AttachB-NotionalDHSConceptofOperations.docx

Attachment B: Notional DHS Concept of Operations Background

1. Land border ports of entry (POE) accommodate eighty-five percent of entries to the United States (U.S.). Travelers enter land border POEs on foot, by car, by train, bus, truck, and even snowmobile. U.S. citizens and foreign nationals living and working near the border often commute daily or weekly from Canada or Mexico.

2. Select POE vehicle lanes offer options for expedited processing. The type of document, among other variables, affects processing time. Vicinity RFID-enabled documents (i.e. passport cards) provide automated capabilities to support CBP’s determination of identity and citizenship and facilitate cross-border travel by reducing processing time for U.S. citizens.

Vehicle Entry

1. The entry process begins as an individual approaches a land border POE vehicle lane inspection booth. Land border POE infrastructure is tied to the use of Gen 2 RFID in the Passport Card and other enhanced travel documents.

2. In the scenario of a person holding a passport card, the unique number on the passport card’s RFID tag is read automatically at the border and acts as a pointer to a secure DHS database displaying biographic information, a photograph, and the results of watchlist checks for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer as the traveler’s car pulls up to the booth.

3. The Officer can quickly review the results and focus on the individuals in the vehicle—a practice that promotes officer safety and faster processing.

4. Officers review identity, citizenship and admissibility documents, confirm citizenship, interview each traveler, and perform a vehicle inspection. Based on this inspection the Officer determines whether the vehicle and its occupants should be allowed entry into the U.S. or referred to Secondary Inspection for further processing.

5. There are three modes of cross-border travel at land POEs, depending on the document held by the traveler and associated travel privileges. The entry processes associated with the three different modes are depicted in Figure B.1.

Figure B-1: Land POE Entry Process

Standard

a. All travelers holding standard travel documents (e.g., passports) use the standard mode.

b. Officers process travelers at primary inspection by visually examining their travel documents and swiping the Machine Readable Zone, which electronically authenticates the document with the issuing source. Additional checks are performed at primary or the traveler is referred to secondary inspection.

Facilitated / Ready Lane

a. U.S. citizens holding an RFID-enabled travel document (Passport Card, Enhanced Drivers Licenses, etc.) without Trusted Traveler privileges cross the land border in this mode.

b. CBP Officers process travelers based on a remote read of the document to pre-position traveler information on the Officers’ screens to facilitate inspection and travel. RFID technology enables pre-positioning of the data, but additional checks are still performed at primary or the traveler is referred to secondary inspection.

Expedited / Trusted Traveler

a. U.S. citizens holding an RFID-enabled Trusted Traveler card (NEXUS, SENTRI, Global Entry) cross the land border in the express entry mode.

b. CBP Officers process travelers based on a remote read of the Trusted Traveler Card to enable expedited verification of citizenship that facilitates rapid travel. Back-end queries are still run to ensure that no changes have occurred to change the traveler’s Trusted Traveler status. Additional checks are performed at primary or the traveler is referred to secondary inspection.

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