DHS CBP One App

Full Title

The U. S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Boarder Protection Smartphone App.

Context

• On 2020-10-28, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched the FREE CBP One™ mobile application on the Apple App and Google Play stores. CBP One™ is a mobile application that serves as a single portal to a variety of CBP services. Through a series of guided questions, the app directs each type of user to the appropriate services based on their needs. As part of CBP’s comprehensive effort to improve the security of our nation’s borders while enhancing legitimate travel and trade, CBP One™ provides increased accessibility and transparency to some of CBP’s most utilized services.
• On 2023-05-10 several changes were completed to allow additional time to complete process which take time and were not flexible as well as address changes to the regulations.
• Some of the functionality

1. Inspection Appointment request feature for brokers/carriers/forwarders and I-94 Entry for travelers.
2. Advance Submission and Appointment Scheduling - CBP One™ is available now to schedule appointments s are free to use. Noncitizens located in Central or Northern Mexico who seek to travel to the United States may use the U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP One™ app to submit information in advance and schedule an appointment at:
   1. Arizona: Nogales
   2. Brownsville, Eagle Pass, Hidalgo, and El Paso
   3. Calexico and San Ysidro
3. Advance Travel Authorization (ATA) | Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela (CHNV) USCIS Process
4. Check Border Wait Times
5. Check Your Trusted Traveler Programs Status
6. I-94 Entry for Travelers
7. Request Inspection of Agriculture or Biological Products for Travelers
8. Submitting a Traveler Manifest for Bus Operators

• The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Innovation Team (INVNT) resides within CBPs Office of the Commissioner to identify, adapt, and deliver innovative and disruptive commercial technology solutions to keep front-line personnel safer, more effective, and one step ahead. INVNT identifies and pilots cutting-edge commercial technologies, adapts them for government use, and transitions proven capabilities – all while moving at the pace of commercial industry.

1. IF Infrastructure = cloud and edge
2. Human Performance and Resilience - mostly focused on their own staff
3. Sensors and Data - size weight, etc
4. Autonomy - reduce cognitive load - on their own staff
5. AI & Analytics
6. Communications - like use 5G already.

Problems

• The border lottery 2023-07, "An app was meant to streamline immigration at the border. It may have made thing worse." It seems that the app was tested in normal US conditions and deployed in a chaotic system that didn't represent the languages, network or power conditions that apply where it was deployed.
• CBS news "CBP One app becomes main portal to U.S. asylum system under Biden border strategy" 2023-04-11 compares the app to trying get tickets to a Taylor Swift concerts but you don't know the language, have poor connectivity and it is your life that depends on you ability to navigate the hurdles that the app exposes. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said it had made several updates to improve CBP One, including to make it easier for parents and children to get appointments as a group. It noted that CBP was aware of delays when new spots are distributed in the morning due to increased traffic, but said the problems could also stem from "hardware issues from the end user or internet access and reliability."
• AS ASYLUM-SEEKERS REPORT ONGOING ISSUES WITH CBP ONE APP, CONGRESSMAN CASTRO AND HOUSE DEMOCRATS DEMAND ACTION FROM DHS 2023-03-14 They are requesting immediate action to address ongoing issues of accessibility and equity with the CBP One mobile application, which many asylum-seekers are now required to use to book appointments with Customs and Border Protection. In recent weeks, asylum-seekers have reported that technical and access issues with the app have made it difficult to schedule asylum appointments, especially for families who need multiple appointments as a bloc. The goals are to keep families together and require less technical competency on the part of the applicant. Too few languages are available. Privacy of facial recognition is questioned.
• SENATOR MARKEY CALLS ON DHS TO DITCH MOBILE APP RIDDLED WITH GLITCHES, PRIVACY PROBLEMS, FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS 2023-02-21 - some of his points:

1. The CBP One app is available only in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole languages. This makes the app inaccessible to asylum seekers who speak a different language. How did DHS decide on these three languages? What options are available for asylum seekers using the CBP One app who don’t speak those three languages?
2. What steps is DHS taking to prevent exploitation of asylum seekers through clone apps or scam attempts? How is DHS defending against misinformation around the CBP One app?
3. How is DHS safeguarding biometric and geolocation information obtained through use of the CBP One App? How is DHS ensuring that this information cannot be misused? Has CBP shared any personal information collected by the CBP One App with any other government agencies or law enforcement entities?

• Migrants grapple with government app to make asylum appointments 2023-01-31 Describes how U.S. Customs and Border Protection expanded the capability of its CBP One app in 2023-01 to allow migrants to make direct appointments to request protection at a port of entry, which the Biden administration touted as part of its plans to address a record number of unlawful U.S-Mexico border crossings. But providers along the border say the app disadvantages the most vulnerable asylum-seekers who may not have access to a smartphone or consistent WiFi, or the tech savvy to navigate the platform. They described constant glitches, limited foreign language options, and a lack of transparency about how many appointments will be available each day. Even internet connectivity issues limit access to those who can afford to stay in a hotel with wifi. Those who hale the immigrants with the process say that they have “no idea” how migrants who are not working with a nonprofit like her “would be navigating some of these different challenges.” and because of the small number of languages and poor UX for the languages that are available they say that “Ultimately, access to asylum needs to be equitable, fair and free in the languages that the immigrants do know.”
• DHS Fails to Address Concerns about CBP One as the Agency Expands the App’s Use 2023-01-13 Immigration Impact talks about the lack of transparency in the following "CBP One uses facial recognition technology and GPS tracking to perform several of its functions, subjecting users to the inherent risks and flaws of these technologies. Information about these functions and the app’s data collection capabilities is scattered and often buried in dense government documents. This has left many concerns unanswered. CBP’s website also lacks sufficient detail to understand how the app is used."

Learning

The following is a summary of the points that need to be addressed in any app that allows people to access rights given them by law, especially in the case where the app is the ONLY means to access those rights:

1. Ensure that networking is available where the app is expected to be used for network access or provide it.
2. IF children or disable persons are expect to be issued credentials, ensure that they can be issued to a guardian.
3. If family groups are expected to access rights together, be sure that they are planed and tested as a unit in the design.
4. Write up all of the distinct use cases to be sure that they are cover by the test plan.
5. Determine the capabilities of all of the users what will be required to use the app.
6. Build tests should include at least two languages and run the full gamut of screens and error conditions.
7. Establish an architecture of the expected use with the expected equipment and make all that available to developers and testers.
8. Determine the language and technology ability of all of the expected users of the app and have testers available for them all.
9. When the app is nearing completion make sure that there is a test environment containing all of the expected user types of the app.
10. Understand the range of ages of smartphones that might be included in the population and include them in design and build testing.