World travel is possible once again now that all countries have dropped their COVID visitor prohibitions, testing, and quarantine requirements in favor of pre-travel submission of vaccination status in order to enter the country. Many countries are moving further forward by eliminating the need for pre-travel COVID vaccination status submission, and ask visitors to postpone their visit if tested positive for COVID.
Japan and South Korea took advantage of the COVID travel prohibition period to eliminate the immigration and customs paper forms in favor of pre-departure electronic approvals. While the immigration and customs paper forms are still available at check-in and in-flight, there are very few takers since most passengers have already taken advantage of the electronic forms before departure. The electronic pre-departure approvals can greatly speed up the time needed to clear immigration and customs and enter the country.
Unfortunately, this is not universally true for entry to the USA at airports. There has been no change for non-citizens; the immigration and customs lines and wait times remain long since great scrutiny is placed on these visitors. USA citizens and permanent residents use the same long immigration and customs queues as non-citizens entering the country, making for the same long entry and wait times.
So how was I able to enter the USA after my recent trip overseas, passing through immigration, collecting my luggage, and customs in less than 15 minutes? My quick entry was possible since I am enrolled in the Global Entry program. The Global Entry program, run by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) service, allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to receive expedited clearance upon arrival into the United States through automated kiosks at select airports, land borders, and ports [1]. If you plan to travel internationally, you should seriously consider enrolling in this program.
Please continue reading the rest of the article to find out more about my experience with the Global Entry program. Note that this article focuses on the airport entry aspect of the program and the CBP's Global Entry website should be your definitive source for information (listed later in the article).
What is Global Entry?
As was stated earlier, the Global Entry program, run by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) service, allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to receive expedited clearance upon arrival into the United States through automated kiosks at select airports, land borders, and ports [1].
The Global Entry program is one of five Trusted Traveler programs administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is intended for international travelers. The domestic (only) traveler equivalent DHS Trusted Traveler program is TSA Precheck (Transportation Security Administration Precheck), whose application process is separate and different. TSA Precheck allows travelers to expedite passage through security screening at airports in the USA. Global Entry enrollment also includes TSA Precheck. Enrollment in TSA Precheck does not include Global Entry.
Application Process
Global Entry enrollment requires the applicant to create an account on the Trusted Traveler Program website in order fill out and submit the application, and to pay a non-refundable US$100 fee. This is also the website to just apply for TSA Precheck (non-refundable US$78 fee). The online account is also used to notify the applicant on the progress of their application. After submitting the application and fee, a background check is performed and the status on your account is changed to application in process.
In the Global Entry application, passport information, evidence of residency (commonly supplied through a state driver's license), and employment information is supplied, among other information. Any criminal history can be the basis for a denial of the application, as well if there has been any previous history of customs violations.
The Trusted Traveler Program website currently has a 4-6 month processing time posted. I would heed the warning that the processing time is long due to the popularity of the program. The Global Entry program and the government employees processing applications were affected during the COVID pandemic, but there was no international travel. Now that international travel has started again, there has been overwhelming interest in the Global Entry Program. The best advice for new applicants is to apply well in advance of your intended international travel.
Interview
Once the application is accepted, the status on your account changes to conditional approval. The next step is that the applicant is required to appear at a Global Entry Enrollment Center with their passport and evidence of residency (e.g. state driver's license) for an in-person interview with a CBP officer or to use Enrollment on Arrival at selected airports when arriving from an international destination.
The interview process requires that the applicant reserve an interview time at a Global Entry Enrollment Center through your account on the Trusted Traveler website. Global Entry Enrollment Centers are separate from TSA Precheck Enrollment Centers, and are fewer in number. Depending upon where you live, reserving an interview time can be difficult and also may not be near where you live. The Global Entry Enrollment Center for my area is located at my region's major international airport (one hour by car or two hours by public transportation), whereas the TSA Precheck Enrollment Centers are located all the nearby airports in my area (the nearest is 15 minutes away). The interview can also be done using the Zoom app, but this is being done experimentally (at least the last time I looked).
During the interview at the Global Enrollment Center, the CBP officer will examine your documents (passport and evidence of residency - e.g. driver's license), and ask questions about your past and future international travel destinations, criminal history, and employment history. The interview took less than 10 minutes in my case. The CBP officer will then take a digital photograph of your face (without glasses and mask) and take your fingerprints digitally.
You will be mailed a Global Entry photo ID card, similar in size to a driver's license, in a few weeks. While the Global Entry ID card qualifies as government issued ID, which can be used as proof of ID at TSA airport checkpoints, the card is not used upon entry to the USA when passing through airport Immigration. However, the Global Entry ID card has a PASSID number. This number is your Trusted Traveler ID and should be entered at all the airline websites that you fly with. This is how your airline knows that you can use TSA Precheck when passing through security at airports in the USA.
Enrollment on Arrival
The other interview option is Enrollment on Arrival. After your application is conditionally approved, you can enroll in the Global Entry program when you reenter the USA at selected airports from an international destination. You receive your interview, and present your passport and driver's license (proof of residency) to the CBP officer at Immigration before entering the USA. Your face and fingerprints are taken digitally and your Global Entry ID card will be mailed to you in a few weeks.
Renewal
Enrollment in the Global Entry program is for a five year period. The renewal process is similar to initial enrollment, in that you renew through your account on the Trusted Traveler website by updating any documents (e.g. new passport or driver's license) and information, international destinations visited, and pay the non-refundable US$100 application fee.
Since the approval times are so long, I renewed my Global Entry after the fourth year. An interview may or not be required for renewal after application approval. In my case I needed to schedule an interview (which took 10 minutes), but because the program is so impacted, the first interview available in my area was five months after my application was submitted. If you are lucky, an interview will not be required and your renewal will be approved.
Entry Into the USA
Entry into the USA with Global Entry has become easier for those enrolled in the program. Global Entry enrollees use different procedures and a different line at airport Immigration when entering the USA. Automated kiosks are used for Global Entry at airports. Before COVID, the automated kiosks required you to scan your passport, have your fingerprints scanned, and immigration and customs questions answered (the questions were same as those found on the paper forms). The automated kiosk would issue a paper receipt, which you would show to the CBP officer at Immigration, and then after USA entry approval, pick up your luggage, and then show the receipt to the CBP officer at Customs before being able to exit.
Post-COVID, the process has become even easier for airport entry into the USA. The Global Entry automated kiosk now relies on face recognition software (no passport and fingerprint scanning, and answering Immigration and Customs questions). You remove your glasses and mask before having your face scanned. You then go to the Immigration CBP officer and wait (in my case, no more than 30 seconds) for the face recognition software to identify you, and for the CBP officer to call your name and wave you through. You then pick up your luggage and walk past the Customs CBP officers to exit. In my case, it took 15 minutes for me to get off the plane, go through Immigration, pick up my luggage, go through customs, and exit with Global Entry.
Conclusion
If you plan to travel internationally, you should seriously consider enrolling in the Global Entry program to expedite your entry back into the USA, especially if you plan to travel internationally multiple times. You will have to determine if going through the enrollment process for the Global Entry program is worthwhile for traveling just once internationally. However, if you have ever been stuck in a long airport line at Immigration and at Customs when returning to the USA, you will understand the value of enrolling in the Global Entry program.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Global Entry Program
The Trusted Traveler website is the portal for information and applications for all the Trusted Traveler programs, including Global Entry.
- Trusted Traveler Program website:
References
[1] Wikipedia. "Global Entry". Last modified: 10 Jan 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Entry.
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