V-Flyer

Hi. Not sure if anyone is interested or may find this useful. We applied for Global Entry and received the provisional acceptance. Living in the north of England mean that trying to get a suitable appointment in London would not work so we decided to go for the Global Entry interview on arrival at JFK after flying Virgin Atlantic from Manchester to JFK.

After landing we followed the signs to Global Entry and then saw some signs for enrolment on arrival. The Global Entry channel at JFK was empty and there was an office to go into for our interview.... to be met by...

'Sorry guys buy our biometric computers are down for global entry enrolment !' Imagine our disappointment! They suggested we go through (They processed our normal entry procedure) and try and get an interview at the landside office. If we explained the situation to them.

So...off we went...we had three hours until our connecting flight...found the small office where we had to sign in and give the interview time we had booked...which obviously we didn't have! We explained and sat and waited about 30mins and people were being called through. They called us and they said have you got an appointment? Er no...we were told to wait and told you should fit us in! They then explained we should have gone online as there were appointments available. We tried to do it on our phones but we could only book the next day! One lady there booked us in (for 2hrs later?!) We sat and waited. Luckily one of the guys called us both through together in no time and we interviewed separately but together. He was very friendly and helpful and we were both done in 10 minutes! Phew! Plenty of time to get our connection and got our Global Entry acceptance by email within 1hr!
Any questions feel free to ask!

Thanks for the info and glad it all worked out in the end. We are hoping to have our interviews when we land at LAS next month. So here hoping!!

Thanks for the tip VAflyer,

I had my GE interview in that same small office a couple of years ago and the interviewing officer could not have been more condescending, rude (he took a phone call part way through my interview and had a dandy little chat for a good 10mins before continuing with me) and less inclined to help in any way. I did have a few factors on my side and the GE status was confirmed about 5 mins after taking my seat in the JFK CH lounge

That said it is a great programme which has saved me a lot of time over the years. I will definitely be renewing and hope that my renewal 'interview' goes as smoothly as yours.

Cheers for posting this up

Hi VAflyer
Thanks once again but did you need any paperwork other than your passports? Just want to make sure we are as prepared as possible.
Many thanks

Hi. No we just needed our passports. We are asked about our holidays to Dubai and Turkey otherwise he didn't really ask much. We just had to confirm name, DOB etc. I did have my drivers license with me just in case but not needed.

Global Entry is great. Although on my last visit the machines weren't working, so we had to use normal machines. Asked questions etc. about visit, passport stamped etc.

Still took all of 5 minutes but hope this isn't a new thing. That was Chicago BTW.

For the GE interview, it is recommended you have another form of photo ID with as well as your passport such as your photo driving license. Also take a copy of your application letter.

mitchja wrote:For the GE interview, it is recommended you have another form of photo ID with as well as your passport such as your photo driving license. Also take a copy of your application letter.

That is not required for Enrolment on Arrival. The CBP website specifically states: You won’t need any additional documents other than the requisite documents for international travel (e.g., your passport).

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-trav ... nt-arrival

You only need additional ID and your letter if your interview is at a dedicated enrolment centre.

Thanks again for all your advice

Had our interviews at LAS last Sunday and it was carried out by a very pleasant and chatty agent at q of the arrival booths. We only took our passports and the confirmation letters. He was pleased to see them as he said it saved him searching for us in the database. Didn't need any other I'D.

He mentioned that we should put the reference number on future flight documents so as to gain TSApre checked status and speed up security checks. Has anybody know how to done this?

Thanks

David

Once logged into your online Flying Club account, click on the 'profile' link then in there under where it says Advanced Passenger Information there should be a box to enter your Known traveller Number. This is your 9 digit Global Entry Program membership number which will already be shown on the conditional approved and the approved letters you received.

Click on 'save' to store this in your profile. As long as you are then logged into your Flying Club account, any future bookings you make will pull this number through automatically for you.

If you already have any bookings with VS though, you will need to go into each booking and input your Known Traveller Number for each booking manually under where it says Secure flight passenger data and contact information.

Had just made my peace with the $100 price for US pre checks and went to apply, intending to enrol on arrival at MCO next month but then saw you need to pay another £42 for UK background checks too

Now wondering if its worth it

broono83 wrote:Had just made my peace with the $100 price for US pre checks and went to apply, intending to enrol on arrival at MCO next month but then saw you need to pay another £42 for UK background checks too

Now wondering if its worth it

For me, every penny

David

broono83 wrote:Had just made my peace with the $100 price for US pre checks and went to apply, intending to enrol on arrival at MCO next month but then saw you need to pay another £42 for UK background checks too

Now wondering if its worth it

Only you can decide.

For me it's easily worth both the money and the hassle to get it and I only visit the US 4 or 5 times a year on average. My last trip, I transited through LAS and on arrival the immigration hall was heaving. The Global Entry lane was empty and shared a CBP officer with the crew lane. To my amazement I was prioritised ahead of all crew as soon as I had gotten my electronic slip! It's also great to be able to leave all your belongings in your bag (laptop and liquids included) as well as skip any queues when using TSA Precheck on the return. Anyone leaving SLC on a Friday or Saturday morning will surely agree (biggest security line I have EVER seen in the US!).

Thanks James for the info and will log in and do the necessary.

LAS was quite quick last Sunday with only short queues and took about 20 mins but GE was empty

broono83 wrote:Had just made my peace with the $100 price for US pre checks and went to apply, intending to enrol on arrival at MCO next month but then saw you need to pay another £42 for UK background checks too

Now wondering if its worth it

Yes of course it is. Worth every penny over the 5 year period GE lasts and the current 2-3 trips I do to the US each year IMHO

And whilst so far I've only used GE twice I've used pre check 4 times and it was worth it for pre alone.


Also on the Flyer talk board relating to GE people are reporting longer and longer delays in getting conditional approval - average wait approx 3 weeks at present (though some get it quicker and some a lot longer) so being able to get it for next month isn't guaranteed. And you need conditional approval to use enrolment on arrival - which is really interview on arrival.

Yeh my trip is on the 27th sept so was hoping to apply today. Will speak to the missus.

Advantages are obvious to me, just the £240 outlay for both of us is a hit after just paying the hotel and flight taxes The 5 year duration a good selling point.

My experience is that the Home Office clearance came through with a couple of working days.

What I would do is prepare for making the actual GE application once that comes through by having info handy such as addresses and employment and a list of countries you have visited in the same period. You can also set up your (trusted traveller programme) accounts in advance but you can't start the application without the code the Home Office give you.

Obviously the sooner you apply the sooner the conditional approval comes through.

I applied on 31 July and checked today to see my application is Pending. I will not be able to attend an interview until November, so I am not panicking. The website talks about an interview “if required”. Has anyone obtained Global Entry without an interview?

Interview ‘if required’ is for renewal applications.

First applications will always need an interview so they can take your fingerprints and photo.

Thank you very much!

broono83 wrote:..........

Now wondering if its worth it

More than worth it. For me on 2 to 3 trips to USA per year the most valuable thing has been TSA pre. One trip leaving MCO alone was worth it, I skipped a horrendous scrum/queue, ovreheard agents manning the queue saying they’d never seen it as bad, for a walk up to an empty lane. No shoes belt liquids laptop phaffing about, just backpack on belt and walk through. Absolute bargain I think.

I can second the above..I've had GE for three years and have never queued at a US immigration hall since. Now that BA and VS allow you to add your TSA to your booking also means you avoid the unpacking of electronic devices at airports where TSA Pre is recognised (so usually return legs from US)

Worth every penny.