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Global Entry question along with update on timing of approval

ETA 03/19/2023 - I guess they randomly add openings, so I guess keep looking. MKE is closer to us, and had dates open up for when school is out.

  1. I cannot edit my old post with an update on how long things took because it has been closed. I applied for myself and my then 13/now 14 yo daughter for Global Entry very early April 2022. Mine got conditionally approved 02/20/2023. My daughter's was 02/21/2023. Nearly 11 months. I was somewhat worried hers might take even longer becuase we did renew her passport in between applying and conditional approval.

    1. My question...last summer when I thought this process would have gone significantly faster, there were appointments for intereiews virtually every day at O'Hare. Now when I look essentially every state, there is nothing. There is Chicago field office, which I scheduled, but will have to pull her out of school to do (which is not the end of the world). We are travelling to Italy in summer - arriving home to O'Hare. What are the chances of doing the interview on arrival? Has anyone done it recently at O'Hare this way? One caveat - my niece is also going, and she does not have an application. She is too young to be left to her own devices and will need to stay with us. Has anyone had any similar experience - I'm trying to figure out if she can get through with us or not. If not, then that puts the kibosh on this option.
Posted by
2252 posts

Hi Jenny. Wow! That is a long time to wait! I can only post my experience with your very last question. When I traveled with my two granddaughters to Paris and back, I had Global entry and they were allowed to go through the (included) TSA precheck when we left as well as the Global Entry line when returning home. This was in Denver just before the Covid slowdown in travel so not recent. I can’t tell you if your experience will be the same. All three of us were on one ticket Denver-Paris and Paris-Denver and I don’t know if that might have made a difference.

Posted by
471 posts

I just had this conversation at dinner with a friend. She and her boyfriend applied for Global entry on New Years Day. She was approved within a week while his application is still pending. She also says that there are no appointments available anywhere. If his gets through the system before their trip, their only option maybe to do at the interviews upon entry to the USA,

I applied for mine right before the COVID lockdowns. Approval was quick but it took over a year to get an interview. For months and months, there was absolutely nothing available until one day, there were appointments everywhere. I don't know if it's funding or if there's a mobile team that travels to different locations to do interviews. It was a lot of energy used for a 10 minutes appointment. Also, the clock starts when you apply. Although it's supposed to be good for five years, in effect, I will be able to use it for only four years. However, I am still very glad that I have it.

Posted by
114 posts

Jenny, you might try calling one of the sites and asking. I was shocked when the PDX site answered the phone. My husband and I applied Feb 2022. I got conditional approval a week later, my husband received his in June, after our return from France. The closest airport with interview options within 2 months, was Seattle. Portland, which is still 2 hrs. drive, had none until this March. We decided to fly through SeaTac to go to Wisconsin and scheduled our interviews for September to line up with the flight. The day before departure we got an email saying that due to budget cuts they were closing early and cancelled our interviews. I rescheduled for PDX for this April, but then started watching for available times, sometimes checking daily. Out of the blue SeaTac showed 2 full days of openings in Feb. We scheduled 2, booked flights to Seattle, booked a hotel night ,crossing our fingers. The bookings had all been filled within a couple hours. We got our interviews- the place was packed and they were running late and we heard that they were turning scheduled people away because it would be too far past their closing time... Idk. Given their fickleness, I would want to know for sure if your niece could accompany you in advance. You can try for the interview on arrival, and I have talked to a couple of people who did that successfully last January in PDX. I think the agents have a lot of discretionary powers, and you might fare well.

Posted by
114 posts

CT, are you sure about the time frame? Our agent told us that we had 5 years from approval, not application.

Posted by
739 posts

it seams that Global Entry is more then a but if a pain to get. So is it worth the effort? A 2 hour drive in one case, having to oull kid from school in another (ok the Daughter may like that bit) But still you have to drive to the interview and then wait for that and return still probably an hour or two. To save what? a half hour? maybe 45 minutes on your return home? (unless I am mistaken it does not working in GB ir Europe)
So it will take two or three trips just to break even,
Or am in missing something here?

Posted by
14811 posts

it seams that Global Entry is more then a but if a pain to get. So is it worth the effort

I have had Global Entry for nine years . Let me give you two experiences on why I covet it.

1) My record, thanks to GE, at JFK, from plane to exiting the terminal, is seven minutes. That includes all the walking from plane, through immigration and customs, and out the door.

2) Last month at JFK, I have never seen the arrival hall so busy. The line was beyond the barriers, around the escalators, and people were actually standing on the stairs bringing them down from the gate area. It was a mess. However, thanks to GE, I could bypass that line, go to the GE area, and went on a separate line with two people ahead of me. We were given priority over those waiting in the "regular" line. Out in five minutes.

Regarding interviews.....When I applied in 2014, I had to drive 200 miles for an interview. For my first renewal, I timed it so I could do it on arrival. No appointment necessary. My GE expires next year and I plan to apply for renewal about 11 months before expiration. This way, if I do need to have an interview, I can do it upon arrival. No hassle with appointments.

When I first applied, I received conditional approval in a couple of days and then had to make an appointment for an interview. After the interview, I got final approval in a few hours. For my renewal, I had to have an interview and the guy interviewing me said he put me in for renewal. They must really be backed up now if it's taking long time for approval.

Posted by
316 posts

I applied for my husband and myself in October or November of 2022. Both conditionally approved immediately, but no appts available at SFO. Could fly to LAX for appt (um, no). We will be doing our interview when we return from Portugal in May. I pray it isn't a long process since, as I'm sure many of you will agree, returning to the West Coast from Europe after a long trip, we are sure to be exhausted. However, if this is my biggest worry, I guess I should consider myself lucky. I guess everyone is applying or they are having post-COVID staffing shortages, too.

Posted by
106 posts

ETA 03/19/2023 - I guess they randomly add openings, so I guess keep looking. MKE is closer to us, and had dates open up for when school is out.

Posted by
739 posts

Well I decided to try and apply for Nexus witch includes global entry as the cost was minimal and I have a couple trips I want to take into Canada. Living outside Detroit I grew up going to Canada a lot and kind of miss it.

So it will be interesting to see how long it takes. Last I heard it could be over a year…
Mostly i did this as an experiment.
If i remember a year from now I will update this with how long it took.