San Ysidro Port of Entry Expansion

by Ashley Negrette

On July 22, 2015, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) gave local San Diego Immigration Attorneys the opportunity to view the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry and ask any general questions. The trip highlighted the various facilities, the role of the CBP Agents, and general processing information for those entering on foot or by car. The CBP Agents highly recommended applying for a Sentri Pass if you qualify, because it can reduce wait times and it identifies low risk individuals, hence making CBP’s job easier and more efficient. The most interesting part of the day was hearing about the expansion projects, Phase 1 is expected to be completed Summer 2016.
Here are the highlights of the entire project:
  1. Expansion of pedestrian processing facilities including a new pedestrian crossing on the east side of the LPOE that will connect with a new multimodal transportation hub in Mexico and expanded northbound inspection facilities.
  2. Construction of a new north and southbound crossing at El Chaparral/Virginia Avenue with an associated transit center.
  3. The new port will boast 62 northbound vehicle primary inspection booths, one dedicated bus lane and inspection booth spread over 34 lanes, as well as improved processing facilities for bus and Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) travelers.
  4. The LPOE will have over 110,000 square feet of new primary and secondary vehicle inspection canopy utilizing state-of-the-art materials that will both conserve and produce energy.
  5. A portion of the Interstate 5 South freeway will be realigned and expanded from the current five lanes to ten lanes, which will connect to Mexico’s new El Chaparral facility. Corresponding southbound inspection canopy will be constructed to support Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) southbound vehicle inspection efforts.
This project is very exciting and will help manage the daily 50,000 northbound vehicles and 25,000 northbound pedestrian travelers. The San Diego Association of Governments projects an 87% increase in vehicle traffic by the year 2030. For more information about the projects please visit http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104872.
If you need assistance entering the U.S. please contact Negrette Law, P.C. at (619) 356-1448 for assistance.