International travelers who register with a pilot program at Washington Dulles International Airport will be able to avoid federal agents and use self-serve kiosks to speed through customs, officials said.
The registered traveler program, run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, costs participating travelers $100 and is being tested at Dulles, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston starting June 10.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must submit to a background check, fingerprinting and an interview with a customs agent to enroll in the program.
Once accepted, the travelers can avoid the airport’s regular customs lines and swipe their passports or legal resident cards at one of two kiosks.
“The computer will recognize you, it will ask you some questions and take your fingerprints,” CBP spokeswoman Joanne Ferreira said. “It gives you a receipt, you give it to the officer and you go.”
Travelers registered with the Global Entry program still may be randomly selected for extra screening.
Security expert Larry Wansley said such programs are safe because government agencies build in several layers of protection to limit the risk of potential terrorists slipping through.
“I think it’s a great step in the right direction,” Wansley said. “All of these programs are works in progress, and there are always going to be situations where you need to make adjustments, but I think it’s a good thing.”
Removing travelers who are low-security risks from the customs line allows federal agents to focus on evaluating higher-risk customers, he said.
“I would liken it to lessening the haystack from which you’re trying to pull the needle,” he said.
Dulles and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport began running a similar program for domestic travelers in March.
The domestic program, called Clear, costs $128 and provides registered travelers with a specially designated security line. It is available at several airports throughout the country.
The international program will be in the pilot phase for at least six months, Ferreira said, at which point it could be expanded to other U.S. airports.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is in discussions with other countries about opening the program to non-U.S. residents, she said.
