No more Passport Swipe upon re-entry in NYC?

[SuzieQ123]

Just got off Breakaway this morning and they did not swipe our passports in Immigration upon return. Is this something new? They just barely looked at our passports and waved us right thru.

Edited November 9, 2014 by SuzieQ123

[roger001]

Might have to do with the TSA "threat level" for that day.

[SuzieQ123]

Might have to do with the TSA "threat level" for that day.

 

Oh OK.. we thought maybe he was still not fully awake yet.:). it was only 7 am. Plus the GEM pulled in next to us and maybe they were just told to "get em out ASAP" LOL

[rvsullivan]

We haven't had our passports swiped returning from a cruise for a couple of years. Sometimes take a look and wave us through.

[njhorseman]

They haven't swiped out passports in NY in quite some time. It has nothing to do with TSA...they do preboarding security checks for airline flights. CBP is the agency that is responsible for customs and immigration checks at ports of entry...land crossings, airports and seaports.

[SuzieQ123]

They haven't swiped out passports in NY in quite some time. It has nothing to do with TSA...they do preboarding security checks for airline flights. CBP is the agency that is responsible for customs and immigration checks at ports of entry...land crossings, airports and seaports.

 

Must be random, when we disembarked the Breakaway September 2013 from Bermuda they did. And also upon return from a 9 nighter on RCCL Explorer from Bayonne in May 2013.

[njhorseman]

Must be random, when we disembarked the Breakaway September 2013 from Bermuda they did. And also upon return from a 9 nighter on RCCL Explorer from Bayonne in May 2013.

 

I'm sure it changes from time to time...could be different tomorrow and different again the next day. Just our personal experience that it hasn't been swiped for quite a while in both NY and Bayonne.

 

Edit: You know what I just remembered? Newer passports have an RFID chip. They don't have to swiped as long as the chip and CBP's equipment is functioning properly.

Edited November 9, 2014 by njhorseman

[SeaShark]

I'm sure it changes from time to time...could be different tomorrow and different again the next day. Just our personal experience that it hasn't been swiped for quite a while in both NY and Bayonne.

 

Edit: You know what I just remembered? Newer passports have an RFID chip. They don't have to swiped as long as the chip and CBP's equipment is functioning properly.

 

That isn't entirely true. The RFID chips were designed to be read within a few inches of a reader. Passports are now lined with shielding to prevent people with special equipment from reading RFID chips from longer distances. Newer passports have to be opened and then the inside page is passed over the scanner. If CBP was scanning your RFID chip, it would be obvious.

[njhorseman]

That isn't entirely true. The RFID chips were designed to be read within a few inches of a reader. Passports are now lined with shielding to prevent people with special equipment from reading RFID chips from longer distances. Newer passports have to be opened and then the inside page is passed over the scanner. If CBP was scanning your RFID chip, it would be obvious.

 

The point is the passport doesn't have to be swiped when it has the RFID chip. Passing it over the scanner isn't swiping. I still hand it to the agent who presumably puts it within range of the scanner so it can be read, without being swiped. Similar to a credit card with chip-and-PIN technology not having to be swiped to be read.

[SeaShark]

The point is the passport doesn't have to be swiped when it has the RFID chip. Passing it over the scanner isn't swiping. I still hand it to the agent who presumably puts it within range of the scanner so it can be read, without being swiped. Similar to a credit card with chip-and-PIN technology not having to be swiped to be read.

 

Playing semantics doesn't look good, nor does it change the fact that you had it wrong. I guess in your world passing it over a scanner and swiping it are different things...which stands in stark contrast to most people's reality.

 

Bottom line...If CBP was electronically processing the passport (is that better?), the passport holder would know it.

[sparks1093]

That isn't entirely true. The RFID chips were designed to be read within a few inches of a reader. Passports are now lined with shielding to prevent people with special equipment from reading RFID chips from longer distances. Newer passports have to be opened and then the inside page is passed over the scanner. If CBP was scanning your RFID chip, it would be obvious.

 

We have EDL's, which have the same technology. We are told to have our EDL's out of their protective sleeve when we approach the port of entry because the info on the RFID chip will be read as we wait in line, so the technology is designed to be read at a distance further than a few inches.

[NH Cruisers]

We have EDL's, which have the same technology. We are told to have our EDL's out of their protective sleeve when we approach the port of entry because the info on the RFID chip will be read as we wait in line, so the technology is designed to be read at a distance further than a few inches.

I too have heard this, and presumed it to be true.

[meatball_nyc]

They barely looked at our passports as we left the Manhattan Cruise Terminal in July.

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[njhorseman]

Playing semantics doesn't look good, nor does it change the fact that you had it wrong. I guess in your world passing it over a scanner and swiping it are different things...which stands in stark contrast to most people's reality.

 

Bottom line...If CBP was electronically processing the passport (is that better?), the passport holder would know it.

 

Laughable that the person (you) who in a post yesterday tried to claim that the words "discretionary" and "optional" had different meanings (you were wrong...they're synonyms...as any thesaurus or dictionary would tell you if you bothered to look) is now accusing me of "playing semantics".

 

Swiping the passport through a reader is a different action than bringing the passport close enough to a reader for the information on the chip to be detected.

 

In fact anyone who is looking can see the difference in how the passport is handled when it's swiped versus simply being brought close enough to a reader that detects the data on the chip. When it's swiped the passport is handled similarly to a credit card being swiped at a credit card reader. When being swiped the machine-readable area of the passport that is just below your picture is physically passed through a reader. Not so when a chip is being read.

Edited November 9, 2014 by njhorseman

[garycarla]

It is not unusual for passengers on a cruise to just be waived by.

 

That has been the "normal" processing we have encountered.

[jackson bernard]

Laughable that the person (you) who in a post yesterday tried to claim that the words "discretionary" and "optional" had different meanings (you were wrong...they're synonyms...as any thesaurus or dictionary would tell you if you bothered to look) is now accusing me of "playing semantics".

 

Swiping the passport through a reader is a different action than bringing the passport close enough to a reader for the information on the chip to be detected.

 

In fact anyone who is looking can see the difference in how the passport is handled when it's swiped versus simply being brought close enough to a reader that detects the data on the chip. When it's swiped the passport is handled similarly to a credit card being swiped at a credit card reader. When being swiped the machine-readable area of the passport that is just below your picture is physically passed through a reader. Not so when a chip is being read.

What's the difference...jeez

[mugtech]

I always take my passport, but it is my understanding that for a round trip NYC cruise, such as to Bermuda, a passport is not required. My wife went into Hamilton to get her passport stamped BERMUDA, was entirely for her own historical purposes. What happens to non-passport holders getting off the ships?

[njhorseman]

I always take my passport, but it is my understanding that for a round trip NYC cruise, such as to Bermuda, a passport is not required. My wife went into Hamilton to get her passport stamped BERMUDA, was entirely for her own historical purposes. What happens to non-passport holders getting off the ships?

 

When non-passport holders disembark at the end of a closed loop cruise that doesn't require a passport the CBP agent will look at their alternative proof of citizenship and photo ID...for most people a birth certificate and drivers license, respectively.

[mugtech]

When non-passport holders disembark at the end of a closed loop cruise that doesn't require a passport the CBP agent will look at their alternative proof of citizenship and photo ID...for most people a birth certificate and drivers license, respectively.

Thank you

[mugtech]

When non-passport holders disembark at the end of a closed loop cruise that doesn't require a passport the CBP agent will look at their alternative proof of citizenship and photo ID...for most people a birth certificate and drivers license, respectively.

Thank you, no scanning or swiping involved:D

[sparks1093]

When non-passport holders disembark at the end of a closed loop cruise that doesn't require a passport the CBP agent will look at their alternative proof of citizenship and photo ID...for most people a birth certificate and drivers license, respectively.

 

And the inspection of those documents is just as cursory as it is for passports in our experience. The screening of the passengers on a closed loop cruise occurs during the cruise when everyone's name is put through all of the government databases they keep on us.

[SuzieQ123]

And the inspection of those documents is just as cursory as it is for passports in our experience. The screening of the passengers on a closed loop cruise occurs during the cruise when everyone's name is put through all of the government databases they keep on us.

 

That's pretty much what I thought, they know who's onboard long before we dock back in NYC.

[ma_t_gus]

I'm not surprised. It'll take too long for 3000+ passengers to get the hell off. Also, Big Brother is already watching us.

[sfaaa]

It's not a cruise from Mid East. Wave them through.