Card-carrying members have access to FAST-specific "dedicated lanes," avoiding border traffic and granting them faster clearance in Customs and Border Protection checkpoint examinations. Customs inspections are reduced for FAST members, and they are granted "secondary priority processing." Additionally, when entering Canada from the United States, FAST members can use their card, along with one other document of citizenship, as proof of identity.
Importers on both borders, as well as carriers across the southern border, must apply with the Customs and Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and display consistently lawful behavior to receive FAST membership. Carriers across the northern border must apply to FAST processing centers in both Canada and the United States and receive separate issues of approval from each.
FAST processing centers are available at numerous northern and southern border-crossing stations, including Champlain, New York; Tecate, California; and El Paso, Texas. Future sites will include Calais, Maine, as well as Sault Ste Marie, Michigan.
