Want to skip customs?

Well, not skip it exactly. But once you’re accepted into the Global Entry Program, you can walk right past that passport control line, scan your passport at a kiosk, and be on your way. Started in June 2008 at the Houston, JFK, and Dulles international airports, the program now has 42,000 registrants and is available at the top 20 international airports in the United States.

Charles Massey, founder and CEO, Synaxis Meetings & Events in West Hollywood, Calif., is a fan. “I did it for the convenience,” says Massey, who travels internationally 10 to 12 times per year. The online application, which requires five years of international travel history, is “daunting,” he notes, “but worth it.”

Once you submit your application and receive conditional approval, you schedule an interview with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at one of the participating airports, where your application is reviewed and your fingerprints recorded.

For organizations registering many travelers at once, a new CBP outreach program has begun offering in-office interviews and fingerprinting, subject to availability. Find out if you qualify for an in-office visit by contacting your local CBP office. (The office posts a list of airport contacts online.)

The U.S. has a reciprocal “trusted traveler” agreement with the Netherlands, and agreements with Germany and the U.K. are now being worked out. Other countries will be added in the future, making your international travel a whole lot smoother and easier. You even get to skip filling out that customs declaration card.