Here are tips to deal with the Global Entry interview delays.
Many people who want Global Entry in the US have problems setting up their Global Entry interviews. TSA and the US Custome and Border Protection (CBP) folk who run the Trusted Traveler Programs (TTP) will start a new program to help get an enrollment appointment.
On the first Monday of each month, CBP will release Global Entry interview appointments by 9 a.m. local time, accessible via applicants’ TTP dashboard.
“Given the unprecedented demand and continued interest in TTP, CBP is at an inflection point, where we must provide consistent, efficient, and accessible processing methods for applicants to select an appropriate enrollment option,” TTP director Michael Millich said in a statement. “This includes ensuring a coordinated release of interview appointments regularly.”
This program just started this month. So, next month you will be able to use the data provided.
There are other programs that CBP has provided for travelers.
Enroll on Arrival
If you have been conditionally approved, you can also complete the interview process when returning to the US from abroad via CBP’s Enrollment on Arrival service.
Instead of scheduling and partaking in a formal interview at an enrollment center, you can finish the enrollment process at one of 65 airport locations during your trip home.
After an international trip, you can complete the application when you return to the US. Follow signs in the airport for the “Enrollment on Arrival” lanes. If you don’t see these signs, ask a CBP agent. An agent will complete your interview during your admissibility inspection. Note: The service will be restricted to limited hours.
“Given the unprecedented demand and continued interest in TTP, CBP is at an inflection point, where we must provide consistent, efficient, and accessible processing methods for applicants to select an appropriate enrollment option,” said Michael Millich, TTP Director. “This includes ensuring a coordinated release of interview appointments on a recurring basis. CBP must remain accountable to the traveling public and should proactively open and immediately fill additional interview appointment slots while engaging in other capacity enhancing activities such as mobile enrollment events and blitzes to meet established processing goals.”
Last-minute appointments
If the Monday listing doesn’t work, check to see if there are last-minute openings due to day-of cancellations. Here there are more services for a price that may work for you.
Appointment Scanner
If the traditional scheduling route does not get you the Global Entry interview appointment you need, consider trying an alternate service, such as Appointment Scanner.
For a cost of $29, you will receive one month of appointment alerts (up to 25 per day). These are based on last-minute cancellations and just-released appointments at 20-plus enrollment centers. Appointment Scanner does not promise that you’ll be able to schedule an interview, but it will refund any unsatisfied customers within 30 days.
The CBP bottom line
The appointments released on the first Monday of each month will assist travelers who have already applied for Global Entry. They should be able to complete the process sooner.
Expect these Monday morning appointments listed each month to go quickly. The demand is as high as regular Global Entry appointments.
If you haven’t yet applied and plan on doing so, use a credit card that covers the $100 nonrefundable application fee for Global Entry. If you already have Global Entry, you can also use this credit to cover memberships for someone else. Many travel credit cards provide this service. Check with yours.
When all else fails, get TSA PreCheck
How do I apply for TSA PreCheck®?
It takes five minutes to submit an online application and schedule an in-person appointment that includes a background check and fingerprinting at an enrollment center. Travelers should note that legitimate online registration for TSA PreCheck® can begin at tsa.gov/precheck or be accomplished at tsaenrollmentbyidemia.tsa.dhs.gov. Any website that claims to allow consumers to register for TSA PreCheck® that does not end in “.gov” is not an official TSA PreCheck® website. Consumers who are applying for TSA PreCheck® for the first time cannot pay the enrollment or application fee online; they must complete their application and pay in person at a TSA enrollment center. First time applicants are not asked to provide payment information online. The application fee for TSA PreCheck® is $78 for 5 years.
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Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
