effort with CBP to provide simple, easy-to-use and customer-friendly solutions to make the traveling experience as positive as possible,” says Charles Goedken, manager of international services for the Port of Seattle. “This is necessary to meet the demands of the rapidly increasing number of international flights we are seeing at Sea-Tac.”
APC does not require pre-registration and officials say it maintains high levels of protection when it comes to handling personal data or information.
“Automated passport control enhances both security and passenger facilitation at our nation’s airports,” said Michele James, CBP director of field operations for the Seattle Field Office. “Passengers choosing to utilize the APC self-service kiosks will benefit from an efficient new system of expedited CBP processing.”
Instead of filling out a declaration card and taking their travel documents to a CBP officer, eligible passengers who choose to use the AP can go directly to a self-service kiosk in the CBP passport control area. They will follow on-screen instructions to scan their U.S or Canadian passport, answer the Customs declaration questions via the touch screen, receive a receipt confirmation their information and proceed to the CPB officer to finalize processing. The kiosk allows up to four people living at the same address to be processed together.
The kiosk technology, BorderXpress, is a product of the Vancouver Airport Authority.
