According to Commerce and DHS, the United States saw an increase of 19 million international travelers annually between 2011 and 2015, and additional spending by these travelers during this period supported 280,000 new American jobs. In fiscal year 2015, CBP officers processed more than 382 million travelers at air, land, and sea POEs, an increase of two percent from 2014. According to CBP, of the 382 million travelers who arrived in fiscal year 2015, more than 112 million international travelers arrived at U.S. airports, an increase of over five percent from 2014. In addition, according to CBP, international air travel experienced an estimated 28 percent growth from 2009 to 2015. According to reports from the Executive Office of the President and industry stakeholders, wait times for travelers processed by CBP and their overall travel experiences can have an impact on U.S. airports and airlines in domestic and international markets. Reducing wait times can help prevent missed flight connections for travelers, lower airline costs, and attract business to airports. Travelers can immediately share their experiences with the public through social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, and can share compliments or complaints about long wait times or negative interactions with CBP officers. This could impact their and other travelers’ plans to travel to the United States, making the perception of CBP’s operations important to the travel industry. Travelers undergo a multi-step inspection process upon arrival at U.S. international airports. After a plane from a foreign airport arrives at a U.S. airport terminal, the plane blocks, or parks at a terminal gate, and travelers exit the plane into a sterile corridor that may include other gates for international arrivals but is generally separate from travelers arriving on domestic flights. At the end of the sterile corridor, travelers enter the Federal Inspection Service (FIS) area, which is a secure area of the airport where CBP inspects travelers applying for admission to the United States. Once in the FIS area, travelers are generally directed by signage and officials from the airport, an airline, or CBP officers who work in the FIS area to queue for inspection by CBP. The manner in which travelers proceed through the FIS area varies by airport, but generally travelers are queued by immigration or citizenship status type, such as U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, Canadian citizens, and B1/B2 visa holders. CBP’s international arrivals process incorporates automated technology to help expedite travelers at passport control. Travelers must clear passport control, also referred to as primary inspection, where CBP officers inspect their travel documents and travelers are to declare any items required by law before they can be admitted into the United States. Travelers whose admissibility cannot be initially determined are referred for a more intensive, or secondary, inspection. After passport control, travelers enter the baggage claim area to retrieve their checked luggage. Once travelers retrieve their luggage, they must pass a final exit control checkpoint. At any point during the process, a CBP officer can refer a traveler to secondary inspection. In secondary inspection, CBP officers can further inspect the traveler’s travel documents and baggage. After passing exit control, travelers exit the FIS area into a non-sterile part of the airport terminal or to ground or airport transportation. Travelers can exit the airport or re-enter the sterile area of the airport through the Transportation Security Administration security checkpoint to make a connecting flight. Figure 1 shows the inspection process for travelers arriving at U.S. international airports. In addition to CBP, other government agencies and private entities are stakeholders in the international arrivals process at U.S. international airports. These stakeholders can include a unit of the local government, such as airport authorities, domestic and foreign airlines, terminal operators who manage a terminal on behalf of local governments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and law enforcement agencies, among others. For example, at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York, which has five international arrivals terminals, three terminals are managed by individual airlines, one terminal is managed by a terminal operator, and one terminal is operated by an association of four airlines that use the terminal. The entity that manages the airport or international arrivals terminal(s) maintains the facility and must work with CBP to meet its standards for airport design and operation laid out in CBP’s Airport Technical Design Standard, and meet all other federal regulations. While CBP maintains control over most aspects of the FIS area, it relies on the managing entity for infrastructure changes, retractable belts and stanchions used to help queue passengers for inspection, and most signage in the FIS area, among other items. In January 2006, the Department of State (State) and DHS established a joint effort to help streamline the international arrivals process and facilitate travel for legitimate travelers. In 2007, CBP launched the pilot Model Ports program at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). Following this effort, the program was formalized under the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, which mandated that the Secretary of Homeland Security establish a model ports of entry program for the purpose of providing a more efficient and welcoming international arrivals process in order to facilitate and promote business and tourism travel to the United States, while also improving security. This act required CBP to include program elements that would enhance queue management in the FIS area leading to primary inspection, assist foreign travelers once they have been admitted, and offer instructional videos in English and other languages, as deemed appropriate, in the FIS area to explain the inspection process and feature welcome videos. In addition, a portion of CBP’s fiscal year 2008 appropriation was made available for the agency to implement the program at the 20 U.S. airports with the highest number of annual foreign visitors as of 2007 and hire 200 additional officers for the 20 busiest U.S. international airports. In 2008, CBP expanded the Model Ports program to an additional 18 airports. According to OFO officials, OFO designed the program to welcome travelers to the United States and streamline the international arrivals process by improving training, signage, and using technology to facilitate entry. OFO collaborated with other DHS components, interagency government partners, and private and public stakeholders to develop and implement solutions that would facilitate travelers. The goals of the Model Ports program were to (1) ensure that passengers entering the United States were welcomed by CBP officers who treat them with respect and understanding; (2) provide the right information to help travelers, at the right time and in a hospitable manner; (3) create a calm, pleasant waiting area; and (4) streamline the customs process. During the Model Ports program, CBP sought to provide international travelers with more helpful information on what to expect, how to request help, and where to submit their comments or concerns. Among other things, the Model Ports program implemented a customer service professionalism program; improved wait time monitoring and reporting; improved diplomatic arrival processes and dedicated diplomatic processing lanes; formalized CBP’s coordination with stakeholders regularly to discuss shared responsibilities; set goals and monitored progress; implemented audio and video technology in the queuing area of passport control; and developed new signage. CBP worked to enhance its queue management techniques and began to implement other traveler facilitation programs and technologies, which are discussed later in this report. In its final report to Congress on the Model Ports program in 2010, CBP highlighted program accomplishments, including employee training, recognizing employee exemplary performance, disseminating entry requirements to international travelers via CBP’s website, and developing the Airport Wait Time Console to allow CBP management to review and analyze data on arriving international flights and wait times, among other accomplishments. While the program ended in 2010, OFO continued to implement the elements of the program as standard practices across all U.S. international airports. In 2012, the President announced the National Travel and Tourism Strategy for expanding travel to and within the United States. This strategy established a goal of attracting 100 million international visitors to the United States annually by 2021 to generate an estimated $250 billion on an annual basis. The strategy included instructions for federal agencies the strategy identified as taking part in the travel and tourism industry, including instructions for monitoring and evaluating results by, among other things, developing key performance metrics and accountability measures to evaluate progress on goals and identifying issues needing corrective action. In May 2014, the President issued a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretaries of Commerce and Homeland Security to establish a national goal and develop airport- specific action plans to enhance the arrivals process for international travelers to the United States. In February 2015, Commerce and DHS released a report to the President that defined a national goal to “provide a best-in-class international arrivals experience, as compared to global competitors, to an ever-increasing number of international visitors while maintaining the highest standards of national security.” Commerce and DHS developed this goal through consultation with leaders from the airline industry, airport authorities, state and local governments, and other customer service industry leaders. CBP and Commerce worked to establish the metrics and processes necessary to support ongoing improvement directed in the President’s strategy. For example, CBP worked with airports, airlines, and industry associations to develop airport-specific action plans for the 17 busiest U.S. international airports that included steps to drive innovation and increase security while streamlining the entry process. As shown in figure 2, these 17 airports include all Model Ports program airports except McCarran International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas; Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) in Sanford, Florida; and San Juan-Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU) in Puerto Rico; and accounted for over 73 percent of all international travelers to the United States in 2014. CBP updates the action plans and reports on performance metrics quarterly and makes these updates available on its public website.