Skip long customs lines this summer: How to use Mobile Passport Control for faster U.S. entry
About 1.8 million travelers used Mobile Passport Control in 2023, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Still, at some airports across the U.S., the lines at Mobile Passport Control are often significantly shorter than the regular lines and, depending on the airport, MPC users can often clear customs as quickly as Global Entry members.
This is especially helpful during the busy summer travel season, when airports swell with vacationers returning from tropical escapes, European getaways, and family reunions abroad. With peak international travel happening between June and August, Mobile Passport Control can be a serious time-saver at notoriously congested airports.
If you're headed to Europe for a summer adventure or coming back from a Caribbean cruise, keep in mind that summer return flights often arrive in the late afternoon—prime time for long customs waits. Using MPC could mean the difference between making your evening connection or scrambling to rebook.
Here's everything you should know about Mobile Passport Control ahead of your next international trip.
Mobile Passport Control is a free app that's available to download on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and is among some of the lesser-known travel tricks that helps reduce airport stress.
After you download the Mobile Passport Control (MPC) App, you can create a profile with your passport or Lawful Permanent Resident card information. If you're traveling by plane, you'll select your arrival airport and then will be prompted to ask a series of Customs and Border Protection questions. The app will then ask you to snap a photo of yourself.
Once you submit your application, you'll receive an electronic receipt with a QR code and you can skip ahead of the regular line and go into a line that's marked with the Mobile Passport Control sign. Oftentimes, it's shorter than the regular line and more on par with the Global Entry queue.
Pro tip: While you can fill out your application ahead of time and save it, don't submit it until you land—otherwise it could expire before you get to the customs line. You will need cellular data or a Wi-Fi connection to submit your application, but you can complete your profile without being connected.
Mobile Passport Control users still present their physical passport to a CBP officer for inspection once they enter the United States.
'Always make sure your phone is charged before landing, as you'll need to show the QR code to customs officers,' says Sam Charlton CEO of Fast Passports & Visas.
For families, the app is a time-saver because it allows grouping multiple members under one submission—just make sure every family member's profile is updated in advance, Charlton says.
Mobile Passport Control is available to U.S. citizens as well as lawful permanent residents, Canadian travelers entering with a B1 (business) visa or B2 (tourism) visa, as well as returning Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers.
When you download the app, you can create up to 12 profiles for family members and upon arrival in the United States, households can submit one MPC transaction.
Mobile Passport Control may sound too good to be true. It's a free app and can cut down on the time you spend in line at customs. But, yes, Mobile Passport Control is legit.
'The use of MPC streamlines the traveler's entry process into the United States by reducing passport control inspection time and overall wait time,' said Marty C. Raybon, Director of Field Operation for U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Detroit Field Office, in a press statement last summer when the program expanded to the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW).
Americans are traveling abroad more than ever before, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection which says the Mobile Passport Control app is designed to help make entry back into the U.S. easier and more efficient by cutting down on some of the administrative tasks before you get in line.
'Using Mobile Passport Control is a no-brainer, and its benefits are certainly hard to pass up: Free and immediate use, expedited CBP lanes, and it's remarkably little-known,' says travel expert and journalist David Yeskel, 'The Cruise Guru.'
Yeskel, who has been covering the cruise industry for 25 years, is in the air almost as much as he's at sea, and while he uses Global Entry for his frequent travels, he recommends Mobile Passport Control to others who don't want the up-front hassle of acquiring Global Entry, including the wait time, cost, and in-person interview.
One drawback, he points out, is travelers do need to populate the app with current trip information for each arrival.
Mobile Passport Control is available at 52 locations, including 14 Preclearance airport locations, four seaports, and 34 U.S. international airports. You can see the full list of locations here.
These are the U.S. international airports where the Mobile Passport Control program is available:
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL)
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Denver International Airport (DEN)
Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)
Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL)
Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
Houston William P. Hobby International Airport (HOU)
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
Kansas City International Airport (MCI)
Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Miami International Airport (MIA)
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP)
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Oakland International Airport (OAK)
Orlando International Airport (MCO)
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
Portland International Airport (PDX)
Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
San Diego International Airport (SAN)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
San Jose International Airport (SJC)
San Juan Airport (SJU)
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
Tampa International Airport (TPA)
The Mobile Passport Control app is also available at preclearance locations, allowing users to clear the CBP inspection process before boarding flights headed to the United STates.
MPC is available at all 14 Preclearance airport locations including Abu Dhabi; Aruba; Bermuda; Dublin and Shannon, Ireland; Nassau, Bahamas; and Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg, Canada.
Mobile Passport Control is free to download and free to use.
Unlike Global Entry, Mobile Passport Control doesn't require pre-approval or a background check.
While Global Entry and Mobile Passport Control can both provide a fast track to clear customs, they are separate programs.
Global Entry is a trusted traveler program that expedites clearance for low-risk travelers who have been vetted with a background check and gone through an interview. Global Entry is best for frequent international travelers who take four or more trips a year, according to Homeland Security. Global Entry costs $120, but it comes with TSA PreCheck enrollment, and the membership lasts five years.
Members of Global Entry breeze through customs by scanning their passports or legal permanent resident cards at kiosks, which will ask them if they have any goods to declare and provide a receipt that they can take to the exit control.
The Mobile Passport Control app, on the other hand, is often a great option for those who aren't frequent international travelers or for others who haven't gotten around to scheduling a Global Entry interview or are waiting on approval into the trusted traveler program.
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