A warning to anyone in Washington state applying for Global Entry: Follow-Up

Wow, honesty being rewarded. That is great news. Thanks for following up.

Appreciate the follow up.

Maybe all of our government isn't mindless drones after all. :-)

I read your original post. Around the same time I was visiting a friend in San Francisco (CA being another liberal state). We were discussing the value of Global Entry. I have had the Cdn NEXUS card for some years, she has not applied for GE yet. I mentioned your post and concerns (more for her son's benefit than hers). She worked in the US Foreign Service for decades and was accepted back in the 70s despite an honest 'yes' to the same question on her application. So perhaps the arbiter actually has common sense and the original warning was just a conservative word to the wise.

Bravo! Maybe they viewed this as a "folly of youth."

Since I am not interested in the Global Entry program for myself at all, I won't have to answer such a question, even though given my age and birthplace, they might find my answer not credible.

Welcome to "the Club", as you put it! Thank you for the update and I am happy to hear honesty really does pay off.

If they have any sense, which would be a real surprise in most govt agencies, they have to take into account that it's legal in some states. I would think they would be more interested in those who lied about it and then it showed up on their police background check. I recently applied for Global Entry and don't remember that question being on the application.

You were lucky that your application did not end up in front of an arbiter who was recently appointed. I live in Washington State and will be applying for a GE card as soon as my PC card expires. I wish I would have gotten a GE card in the beginning but I tried to "cheap-out" when I first applied.

I would think they would be more interested in those who lied about it and then it showed up on their police background check.

I assume that is exactly why they asked.

Just as a warning, I had the same exact experience at Sea Tac and answered the marijuana question honestly (that I use occasionally since moving to a legal state) and was denied. My denial letter stated I was denied solely due to marijuana use.

My denial letter stated I was denied solely due to marijuana use.

Bad luck. Maybe it was just a matter of getting a different person making the decision.

I, too, live in a "legal" state (Colorado). The problem is Global Entry is a federal matter and not state.