Who is eligible for Automated Passport Control?
I will be transferring through Chicago from an international flight. O'Hare has Automated Passport Control (APC) kiosks. Information online states:
APC can be used by all U.S. and Canadian passport holders, as well as international travelers with Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval.
However, I've passed through Chicago before, and then I remember signs saying you could only use it if you'd previously entered the United States (and possibly only if that entry was on the same passport). Since my companion hasn't entered the United States before, I'd like to know if this is (still?) the case.
Best Answer
In my experience, anyone entering under the VWP can use the APC machines (which saves filling in the paper form at the least) but if you have not entered the US before with your current passport (possibly using the same ESTA but have not been in the position to check this either way) then your paper slip from the APC machine will be marked and you will be sent to speak to an officer as if you had joined the non-APC line to start with.
At JFK you are sent to a dedicated queue for people who were flagged up at APC, this may or may not be the case at Chicago. This queue can, however, take just as long as the main queue - it may be minimally staffed and thus move very slowly despite its shorter length.
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What is an APC kiosk?
Further, citizens of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States aged 18 or over with electronic passports can use the eGates in the Transfer Area of Dublin Airport if they are in transit with an onward flight to a destination outside the Common Travel Area.Which countries have eGates?
Officially known as automated border control (ABC) systems, e-gates verify a person's identity by comparing a person's facial characteristics to data stored in a chip inside their biometric passport.What is E gate at airport?
Five Tips to Help You Get Through Customs FasterAutomated passport control
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Answer 2
The main reason that you have to get in line the first time is that they take your finger prints. Every further visit, the machine can match them to your prints, and identify you.
First visit (or if you weren't finger printed), obviously it can't, so you will have to go in line and see an officer.
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