TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands CBP ROAM

Since Small Vessel Reporting System (SVRS) is no longer in service (as of June 2023) but CBP ROAM is operating. Does anyone know if by using ROAM, are you still able to clear US customs without a face to face with customs when entering St John or St Thomas? I have used the SVRS many times without leaving the boat. Last time was this past April.

This is why I'm asking.

"Pursuant to 19 CFR 4.2, operators of small pleasure vessels, arriving in the United States from a foreign port or place to include any vessel which has visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise outside the territorial sea, are required to report their arrival to CBP immediately (see 19 U.S.C. 1433).

The master of the vessel reports their arrival at the nearest CBP facility or such other place as the Secretary may prescribe by regulations. These reports are tracked in the Pleasure Boat Reporting System. Pursuant to 8 CFR 235.1, an application to lawfully enter the United States must be made in person to a CBP officer at a U.S. port-of-entry when the port is open for inspection.

Exceptions to Face-to-Face reporting to CBP
Alternative Inspection Systems (AIS) satisfy the boat operator's legal requirement to report for face-to-face inspection in accordance with 8 CFR 235.1, but boaters must still phone in their arrival to satisfy 19 USC 1433.

There are three exceptions to the face-to-face inspection at a designated reporting location, CBP Reporting Offsite Arrival – Mobile (CBP ROAM), NEXUS, and the Canadian Border Boat Landing Permit (I-68). Participation in any of these programs does not preclude the requirement for physical report upon request by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Any small pleasure vessel leaving a United States port into international or foreign waters, without a call at a foreign port, does not satisfy the foreign departure requirement. Therefore, certain fishing vessels, cruises to nowhere, or any vessel that leaves from a United States port and returns without calling a foreign port or place, has not departed the United States."

Anyone used ROAM the last couple of months? I'm planning on going down in November and plan on going to St John for a couple of days and just want to be clear on clearing customs.

I have been using CBP for several years to enter USVI. Never required face to face except one time early in the program. Once , they did video face to face to view our photos and the person (That was in Spanish Virgins).

Makes life easier

We use ROAM for our private vessel. Your vessel needs a DTOPS sticker. We have not had a video interview in a long time and have never had to go to CBP to check in after using ROAM.

Cheers, RickG

We cleared into St. John in June using the ROAM app, and after reporting arrival, we didn’t hear anything for about an hour. We were in the bay by Hawksnest and Gibney, so I called them, and they said they had up to 24 hours to respond to the Arrival request. However, within three minutes, we got an approval. There was no video interview. I also looked into the sticker Rick mentioned above, and the boat we were on was not a US based vessel, so we did not have to have it. We chartered through Moorings. Hope this helps!

Same thing for us last time we used ROAM. Sent in the request around 11 am, grabbed a ball in Francis Bay, no response.
Near closing time, we called, and was told they were very backed up.

Two minutes later got approval.

Sometimes a polite reminder is required.

After reading this thread thought I'd look into the app. I found one on Google Play but it has a 2.7 rating and in the app it says it's a Pilot version. is this the right version or is there a more updated one?

Also, is it boat specific or traveler specific? Meaning if other folks have created the boat info already do I need to use that or just create my own each time we travel with another group? I'm assuming you have to input everyone's passport info?

Thanks for any info.
Dave