(to read about Leg 26, Back in the US in Detour Village, click here)
This year we cleared back into the US from Canada using the CBP ROAM app rather than an in person interview. It worked quite well for us, but other boaters had difficulty.
Upon arrival at our dock at Detour Village Marina, Michigan, I “Reported” our arrival by answering a few questions on a menu, including our location, who was aboard, our boat info, and our declarations. We also applied for “Verified Traveler Status,” which in the future should allow us to check in from anywhere in the US, even if we aren’t at a dock. The app then led us to a Zoom-like video call interview with a customs officer. The process had a few technical bugs… the officer couldn’t see our video at first… but otherwise was very straightforward. He didn’t even ask about alcohol, after I drank extra last night to get us under the personal allowance. We then got our reporting number, so now we’re officially back in the US.
Subsequent conversations with other boaters revealed some had big problems with the process. Most people who had issues seemed to expect that borrowing a marina-owned device or using an out of date app would be a simple process, but I anticipated these would be problematic. The initial setup of the ROAM app is clunky, involving creating a government login with password and two factor authentication, scanning passports, and entering a bunch of contact and boat registration information. I downloaded and set all this up on WiFi before we even left Milwaukee over a month ago! Since my app was already configured, it only took us about ten minutes today even with our small technical glitches. Others took an hour or more, and/or waited in line for longer to borrow a marina device.
My recommendation for everyone else is to download and fill out the forms on your own device ahead of time, and update the app just before reporting your arrival.