New Customs Kiosks Slash Wait Times at O'Hare

A nationally recognized reporter, writer, and consumer advocate, Ed Perkins focuses on how travelers can find the best deals and avoid scams.

He is the author of "Online Travel" (2000) and "Business Travel: When It's Your Money" (2004), the first step-by-step guide specifically written for small business and self-employed professional travelers. He was also the co-author of the annual "Best Travel Deals" series from Consumers Union.

Perkins' advice for business travelers is featured on MyBusinessTravel.com, a website devoted to helping small business and self-employed professional travelers find the best value for their travel dollars.

Perkins was founding editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, one of the country's most influential travel publications, from which he retired in 1998. He has also written for Business Traveller magazine (London).

Perkins' travel expertise has led to frequent television appearances, including ABC's "Good Morning America" and "This Week with David Brinkley," "The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather," CNN, and numerous local TV and radio stations.

Before editing Consumer Reports Travel Letter, Perkins spent 25 years in travel research and consulting with assignments ranging from national tourism development strategies to the design of computer-based tourism models.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Perkins lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife.

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If you’re returning through Chicago O’Hare from a foreign trip, newly installed kiosks in the international arrivals area will allow you to skip much of the usual desks and paperwork. Just head to one of 32 self-service kiosks, scan your passport, get your picture taken, answer some questions, and get receipt and show it to the customs official.

According to reports, the average wait time has dropped from 50 to 34 minutes, but some travelers report no wait at all. You can even ignore the customs handouts that airline flight attendants offer to passengers before landing. For now, the kiosks work only for U.S. citizens; future extension to other citizens is unclear.

Clearly, this is great news for citizens entering the U.S. through O’Hare. Long processing times for international arrivals are among the biggest headaches travelers encounter throughout the air transport system. They’re also annoying: Queuing for as much as an hour for a routine two-minute face-to-fare transaction seems absurd. And it is absurd, given that the process is so easily automated.

The only downside to this story is that, so far, only O’Hare has the kiosks. Let’s hope the Customs and Border folks get busy and install them at every international gateway ASAP.

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