For those traveling abroad that don’t want to pay for Global Entry, the free Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app is a major timesaver when it comes to U.S. Customs.
The catch is that it’s only available in certain airports currently. We used it when we returned to Boston from Paris and not a single person beat us through customs. Our son just used it yesterday in Dublin when returning to the U.S., he couldn’t believe how easy it was. Below are the locations you can use the app at.
Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport (AUH)
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL)
Aruba Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA)
Bermuda L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA)
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
Calgary International Airport (YYC)
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)
Dublin Airport (DUB)
Edmonton International Airport (YEG)
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ)
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 Ried International Airport (LAS)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Miami International Airport (MIA)
Miami Seaport (MSE)
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP)
Montreal Trudeau International Airport (YUL)
Nassau Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS)
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Oakland International Airport (OAK)
Orlando International Airport (MCO)
Ottawa International Airport (YOW)
Palm Beach Seaport (WPB)
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
Port Everglades Seaport (PEV)
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)
San Juan Seaport (SAJ)
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
Shannon Airport (SNN)
Tampa International Airport (TPA)
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
Winnipeg James A Richardson International Airport (YWG)
I’ve used the app on 4 occasions, including in Dublin coming home from my European trip - zero issues. I was the only one with the app and was immediately ushered to a booth with no waiting - even though the airport had signs saying download this app and bypass the lines.
My bff also used it at LAX - he had one person in front of him.
You get to use one of the fast lanes with few people in the queue. Normally, this means getting to the agent faster.
However, the may be only one agent serving that fast lane, and if someone takes a long time with the agent, the queue stops unless another agent opens up another booth.
Global Entry is only $100 for five years, and it includes TSA Precheck. It counts as ID in US airports, too, so you don’t need a Real ID or a passport.
It can be hard to get an appointment where we live. We had Global Entry but it expired during the pandemic and we didn’t renew. We now use the Mobile Passport Control app, huge time saver and comparable to GE at our airport, actually maybe faster.
I love Global Entry. I wonder, however, if there’s any possible advantage to having both that and the app? Or are they essentially the same and therefore redundant to have both?
When we used MPC at O’Hare, there were separate lines for Global Entry and MPC. We actually got through MPC quicker than the Global Entry folks. Maybe if you had both you could choose the shorter line?
There’s also a website that you can sign up for and pay some small fee (like $20) and they will sent you text notifications as soon as an interview spot opens to you can log in and snag it. That’s how we got one of our appointments.
Younger S downloaded it when we came through Dulles 12-31-22, and the lines were soooooo long. I bet people were there for 4+ hours in those lines. We stood for 30-45 min and hardly moved. They had roped off an area for kids to just sit and wait with luggage! After he learned about MPC, he downloaded it, filled out our info and we were through the short line in < 10 minutes.
I downloaded it when we came through Dulles from Canada a year ago, but there was nobody in line that day, so we went through the regular line.
We got to use our Global Entry for the first time a week ago at Dulles. I think the Global Entry line was longer than the regular, but everyone just walked right through and I think it was still faster than the regular line. She just said our names, we nodded, she said welcome, and that was it. It was free for me with the Venture X card, and we got the TSA pre-check as a bonus. I didn’t have to listen to H grumble about taking off his shoes. That alone is worth $100!
We used the app this past April on our return from France. It worked great and we got through in almost record time. SeaTac is usually a cluster, but this time no problems.
I didn’t know that with global entry, we didn’t need to get the Real ID also. We have all the things now. My husband even has an enhanced drivers license so he can get to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean without his passport. A little overkill. We were confused
Used global entry for the first time this summer coming through Miami. Yes we got right through customs and then waited for our luggage and security. It was a madhouse. We did save some time but still waited in long lines, just not through customs.
Hopefully the next time we use it, not every international plane won’t be landing at the same time. There was weather in Miami earlier so it was quite a backup when we landed.
Living in Michigan we had the opportunity to go to the border crossing for our interview. If anyone is going to be near the US Canada border, no wait, tons of appointments
The last 2 times we returned from international flights the airports were not using the Mobile Passport Control - 2023 in Miami (long lines) and 2024 in Charlotte (short lines so not needed).
We tried to use the MPC app returning from EU to NYC in 2019. Didn’t work well for us at all. We had the app installed correctly, but there were no separate lines, and agents were so overwhelmed, having the MPC app was no benefit. That was our first and only experience, however, and was the primary reason we decided to get the Global Entry for future trips. Now, of course, so many people have Global Entry, the Pre-Check lines are often just as long as the regular lines at our local airport.
Ours was a combined Nexxus/Global entry since we go to BC, Canada from time to time and the shorter lines are appealing. It requires an in person interview near the Canadian border which is not too close to our home and combined with planning an interview months out is rather inconvenient.