Border crossing wait times dataset — 82 ports of entry, daily refresh

Name: CBP border crossing wait times
Creator: MigrantUSA
License: https://migrantusa.com/terms/

Downloadable dataset of CBP border wait times at 82 US ports of entry — standard, SENTRI/NEXUS, and pedestrian lanes — refreshed daily from CBP's official feed.

Border crossing wait times dataset

Download: cbp_border_waits.json · Coverage: 82 land ports of entry · Refresh: daily, automated (CBP’s own feed updates hourly)

CBP’s published wait times at every land border crossing, normalized into one stable schema: standard vehicle lanes, SENTRI/NEXUS, and pedestrian crossings, with port metadata.

What’s in each row

Per port: port name, state, border (Mexico/Canada), crossing name, and per-lane current wait in minutes with lane status, as published by CBP at retrieval time.

Method

A daily automated job (scheduled GitHub Action) retrieves CBP’s official feed, validates the shape, and replaces this file only when validation passes. The same file renders the live wait-time boxes on our port pages.

Where this data is used

Border crossings cluster — 24 Mexican-border port pages with live waits

A blog, a forum, a local newsroom: drop in live wait times for six of the busiest US–Mexico crossings (San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Calexico, Nogales, El Paso, Laredo). It refreshes daily from CBP’s feed — you paste it once and it stays current. Copy this where you want it to appear:

<iframe src="https://migrantusa.com/embed/border-wait/" width="100%" height="640"
        style="border:1px solid #e2e8e4;border-radius:8px;max-width:640px"
        title="Live US-Mexico border wait times" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:.85rem">Live border wait times — data by
  <a href="https://migrantusa.com/datasets/border-wait-times/">MigrantUSA</a></p>

Please keep the credit line — a link back to this page is the only thing we ask in return.

Suggested citation: MigrantUSA, “Border crossing wait times dataset,” migrantusa.com/datasets/border-wait-times/, retrieved [date].

Frequently asked questions

How current are the wait times?

A daily automated job pulls CBP’s official border wait-times feed; the retrieval timestamp is inside the file’s _meta block. CBP itself updates the live feed hourly, so for a crossing decision right now, check bwt.cbp.gov — this dataset is built for daily-granularity tracking and comparisons.

Which ports are covered?

All 82 land ports in CBP’s feed, spanning the Mexican and Canadian borders, with per-lane detail (standard vehicle, SENTRI/NEXUS, pedestrian) where CBP publishes it.

Can I reuse this data?

Yes, with attribution to MigrantUSA and a link to this page. The source feed is public CBP data; this file adds the normalized schema and a stable daily archive point.

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General information, not legal advice. MigrantUSA is an independent publisher and is not a law firm; using this site does not create an attorney-client relationship, and this content is not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney about your specific situation. US federal, state, and local government procedures, fees, and forms change. Always verify current details directly with the relevant agency before acting. For immigration, tax, or other legal matters specific to your situation, consult a licensed attorney or BIA-accredited representative.