For years, Global Entry has been the gold standard for breezing through U.S. customs. But actually obtaining it is often anything but seamless: Conditional approval can take months, interviews at major airports are still booked out for weeks, and the program now costs $120 for five years. And with more travelers enrolled than ever before, those once-speedy Global Entry lanes don’t always feel quite so fast.
That’s all to say that the long customs line you were hoping to avoid may still be an issue.
Fortunately, there is another method savvy travelers can keep in their back pocket for getting out of the airport (or making a tight connection) faster. Mobile Passport Control (also known as Mobile Passport), which U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched in 2014, is a free mobile app that lets travelers use a dedicated, and often shorter, customs line once airside in U.S. airports and at cruise ports. Here’s how Mobile Passport works and what you need to know before using it.
What is Mobile Passport?
- Download App: App Store; Google Play
The Mobile Passport app is available on the Apple app store for iOS and the Google Play store for Android devices and can be downloaded from the app store. It’s free to both download and to use.
The app essentially replaces the old customs declaration process, which for most travelers no longer involves filling out a paper form. Instead of answering questions at a kiosk or verbally with an officer, you can complete everything right on your phone. Once you land in the United States and connect to Wi-Fi or cellular data, open the app, respond to the standard customs questions, and declare anything required—like food items or high-value purchases—before you even reach passport control.
How to use Mobile Passport
When you first sign into the Mobile Passport app, you’ll need to upload a headshot (you can take a selfie on the spot) and enter your passport details (it’s as simple as scanning your passport page). When you’re ready to use the app, you can enter your chosen PIN code or use biometrics if your phone has that capability.
Once you’ve indicated your arrival airport and airline and submitted the form (the process takes about a minute), the app creates a QR code that is valid for four hours that you then show to an immigration officer in order to pass through customs.
The CBP officer may ask a few questions about your trip, but the process is swift because as a Mobile Passport user, you’ll have a dedicated lane at participating domestic and international airports, as well as cruise ports. The app expedites the line to complete the standard immigration and customs process.
Pro tip: The Mobile Passport line is often (but not always) shorter than other customs lines. While Global Entry users are still waiting to complete their biometric screening, you might already be scanning your mobile device QR code with an officer. Any declarations would be discussed at that point, but if you have none, you are sent on your way. It’s worth noting that the Mobile Passport app doesn’t include any access to TSA PreCheck, which Global Entry does.
For now, Mobile Passport feels like a well-kept secret among international travelers. “There’s often no one else in the Mobile Passport line when I land at SFO [in San Francisco],” says Afar associate director Jessie Beck. “Thanks to this app, I typically clear customs in five minutes or less—sometimes faster than my friends with Global Entry.”
Using Mobile Passport for family travel
If you’re traveling as a family, Mobile Passport Control is where the app really shines. Instead of juggling multiple forms or splitting up at passport control, one person can submit a single entry for the entire household—up to 12 people on one device.
In practice, that means you can move through customs together. After landing, you add each family member’s profile, answer the declaration questions once, and generate a single QR code for the group.
Is Mobile Passport secure?
Yes—Mobile Passport Control is run directly by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the data you submit is transmitted using encrypted, secure channels, similar to the systems used at airport kiosks and passport control counters.
In practical terms, you’re not sharing anything new—just sending the same information (passport details, travel info, and customs declarations) you’d otherwise hand over to an officer, but digitally. There is also the option to delete your details (instead of storing them within the app) after each trip, but the encrypted QR code expires after four hours, meaning it can’t be reused or accessed later.
Mobile Passport vs. Global Entry
While Global Entry users must schedule an interview appointment, go through a background check, and pay a fee once every five years, Mobile Passport is an instant download and free (it doesn’t even require any kind of credit card information).
Unlike Global Entry, there is no application process or a lengthy interview appointment that requires a wait time of weeks or months. U.S. citizens and Canadians with a B1 or B2 visa status are eligible.
Mobile Passport is not a replacement for a passport and is not a trusted traveler program. You have not been “vetted” in the same way that Global Entry users have been—it’s really just replacing the form you fill out at airport kiosks on arrival. Because not all travelers are eligible for Global Entry (due to prior customs violations, among other reasons), this app can be a great alternative.
Eligible travelers who also have Global Entry can still use Mobile Passport. This allows you to opt for whichever line is shorter once you reach border control.
Like Global Entry, Mobile Passport can only be used for arrival in the United States.
Where can you use Mobile Passport?
There are currently 37 airports, 14 international preclearance locations, and 4 cruise ports in the United States with Mobile Passport lines, and the number of airports and ports of entry on the list continues to grow each year.
U.S. airports with Mobile Passport
- Anchorage International Airport (ANC)
- 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)
- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
- Denver International Airport (DEN)
- Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)
- Dulles International Airport (IAD)
- Fairbanks International Airport (FAI)
- 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-St. 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)
International preclearance locations with Mobile Passport
- Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport (AUH), United Arab Emirates
- Aruba Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA), Aruba
- Bermuda L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), Bermuda
- Calgary International Airport (YYC), Canada
- Dublin Airport (DUB), Ireland
- Edmonton International Airport (YEG), Canada
- Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ)
- Montreal Trudeau International Airport (YUL), Canada
- Nassau Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS), Bahamas
- Ottawa International Airport (YOW), Canada
- Shannon Airport (SNN), Ireland
- Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), Canada
- Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Canada
- Winnipeg James A. Richardson International Airport (YWG), Canada
Cruise ports with Mobile Passport
- Miami Seaport (USMIA), Miami
- Port Everglades Cruise Port (USPEF), Fort Lauderdale
- Port of Palm Beach (USPBC), West Palm Beach
- Port of San Juan (PRSJU), San Juan
Udi Onyile, Erika Owen, and Bailey Berg contributed reporting. This article was originally published in 2019; it was updated on March 25, 2026, with additional information.
