Passport technology is pretty legit, these days!
If you're traveling internationally, instead of waiting in the very, very long immigration line, use the ePassport lane instead (especially if your passport qualifies).
It's like Global Entry, but for other countries.
Chances are if you've got one of the newer-style U.S. passports, it's already an ePassport. Even if you don't, any passport that has this beautiful little chip symbol (see hero photo!) means its owner is eligible to go through the ePassport lane when passing through immigration.
(It is reported that over 140 countries have issued ePassports, with more than 1 billion in circulation, so your chances are good if your passport is somewhat new-ish!)
In most passports, the rectangular chip symbol is usually located on the cover and signifies that the passport contains an electronic chip.
Most of the time no forms are required through the automated passport control kiosks, and it does make me wonder what kind of information the government has on me 😅
(If you don't have an ePassport lane when you go through, you'll just get flagged and pulled aside! You'll either be sent to the right line, or an immigration officer will do a manual check.)
Travelers can look into whether the country and airport they are traveling to has it; my best advice is to just keep an eye out for the ePassport lane when you're out on the open road. Most major airports in the world have some available.
(I did recently pass through Mexico City International Airport Benito Juárez (MEX) and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), where I was able to use the lane in both countries.)
In my opinion, it's simple, faster, and often much less stressful - especially after a long flight.
