CPD ROAM app experiences

[donradcliffe]

Having failed again with the ROAM app while clearing into San Diego yesterday, I thought I would start a new thread with how best to navigate the pitfalls of government software.

First a little background.

The ROAM app is designed to expedite clearing into the US. It is supposed to allow you to fill out an arrival form on your mobile device with information on your boat and your crew. You upload this information to the CPD and they review the information and decide whether they should inspect you and your boat in person. If they decide this is not necessary, they will inform you on your phone that you are cleared in and it is not necessary to wait for inspection. This is a win-win situation. You don't have to wait for the inspection, and they don't have to send someone down to inspect you.

Now the reality.

I have tried ROAM on the last 4 entries, and have yet to use it successfully. In yesterday's case, the admiral and I were delivering a 43 ft sailboat from Ensenada to San Diego for some old friends. San Diego has a reserved space for CPD entries at the Police Dock in Shelter Island. My ETA at the dock is 0900 local time.

At 0600 I open the app and start to fill in the data for the new boat and crew. The app remembers the previous arrivals, so I am able to transfer over my passport and data. The current boat is documented, so I enter the info from the document, plus the DTOPS decal number (the old owner has never heard of DTOPS, so I get him to pay the $30 to the government and get an email with this year's decal number (AFAIR, the decal itself never arrives, but you only need the number). I scan the admiral's passport into the app, and fortunately it recognizes it in a pitching seaway while telling me to hold it still, saving me a lot of typing on a cell phone.

I fill in my destination city and marina, and am now across the boarder, so I send off the arrival form at 0630, to hopefully get CBP to look at it before I arrive. I am still on Mexican cell towers, so after a lot of spinning symbols the app tells me that the connection has failed.

I try again at 0830 while I am entering San Diego harbor, with the same result. I try again at 0900 while tied up to the Police Dock, and it says something like "your location was outside the limits of your destination, so your arrival has been rejected."

After 3 tries of voicemail hell, I get the phone number of the duty officer at CBP. He actually answers! He has not seen my boat arrive on ROAM. He tells me to try the CBP kiosk at the police dock, and failing that, to uninstall and reinstall the ROAM app. Since reinstalling the ROAM app would mean entering all the data again, I tried to report a new arrival. I got the same error message, even though I was tied up at my arrival point, and the kiosk was removed some time before my last entry in San Diego.

I the uninstalled the app and reinstalled the latest version, then re-entered all the data. I was a bit grumpy because I had a total of 2 hours sleep in the last 30. The new app software will let me enter myself as captain, but the latest version has NO PLACE TO ENTER CREW! I tried to enter the admiral as co-captain, but of course that didn't work, so I reported my arrival yet again. I called back the duty officer, and he told me that he now saw my arrival, and a CBP officer would be calling me shortly.

I got a call within a few minutes, and explained my situation with the admiral. He told me to join him on a video chat through the app. I looked all over the app, and there was no place to joint a video call. He called back after a bit, and said that because they needed to see the admiral and her passport, they would send someone down to the dock.

The someone turned out to be 3 people 30 minutes later, because that's how they work, so I rousted the admiral from her sleep and given them her passport on the dock. Two married seventy somethings on an old boat did not fit their alert profile, so it took them 30 seconds to declare we were cleared.

My lesson learned this time was to wait till we were tied up to announce our arrival. Anyone with half a brain would have put an estimated arrival time for us to fill out on the app to cut down on waiting time, but that's the government for you. As far as the crew list bug in the latest app, its so bad that I expect it to be fixed by my next entry.

Has anyone else tried ROAM lately and have any suggestions how to make it work?

[donradcliffe]

Another lesson learned earlier arrivals was--if you are arriving at o dark 30, make sure to turn off the night time call blocking on your phone.

[SailingHarmonie]

I have used it at least a dozen times, and three times this year. Works fine for me. No special magic required.

[h20man]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Having failed again with the ROAM app while clearing into San Diego yesterday, I thought I would start a new thread with how best to navigate the pitfalls of government software.

First a little background.

The ROAM app is designed to expedite clearing into the US. It is supposed to allow you to fill out an arrival form on your mobile device with information on your boat and your crew. You upload this information to the CPD and they review the information and decide whether they should inspect you and your boat in person. If they decide this is not necessary, they will inform you on your phone that you are cleared in and it is not necessary to wait for inspection. This is a win-win situation. You don't have to wait for the inspection, and they don't have to send someone down to inspect you.

Now the reality.

I have tried ROAM on the last 4 entries, and have yet to use it successfully. In yesterday's case, the admiral and I were delivering a 43 ft sailboat from Ensenada to San Diego for some old friends. San Diego has a reserved space for CPD entries at the Police Dock in Shelter Island. My ETA at the dock is 0900 local time.

At 0600 I open the app and start to fill in the data for the new boat and crew. The app remembers the previous arrivals, so I am able to transfer over my passport and data. The current boat is documented, so I enter the info from the document, plus the DTOPS decal number (the old owner has never heard of DTOPS, so I get him to pay the $30 to the government and get an email with this year's decal number (AFAIR, the decal itself never arrives, but you only need the number). I scan the admiral's passport into the app, and fortunately it recognizes it in a pitching seaway while telling me to hold it still, saving me a lot of typing on a cell phone.

I fill in my destination city and marina, and am now across the boarder, so I send off the arrival form at 0630, to hopefully get CBP to look at it before I arrive. I am still on Mexican cell towers, so after a lot of spinning symbols the app tells me that the connection has failed.

I try again at 0830 while I am entering San Diego harbor, with the same result. I try again at 0900 while tied up to the Police Dock, and it says something like "your location was outside the limits of your destination, so your arrival has been rejected."

After 3 tries of voicemail hell, I get the phone number of the duty officer at CBP. He actually answers! He has not seen my boat arrive on ROAM. He tells me to try the CBP kiosk at the police dock, and failing that, to uninstall and reinstall the ROAM app. Since reinstalling the ROAM app would mean entering all the data again, I tried to report a new arrival. I got the same error message, even though I was tied up at my arrival point, and the kiosk was removed some time before my last entry in San Diego.

I the uninstalled the app and reinstalled the latest version, then re-entered all the data. I was a bit grumpy because I had a total of 2 hours sleep in the last 30. The new app software will let me enter myself as captain, but the latest version has NO PLACE TO ENTER CREW! I tried to enter the admiral as co-captain, but of course that didn't work, so I reported my arrival yet again. I called back the duty officer, and he told me that he now saw my arrival, and a CBP officer would be calling me shortly.

I got a call within a few minutes, and explained my situation with the admiral. He told me to join him on a video chat through the app. I looked all over the app, and there was no place to joint a video call. He called back after a bit, and said that because they needed to see the admiral and her passport, they would send someone down to the dock.

The someone turned out to be 3 people 30 minutes later, because that's how they work, so I rousted the admiral from her sleep and given them her passport on the dock. Two married seventy somethings on an old boat did not fit their alert profile, so it took them 30 seconds to declare we were cleared.

My lesson learned this time was to wait till we were tied up to announce our arrival. Anyone with half a brain would have put an estimated arrival time for us to fill out on the app to cut down on waiting time, but that's the government for you. As far as the crew list bug in the latest app, its so bad that I expect it to be fixed by my next entry.

Has anyone else tried ROAM lately and have any suggestions how to make it work?

I came into San Diego from Ensenada end March this year. Was at the Customs Dock. I had had some issues (attempting to get ROAM app on iPhone to work with Cell towers off shore.. Probably should have had tried to submit when had good internet.)


Arrived in San Diego in the early afternoon, but CBP was busy with international arrivals at San Diego Airport (SAN). The CBP chap called me back (I had called the number listed on the info placard at Police Dock) and suggested I do the ROAM app at dock. Did it.. worked. He tried to set up a video call. It did not work. So then had phone interview for myself and 1 pax. All good. Got clearance.. Found the experience very pleasant. They really do try to deal as well as possible.


BTW, the app is a CR app. They know it.. and are working on it.


Did you use an Android or iPhone?


Submit a bug report to CBP. Please.
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• Last Modified: April 13, 2023

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[donradcliffe]

It was an android phone. I'll call the CPB contact number and talk to them tomorrow to hopefully make it easier for the next person. The CPB officers I talked to on the phone and in person couldn't have been nicer, which is a welcome change from the A-hole in 2017.

[s/v Jedi]

Never a problem for us using an iPhone. Being non US citizens on a tourist visa, sometimes we get cleared straight away, sometimes after a video call and with the older version we had to go to their office for the cruising permit.

Here are the crucial steps:

1 - enter all boat and crew info before departure for a US destination
2 - arrive at your destination and anchor or tie up to the marina slip etc.
3 - make sure your phone has a good signal incl. data link (check web page)
4 - make sure your phone has a valid GNSS position (check maps app)
5 - start Roam app and report arrival

I never had a problem with the video link and I think they will initiate it.

Attached some screenshots for two arrivals, one we had to go to the office for the cruising permit and one approved us after video call. We have also been approved straight away which was strange because they still stamped our passports at that time (they stopped that a year or so ago)

[mojoman2]

I am an American citizen and I recently cleared in to St Croix using ROAM. I submitted my application at 09:00 and waited. The app says that it is being processed. I kept checking back but it still said that it was being processed. I put it down and when I looked back at 11:30, I was logged out. So, I logged in and there is no way to check on the status of the application. I had to start over, but I noticed that I had forgotten to update my passport number so I fixed that. Then I waited like the first time. Then at 15:00, I checked and I was logged out again. So, I had to start from the beginning again. I did find an error in my boat sticker number so I fixed that and waited again. At 17:00 I was logged out again, but this time the system gave a server error and would not let me log back in. Finally, at 17:55 I get 3 emails that all 3 of my applications were approved. While I acknowledge that my errors might have played a role, it is impossible for the user to know whether his application is rejected or still in the que. And, the fact that it took all day is embarrassing. I have cleared customs in dozens of countries and never had to wait like that. Is this the best that our country can do?

[pjShap]

I used Roam returning from Nova Scotia to Maine last summer. If the app said you had to be at an approved check-in dock, I didn't see it. So I entered all the info and submitted the request while at my last anchorage in Nova Scotia. It was pretty quick to tell me I could NOT enter the USA. No further explanation. I had noticed the app appeared to check my location, so I decided to proceed and try again when I got to the Rockland dock. This time it put up a whole page saying Please Wait. After half an hour I called the CBP phone number. I was given a number to call the Bangor office which handles Rockland arrivals. I explained, the officer had the ROAM info, and in less than a minute told me we were approved. We were the only boat checking in Rockland at that time, so there wasn't a queue and no question about who we were.

My summary: Only use the ROAM app when you are at an accepted USA arrival location. It would be nice if the app checked your location and gave you that info, but it doesn't. If Please Wait continues for 15 minutes, or anything else goes wrong, call the responsible CBP office.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by mojoman2

I am an American citizen and I recently cleared in to St Croix using ROAM. I submitted my application at 09:00 and waited. The app says that it is being processed. I kept checking back but it still said that it was being processed. I put it down and when I looked back at 11:30, I was logged out. So, I logged in and there is no way to check on the status of the application. I had to start over, but I noticed that I had forgotten to update my passport number so I fixed that. Then I waited like the first time. Then at 15:00, I checked and I was logged out again. So, I had to start from the beginning again. I did find an error in my boat sticker number so I fixed that and waited again. At 17:00 I was logged out again, but this time the system gave a server error and would not let me log back in. Finally, at 17:55 I get 3 emails that all 3 of my applications were approved. While I acknowledge that my errors might have played a role, it is impossible for the user to know whether his application is rejected or still in the que. And, the fact that it took all day is embarrassing. I have cleared customs in dozens of countries and never had to wait like that. Is this the best that our country can do?

Okay, I need to add one more point to my list:

- Make sure to enter the correct information for passport numbers and decal numbers

Originally Posted by pjShap

I used Roam returning from Nova Scotia to Maine last summer. If the app said you had to be at an approved check-in dock, I didn't see it. So I entered all the info and submitted the request while at my last anchorage in Nova Scotia. It was pretty quick to tell me I could NOT enter the USA. No further explanation. I had noticed the app appeared to check my location, so I decided to proceed and try again when I got to the Rockland dock. This time it put up a whole page saying Please Wait. After half an hour I called the CBP phone number. I was given a number to call the Bangor office which handles Rockland arrivals. I explained, the officer had the ROAM info, and in less than a minute told me we were approved. We were the only boat checking in Rockland at that time, so there wasn't a queue and no question about who we were.

My summary: Only use the ROAM app when you are at an accepted USA arrival location. It would be nice if the app checked your location and gave you that info, but it doesn't. If Please Wait continues for 15 minutes, or anything else goes wrong, call the responsible CBP office.

You skipped point #2: arrive at destination before reporting arrival. Hiw can you report your arrival when you haven’t arrived yet?

[Wallaby]

Do not try reporting a 'problem' to the listed help email-contact. They did NOT respond to three separate queries.


BTW, I suspect the problem I have in using ROAM has to do with my permanent resident status--my card does not have an expiration date, so I cannot complete the sign-up without 'faking' an expiration date. Sloppy programming!


Also, it may help to completely delete your app and reinstall from scratch.

[wholybee]

I haven't had any significant issues. One thing I note is that you first attempted to submit your arrival while still in Mexican waters. That isn't correct and probably triggered the error. You should not submit your arrival until you actually arrive at your port of entry. It has never taken more than 10 minutes for them to call me back and get me cleared in, even when I arrived at the CBP dock in San Diego at 1am. (A completely different issue is that shortly after that harbor police showed up and because I had finished clearing in I needed to get off the dock and find someplace else at 1am. That wasn't easy or even safe for me to do at that time.)

I typically don't use the app at all while under way. Before I depart, I scan all the passports, enter the ship data, and get the decal squared away. Then, I don't open the app again until I am docked or at anchor at the port of entry.

I did have an issue with video chat once, I think it was camera permissions, or maybe notification permissions. The agent simply called me.

[Nord Sal]

Originally Posted by wholybee

I haven't had any significant issues. One thing I note is that you first attempted to submit your arrival while still in Mexican waters. That isn't correct and probably triggered the error. You should not submit your arrival until you actually arrive at your port of entry.

. . .

This is indeed almost certainly the cause of the problem. I know of people thinking they're doing CBP a favor when they're entering Alaska from BC by using the app while they still have service, trouble is they're still in Canada!

It's common for slower boats leaving Canada to not make the entire trip to Ketchikan when coming up the inside passage. In our case, I telephoned the Ketchikan CBP office shortly after getting underway from Prince Rupert to request permission to anchor our first night in Foggy Bay, Alaska and check in with CBP the following day as is commonly done. After a couple of questions regarding who was on board and citizenship, the request was granted. It was then an hour or two the next day after departing Foggy Bay before we had any cellular service. Once the signal was strong enough I notified CBP of our arrival with the roam app and was accepted within a few minutes - No inspection necessary. I had entered all the crew's passports, boat registration and info, customs decal number, etc. before we ever started the trip.