CBP to Launch Awareness Campaign for Ready Lane at South Texas Ports of Entry
(Press Release) LAREDO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Laredo Field Office (LFO) is preparing to launch an awareness campaign during the month of October 2018 for dedicated processing lanes for vehicles and pedestrians with technology-enabled travel cards, known as Ready Lanes. The campaign will improve correct use and awareness of Ready Lanes and their expedited processing benefits in anticipation of the approaching holiday travel season, one of the busiest times of the year for South Texas ports of entry.
“Building from the success realized during previous awareness campaigns, the Laredo Field Office is reprising that same proactive approach to inform the public about who is eligible to use Ready Lanes and how to use them properly. Our ports of entry will be conducting multiple outreach events, as well as coordinating with their Mexican counterparts to establish the best course of action with regard to proper signage and lane designation,” said Director, Field Operations David P. Higgerson, Laredo Field Office. “This initiative will encourage travelers to obtain approved documents to use the Ready Lanes and results in timesaving measures for the public.”
CBP implemented the use of Ready Lanes in 2011 for travelers in possession of radio-frequency identification technology (RFID)-equipped travel documents such as U.S. Passport Card, Enhanced (RFID-enabled) Border Crossing Cards (BCC), Enhanced Permanent Resident Cards (PRC), Trusted Traveler Program documents (NEXUS, SENTRI, Free and Secure Trade (FAST), and Global Entry), Enhanced Drivers Licenses (EDL), and Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETC). In order to be eligible to use a Ready Lane, all travelers 16 years and older must be carrying one of the RFID-enabled travel documents listed above. Children who are 15-years-old and younger may travel without an RFID document, provided that all adult travelers are Ready Lane compliant.
The first awareness campaign effort will consist of a 30-day traveler compliance operation during which CBP officers will be screening vehicles, passengers and their documents prior to reaching the inspection booths to provide guidance to travelers on which lane to use depending on the documents they present. The 30-day Ready Lane compliance operation will run from Oct. 10, 2018 to Nov. 9, 2018. Additional public awareness efforts will include press events, social and print media outreach, and providing travelers with informational tear sheets and flyers as they cross the border. In the coming weeks, CBP will also be hosting document application fairs around the Laredo region, where U.S. citizens will have the opportunity to apply for Ready Lane-eligible travel documents.
CBP is committed to enhancing public awareness of Ready Lanes to improve wait times, processing times, and traffic volume along the Southwest border. RFID-equipped travel documents, when coupled with traveler readiness by having documents ready and using the in-lane document readers as they approach the booth, facilitates traveler processing for both vehicles and pedestrians. Ready Lanes can achieve processing times that are 45 percent faster than processing in general lanes, providing significant time savings for travelers.
Learn more about Ready Lanes here.
Learn more about CBP here.
