I don't want to jinx this but....
I just arrived Monday to the USA from the Cayman Islands, landing Key West. Clearing Customs
at Key West was a walk-in-the-park! They were fast, efficient and had me in/out in less than 10 minutes. No rubber gloves, no strip search, nothing but professional and courteous
at Key West.
Yes, prior to departure, I filed
eAPIS (which desperately needs somebody who codes this software to actually try to use it and find out how bad it is... took me an hour to figure it out after clicking my way through to nowhere...I spent 22 years trying 'break' F-117 Avionics Software and am very good at finding problems and suggesting solutions
After signing up and giving the system every piece of information on you including your favorite color, when filing eAPIS the system will again ask you to enter every single piece of information that you already gave them
You will also need to enter the address where you can be reached in addition to your permanent address (how about a checkbox that says "Check here if same as permanent address").
If you are in a 2-seat RV, file your passenger as CREW.
Here are some hints to save you some time when using the eAPIS system to file:
1) When you see a dropdown box with selections that have your name (and others), select your name in the dropdown box.
I was put in an endless loop by selecting my name then immediately entering addresss information in the boxes below
2) Click the
first box that's next to the dropdown box, "SHOW DETAILS". Fill in the "Address While in the United States" information that is missing as indicated by the red asterisks next to the boxes.
3) Verify the "Document Information" is correct else select the correct "Document Information" in the dropdown box.
4) Click "SAVE TO MANIFEST".
5) If you have passengers, repeat steps 1/2/3/4 for other passengers, otherwise....continue to step 6.
6) Click "NEXT STEP" and continue the process (good luck, Rosie).
PS: Unfortunately, all Customs Agents and Offices are not created equal.... I have more notes on customs at Key West
here on my trip report link.