Global Entry Status

I don't know.
But last week I spent 1 and 1/2 hours at Atlanta Passport Control, on the way back from Europe, and missed my connecting flight home.
Made me take a serious look at Global Entry for the next Europe trip.

Can't imagine that a U.S. Government "pass" would be of use anywhere but in the US. Why would it?

Is it worth it? That's up to you. If you are tired of waiting in line at immigration when returning to the U.S., then it's worth it. I drove 200 miles for my appointment.

Global Entry is only good for returning to the U.S. That means most international airports here and U.S. pre-clearance airports overseas.

It is not good to help get you into any other country.

...spent 1 and 1/2 hours at Atlanta Passport Control....

Off topic but related to passport control for reentering residents. The US is starting to employ automated passport control stations. We reentered through SFO a few days ago and the automatic system seemed to speed up the process when with us newbies using the machines.
http://www.flysfo.com/media/press-releases/sfo-unveils-automated-passport-control-kiosks-customs-facility

Global Entry allows you to use the kiosk on re-entry rather than wait in the queue when you return to the U.S. ... but driving 400 miles for the interview? You'd have to travel a lot to make the trip worth it.

There are a few places outside the U.S. where Global Entry lets you use an expedited line (e.g., New Zealand, Australia)

Caro,

"Will a Global Entry card allow me to skip Passport Control at CDG?"

In a word, No. According to the Global Entry website......

"Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. AFAIK, this means nothing to authorities in France or other countries in Europe.

It is worth it to us because it gives us TSA "Precheck" status about 99% of the time thus speeding up the TSA clearance process prior to boarding whether it be domestic or international. Last reentry into U.S. at ATL took 15 minutes from leaving the plane to catching a shuttle bus. Having said that, however, I seem to recall reading an article a month ago that indicated no new applications were being taken since they had "achieved their goal of relieving congestion" at the TSA check points. My memory could be playing tricks on me so perhaps someone else can offer further clarification.

Denver to Chicago (on AA)-Global Entry honored for pre-check lines; Chicago to Istanbul on Turkish, not. Not all domestic airlines honor pre-check/global entry status. And at least at DIA (Denver), the non-stop flights on BA or LH do not accept any pre-check status. I can understand that. When arriving Denver from Istanbul in March on LH, my son went through the new automated passport control stations (as Edgar mentioned are now at SFO) and I went through the GE line. We were finished at the same time.

Caro, your posting does not indicate where you are from, but you should consider if a NEXUS card will work for you. This card is primarily designed for quick crossings of the U.S/Canada border. It does come with global entry and TSA precheck as well. The cost is $50 so there is significant cost savings over applying for global entry directly. The downside is that interview locations are primarily located in border states.

The plane leaves the same time for everybody, if they have a Global Pass or not. You may get through security a little faster but that's all the difference I can tell. I'm seventy-five now so I don't have to take my shoes or light jacket off anymore and that puts me in about the same class as Global Pass people. Also, the Global Pass does not make the plane land any sooner. Nobody skips passport control!

Caro, I have been considering this as well. The closest locations to me are Seattle (6 hr drive), Sweetgrass MT (8 hr drive) SLC (12 hr drive). I could do Sweetgrass or SLC ~sort of~ on the way to Yellowstone next month but that is sort of stretching it. I have made my flight reservations for my next international trip and have a 5.5 hour layover in Seattle on the way outbound and an 8 hour layover in SLC on the way back home, so really Global entry will not make any difference for me at all for these flights as I don't really need to save time!!

I may try for appointments at either of those airports during my layovers though.

My departure airport is very small so only one security lane and I often have TSA precheck so can leave my shoes on.

I would say part of your decision process is also whether you have a trip planned and tickets purchased. If you have a layover time that is short you might consider it, altho anecdotally on this thread it might not make much of a difference!

Caro,
I can only tell you our (hubby and myself) experience. Since obtaining the global entry card, we have always had TSA Precheck here in the US on flights (not guaranteed but we've always gotten it). Of course this means we get to use the short, expedited security line at the airport and this makes a world of difference time-wise. On returning from Europe last year, we did not need to fill out the customs form at all; just walked over to a kiosk (this is at Portland, Oregon airport), answer a few quick questions on the computer screen and stick our hand in so it could read our fingerprints. The longest part of the whole procedure was waiting for our luggage. Vast difference from previous trips where we have been in the customs area for 2+ hours when timing dictated more than one international flight arriving at the same time. We actually took a road trip to Seattle for our interview as the wait time was so much shorter there. Made a fun weekend trip out of it. For us, even though we only fly to Europe every year or two, it is so worth it! Good luck and happy travels!
P.S. If you decide to get the card, make sure you input the global entry number on the airlines' websites that you use and when booking tickets for airlines where you are not in their rewards club. They will retain it for future flights.

Pam, having an appointment during a layover is a technique used successfully by a few folks I know. They needed to do that before Denver Intl became one of the "interview points" and the closest place for one was a few hours drive west. If you decide you want GE, it might be worth the effort. The interview takes only a few minutes (as long as everyone is on time!) as you can do all the paperwork online.

It's worth it through the Nexus program if you live on the border with Canada (as I do...). Probably not from Atlanta, though.

I think it depends on how much you travel. We got the card 2 years ago. We looked at the economics- our hope is to travel internationally once a year plus several domestic trips. That works out to $20 a year. For that we get to do TSA pre-check most of the time ( we enter our "known traveler" number when we make the reservation) and go to the front of the immigration/passport control line when we return to the States. We came through ATL this last trip. Probably 25 of the 200+ passengers had GE status. It seemed like everyone had to use a kiosk, but there were 10 just for GE and once we finished that part, another line sent us to the front of the line. It looks like in the last month wait times have been between 45 min.and 2 hours. That kind of standing and shuffling is brutal for my husband, so the $20 a year is worth it to us.

Would it work for you to schedule an appointment the same day as a flight? I know some people chose to do it that way. When we did ours, we got to pick a convenient date and they were very good about being on time.

Thanks for all of the replies to the question about the Global Entry process. I think I'll apply for Global Entry because, like Kent, I usually spend up to 2 hours waiting in line to get through Customs when I return to the U.S. from France through Atlanta as I will be doing in September.

I'm not surprised that there is no reciprocity with Passport Control in France or most other countries. I saw a list of the ones that do have an agreement, but I wasn't sure it was up to date and was hoping CDG was included.

Thanks, again. Great forum. Always get helpful answers.

it is SO worth the money. We would have missed our connection at O'Hare if we hadn't been able to use the passport kiosk and then zip past the line of folks waiting to exit baggage claim. That was something we didn't know until the (surly) clerk told us to jump the queue.

As noted, you also get TSA Precheck when available. Even though I hear sometimes the TSA picks random folks at random from the regular line and shifts them over. And vice versa!

TC, Also read something about no new applications for TSA Pre-Check, but it may have been only for applications for stand-alone Pre-Check, as opposed to using Pre-Check via Global Entry.

Robert, I went to the TSA site today but was not be able to find any clarification. I guess the only way for Caro to find out anything definite is to apply and see what happens.

it is worth the money. I used when we went to Nicaragua via Miami airport. we save time and that is worth it.

since high season has just begun, it's likely that you can't get cleared in time for travel.

It is worth it at double the price. Someone posted that one person went through the regular lines and someone in Global Entry and both finish at the same time. It is possible but highly unlikely twice in a row. We just return through Newark. The line for regular immigrations was long and no one in the Global Entry area. We make it to the luggage pick up point before the luggage was available. When luggage finally started arriving we were still the only ones in the area. Made you wonder if you were in the right place. But our bags showed, grabbed them and still were the only ones from our plane when we left. Global Entry is only for entering the US and not exiting. Global Entry and TSA precheck are not the same. But if you are enrolled in Global Entry then you are automatically enrolled in the TSA program. The reverse is not true.

I did apply and paid my $100. From the time I submitted the application online until I received conditional approval took about 10 days. After reading the letter, I set up the interview online. Appointments at either of the two enrollment centers in Atlanta (one inside the airport, the other nearby) were available from July 1 on. I have an appointment the morning of July 8. My trip begins September 16 so I expect to have the approval in plenty of time. The website is very easy to use and provided all the information I needed including directions.
Thanks for all who replied. I'll let you know about the interview process and time to receive approval (is it's granted).

Caro.....you say you have an appointment on July 8 and you leave September 16th........that leaves only two months between your interview and your departure date.

I did my interview in DC and from the time I had my interview until I got email notice of approval for Global Entry took..........four hours. I remember the agent saying it would take "up to" 24 hours to get notification.

:)

Okay, okay, so I'm a planner and like to have everything I know about taken care of in advance of the trip because something unexpected usually comes up at the last minute.

I'd heard that the interview process goes very fast and notification of approval is quick. One person even suggested arranging the interview at the airport on the day of the flight. But since that's too close for me, I'll make the drive to Atlanta in July.

Hi Caro,

Yes, do the appt. in July! You can't do the interview and use it the same day. I think someone suggested you try that as a way to avoid a separate car trip for you. However, if since you want it in Late summer, definitely go in July. You should have it in the mail by then.

Wow! All of you guys are lucky in terms of getting up your appointments set up fairly quickly! I put in my application in April, 2014 got the online okay to sign up for the appointment time about 5 days later. The EARLIEST appointment time available here at Boston Logan was the second week of August - over 4 months later!! I was bummed because I had a trip planned in July so I didn't get to use it that time. Thankfully, the August time didn't interfere with the days I work summer school, so I booked that appointment and got in and out. Then, I got my GE card in the mail about 4 days after that.

I've gotten to use pre-check this past fall with it, but this summer will be my first chance using GE.

Have fun on your trip. :)