new US Customs reporting app

[Symphony]

US Customs and Border Patrol have released a new app based solution for reporting entry. It will replace the Small Vessel Reporting System which was a web based system that had many User Interface problems. I struggled through it for several deliveries.

along with the demise of SVRS, the US CBP is eliminating the need to file a Float Plan.

new system accepts your current SVRS, Local Boater number. Supplants calling into Customs. Works for non-US citizens too.

here's the notice - - - - - - -
INTRODUCING A NEW OPTION FOR REPORTING YOUR PLEASURE BOAT ARRIVAL TO CBP

Hello SVRS member,
It is our pleasure to announce that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is launching the CBP Reporting Offsite Arrival – Mobile (ROAM) app, a new way for pleasure boaters to report their U.S. entry in select locations nationwide! This app provides pleasure boaters with a convenient and efficient way to report their U.S. entry from a personal device, as opposed to calling their local CBP number. Please note: Float plans are no longer required, and the Small Vessel Reporting System (SVRS) is being discontinued in the coming months. A notice will be posted to the SVRS website with a specific date and thereafter all travelers will be directed to utilize the CBP ROAM app. Your SVRS, Local Boater, or Registered Traveler numbers will remain in effect and can be utilized and saved within the app to expedite reporting.

What is the CBP ROAM app?
The CBP ROAM app is a free mobile application that provides a new and faster option for pleasure boaters to report their U.S. entry to CBP. Travelers can use their personal smart device (or a tablet located at partner businesses) to satisfy reporting requirements in select areas. All travelers, regardless of nationality or citizenship, are eligible to use the CBP ROAM app.

Where can the CBP ROAM app be used?
Currently, the CBP ROAM app can be used to report U.S. entry by pleasure boat in Florida, select locations in Minnesota, and in the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River area between Buffalo and Ogdensburg, NY. Additional locations are being added, and travelers should contact their local port of entry to confirm whether arrival submissions via the CBP ROAM app are accepted.

Download CBP ROAM on your Android or Apple device! Detailed instructions on how to install and use the app on a personal device are attached for your reference. For more information on the CBP ROAM app, visit the CBP ROAM page on CBP’s website. For CBP ROAM questions or comments, please reach out to cbproam@cbp.dhs.gov.

Happy boating and stay safe!
U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[LoudMusic]

We just used ROAM coming into Fort Lauderdale from Turks and Caicos last week. The interface needs a bit of attention but it worked. A customs officer started a video call with us through the app and approved each of us while we were still underway. Easy peasy. You'll obviously need reliable fast internet onboard. We used ATT on my wife's Google Pixel.

I have global entry and my wife has tsa precheck, not sure if that is of any benefit.

[wsmurdoch]

Thursday (May 31) as we left Green Turtle Cay I filed a SVRS float plan from the Bahamas to the US because CBP ROAM is not used on the east coast north of Florida, and we thought we might end up there. As it turned out we got plastered by a late evening thunderstorm (54.7kt max) east of St Augustine and came into the St Marys Entrance the next morning to lick our wounds anchoring on the Florida side of the Cumberland Sound. I called CBP's 800 number with my float plan number and was told to install CBP ROAM on the cell phone and to check in with it rather than the SVRS float plan. As LoudMusic said, the app needs a little more work, but we did it with no real trouble and were promptly checked in without any video interview.

Bill

[pascalG]

I ve used it twice already coming back from the Exumas to Miami and it works very well. It is much faster than the old floatplan system which requires going thru pages and pages to fill out all the data

First trip the customs officer initiated a video call and asked to see each of us holding our passports. Second time we were cleared without the video call. In each case it was the two of us with LBO/SVRS numbers plus a non LBO US citizen crew. Neither time did they have to go to immigration as before

Big improvement. Nice to see the government getting it right

[kapnkarl]

Originally Posted by Symphony

... Download CBP ROAM on your Android or Apple device! Detailed instructions on how to install and use the app on a personal device are attached for your reference. ...].

Didn't see an attachment... did i miss it?

[Symphony]

Originally Posted by kapnkarl

Didn't see an attachment... did i miss it?

Sorry, I couldn't attach the attachment, but it's all on their website. easy to do.

[SVOurSabbatical]

We used the app for the first time this afternoon. We arrived to Jacksonville from the Bahamas. Once we submitted, it was less than 5 minutes to approval. No video call was required for us. Very simple and easy. Love it!

[amiller]

Just used it coming in to Ft Lauderdale from Bahamas. Easy. Quick. WiFi is not needed, worked fine over ATT cell connection. Way better than going to customs in person!

[fguptill]

I just tried to install the app on my iPad Mini. It wouldn't work. Apparently my technology is too old. So I need to purchase a new $700 iPad in order to clear US Customs?!

[AiniA]

Probably works a lot better for Americans coming into the US than for foreign vessels and crew. For starters if you are a foreign boat you probably do not have US cellular data service. We entered the US (New Jersey) from Bermuda several weeks ago. We were able to clear Customs on the phone (we had a current cruising permit) but had to go the cruise ship terminal in Hoboken to clear immigration. That cost about $50 for cab fares. A dock for pleasure craft at the cruise ship terminal would make a lot of sense. Still like the system for checking in/out at Deshaies, Guadeloupe. You sit down at a computer terminal in a gift shop and fill out the form yourself. If you know when you are leaving you can do check out at the same time. When you are done you print out the form and get it signed by the guy who runs the gift shop. He charges you five euro for hosting the service and signing. This has caused the collapse of Guadeloupe, France (Guadeloupe is a department of France), or the EU. Perhaps we just need fewer, more sensible rules.

[Symphony]

Originally Posted by fguptill

I just tried to install the app on my iPad Mini. It wouldn't work. Apparently my technology is too old. So I need to purchase a new $700 iPad in order to clear US Customs?!

iPad mini is certainly new enough. Check the requirements for iOS version (have you updated?) and cellular service (does your mini run cell service?)

good luck.

[Tessellate]

Anyone have more recent info on the CBP Roam app? The reviews on Android (Google Play store) are all terrible 1-star reviews since about November. (app has a 1.6 average - out of 5 - now)

Judging from the review texts, it appears the app devs pushed a buggy app in a November update and haven't fixed it in the 3 months since. All reviews since Nov say the app crashes and doesn't work.

I'm not sure there's a benefit to the app anyway if you have NEXUS? Checking in by phone seems just as easy. Unless I'm missing something, seems the app is mainly beneficial to people who don't have NEXUS passes, because they might get to skip office checkin (might, not guaranteed).

[pascalG]

Originally Posted by Tessellate

Anyone have more recent info on the CBP Roam app? The reviews on Android (Google Play store) are all terrible 1-star reviews since about November. (app has a 1.6 average - out of 5 - now)

Judging from the review texts, it appears the app devs pushed a buggy app in a November update and haven't fixed it in the 3 months since. All reviews since Nov say the app crashes and doesn't work.

I'm not sure there's a benefit to the app anyway if you have NEXUS? Checking in by phone seems just as easy. Unless I'm missing something, seems the app is mainly beneficial to people who don't have NEXUS passes, because they might get to skip office checkin (might, not guaranteed).

I ve used the IOS version of the app 3 or 4 times since November, works great

[Tessellate]

Originally Posted by pascalG

I ve used the IOS version of the app 3 or 4 times since November, works great

Yeah it looks like the iOS app has higher reviews, so maybe only the Android app is buggy. Or maybe people just don't know how to use the location permissions UI (if you mistakenly deny permissions, it is hard to find where to enable them).