I tried the game-changing shortcut for Aussies entering the US

Even before the recent reports of increased screening at US entry points, arriving in America has always been a game of border roulette. You spill off the plane, bleary-eyed from a 14-hour flight and nervously enter the customs hall to discover your fate. Will it be a torturous two-hour wait in a snaking, Disney-queue-from-hell or a breezy saunter through an empty terminal?

Finally, in January, after years of negotiations, Australians travelling on an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) were allowed to apply for Global Entry – one of America’s four Trusted Traveller Programs which promises expedited entry for low-risk passengers.

But there was a catch. Only 1000 people were processed during phase one of the trial, and to be eligible you had to have travelled to the US at least five times in the previous 12 months. Phase one is now closed, but phase two is expected to open later this year – hopefully with less stringent travel requirements.

Even when this happens, applying for Global Entry is no walk in the park. First, you have to fill in an application on the US Department of Homeland Security website and pay a non-refundable $US120 fee. Then you need to complete another form on the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs website and consent to a background check. Pass both of these, and you’re required to schedule an in-person interview at a Global Entry Enrolment Centre or on arrival at certain airports.

It turns out there’s a much easier – but much-less publicised – option available to Aussies visiting on an ESTA. Since early 2024, the US has allowed returning travellers from Visa Waiver Program countries to use the free Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app, which promises shorter wait times at 35 US airports, including all the major entry points for Australians.

I used it for the first time recently on a flight … to San Francisco, and it was a game-changer.

I used it for the first time recently on a Qantas flight from Sydney to San Francisco, and it was a game-changer.

Given Homeland Security’s penchant for form-filling and bureaucracy, I was expecting the app to be a bewildering, soul-sapping experience. On the contrary, it is refreshingly intuitive. I downloaded it before I left Australia and created a profile by entering my passport details. Then, while on the plane, I filled in a submission for my arrival, answering a series of questions, including the airport I’d be arriving at, my reason for travel (business or pleasure) and the usual customs declarations (food, currency, hanging out with cattle etc).

If I’d been travelling with others, I could have added up to 12 people to the submission, allowing everyone to be processed as a group.

Finally – and this is the only annoying bit – you can’t submit the form until you arrive because it requires internet access. So you either need to be roaming or connect to the airport’s Wi-Fi when you land. During the submission, you take a selfie, then once it’s processed (mine was done in seconds), you get a receipt that’s valid for four hours and are directed to use a dedicated MPC lane.

Entering San Francisco’s arrivals hall, I felt that all-too-familiar sense of despair when I saw the enormous throng of visitors waiting to be processed. But then I spotted the MPC lane and my anguish turned to jubilation when I realised it was empty.

I walked straight up to an officer, answered the customary questions about the length and purpose of my stay, and two minutes later was waiting for my luggage.

In total, it took 24 minutes from stepping off the plane to being outside the terminal waiting for a cab. Despite all the headline-grabbing horror stories, it was my fastest entry into the country. Finally, a US border initiative to cheer about.