Is this official data?

Yes — it comes directly from U.S. Customs and Border Protection's own public data feed.

No — CBP's public border-wait data is free and key-less.

CBP updates it in real time from each border station.

Yes — free, no download, in your browser.

Does this show waits leaving the United States?

No. CBP reports waits for travellers entering the U.S. Delays in the other direction are published by the neighbouring country's border agency.

Why can a crossing show no wait?

A lane may be closed, the port may offer no service for that traveller type, or no delay may be reported. A blank or zero is not a promise of an empty queue.

Are commercial and passenger waits the same?

No. Each port reports commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles and pedestrians separately, so each category has its own wait at the same crossing.

Border Wait Times Screensaver

The Border Wait Times screensaver boards real current wait times at major U.S. land border crossings, drawn from U.S. Customs and Border Protection's public data feed. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

How the Border Wait Times screensaver works

The saver fetches CBP's real published current wait times for major border crossings.

Each crossing shows its real current passenger-vehicle wait time in minutes.

Crossings are sorted so the longest real waits surface first.

Readings refresh on a schedule to track real, current conditions.

How border wait times are reported

U.S. Customs and Border Protection publishes border wait times for land ports of entry on the Canadian and Mexican borders. The figures are estimates, in minutes, of the time to reach the primary inspection booth, the first point of contact with CBP. Each port is broken out by traveller type: commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles and pedestrians.

Within the passenger category, ports can list separate lanes, such as general, SENTRI and Ready Lane, each with a delay in minutes and the number of lanes open. CBP's feed says each port refreshes its estimate about once an hour, so a sudden surge, an inspection closure or a lane change can make a figure out of date before the next update.

A wait time is an estimate, not a stopwatch reading for each car. Some ports show N/A or lanes closed, for example where commercial service is not available, and a figure of zero does not guarantee a quick crossing. CBP's feed describes crossings into the United States; waits in the opposite direction are the responsibility of Canadian or Mexican authorities.

A worked example

Around a holiday weekend you might see real wait times climb sharply at major crossings — a genuine, live operational signal, not a fixed number.

Settings & tips

Accent recolours the wait-time readouts.
Wait times are self-reported by CBP border stations in real time.
Coverage focuses on major U.S.–Canada and U.S.–Mexico crossings.

Frequently asked questions

Is this official data?: Yes — it comes directly from U.S. Customs and Border Protection's own public data feed.
Is a key needed?: No — CBP's public border-wait data is free and key-less.
How current is it?: CBP updates it in real time from each border station.
Is it free?: Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
Does this show waits leaving the United States?: No. CBP reports waits for travellers entering the U.S. Delays in the other direction are published by the neighbouring country's border agency.
Why can a crossing show no wait?: A lane may be closed, the port may offer no service for that traveller type, or no delay may be reported. A blank or zero is not a promise of an empty queue.
Are commercial and passenger waits the same?: No. Each port reports commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles and pedestrians separately, so each category has its own wait at the same crossing.

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