U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Model Ports of Entry program is designed to make the entry experience for returning U.S. citizens and foreign guests arriving in U.S. airports more pleasant and welcoming, including improving signage, showing multilingual welcome videos, and improving entry procedures.
The Model Ports Working Group met on January 29 to discuss new model ports and CBP?€™s spending for the program.
CBP informed the group that of the $40M appropriated in FY08 for the Model Ports program, 20M was spent on CBP officers, 6.5M on overtime pay, and 8.5M on equipment. As part of its equipment spending, a flat screen TV will be installed and running at all 20 model ports by August 2010. CBP has also increased the number of Passenger Service Managers (PSM), CBP employees who focus on strengthening customer service at model ports of entry. There are now 45 PSMs between the 20 model ports.
Data collected by DHS?€™s Public Affairs Office has shown that wait times at Dulles International and Houston Airport, the first two model ports, are 30-40% and 10-20% less compared to other ports, respectively.