Trusted Traveler Programs

[Sunset]

I suspect some 'cancellations' of various services are done to show the public that the workers are gone.
Today I heard the website to check SSN numbers are legitimate is off-line, yet thinking about this, there is no reason for a person to be running them, the program should not need human intervention.

I bet when the workers were told they were to stop working, they shut down the machines so it would be noticed.

So no surprise interviews would be cancelled, even if a fellow is sitting there staring at the clock.

 

[mexexpat]

You can't just leave large computer systems with vital info like your SSN, unmonitored. So yes, they shut them down before the staff leaves.

 

[Sunset]

You can't just leave large computer systems with vital info like your SSN, unmonitored. So yes, they shut them down before the staff leaves.

All that info should be encrypted so it's unreadable.
The system should be hardened, as in impenetrable to hackers.
At any time the system could be handling thousands of requests per second, possibly tens of thousands of requests. Nobody is sitting there watching the system to see if an employer put in the values to be sure the system does not suddenly release all the info, it cannot be done.

I bet regular operations is the system is on at night, while the employees have gone home.

This is all basic online computer system stuff, no magic here.

 

[cathy63]

I suspect some 'cancellations' of various services are done to show the public that the workers are gone.
Today I heard the website to check SSN numbers are legitimate is off-line, yet thinking about this, there is no reason for a person to be running them, the program should not need human intervention.

I bet when the workers were told they were to stop working, they shut down the machines so it would be noticed.

So no surprise interviews would be cancelled, even if a fellow is sitting there staring at the clock.

I went through this as a contractor during the 2013 shutdown, and I can promise you there's no opportunity for individual sys admins to decide what gets turned off. Every agency has shutdown contingency plans that are created and approved at the highest executive levels and turning off systems is one of the first things on most of those plans -- there's no money to pay for the electricity, much less the operators. The government spends massive amounts of taxpayer money planning for, executing, and recovering from shutdowns.

Also, I think you are vastly overestimating the amount of government software that doesn't need human intervention. When I first started working as a contractor, I was completely shocked to learn how many flat files get moved around and imported overnight and how much stuff can fall apart when even one thread in this complicated web breaks.

 

[Alan]

I have just spent a few minutes browsing the ssa.gov website and didn’t come across anything that was locked down. Maybe the rumor that the checking of SSNs is not true.

 

[RunningBum]

General comment about my holiday travel experience, on the outbound there was no line at either one, so no real advantage. On the return, the TSA Pre line was a little longer and slower (both lines short), and I got "randomly" selected for the grope check, as did the guy two in front of me. Perhaps there was some intel that a guy might be using TSA Pre to sneak something in, so they were checking those a lot closer that day.

 

[Sunset]

I have just spent a few minutes browsing the ssa.gov website and didn’t come across anything that was locked down. Maybe the rumor that the checking of SSNs is not true.

I heard it on a radio news channel, and the site was not ssa.gov, but a site for checking the legality of SSN's by employers when hiring a person.
Since it is against the law to hire someone without a legitimate SSN (broadly speaking) as the gov't wouldn't be collecting any taxes on that person. Companies get raided and fined for having illegal workers, so companies (only) go to the site to check on the legality of the SSN.

So currently some companies are stalling on hiring, and some are hiring regardless as crops etc need workers now.

Here is the site: https://www.e-verify.gov/

 

[Alan]

I heard it on a radio news channel, and the site was not ssa.gov, but a site for checking the legality of SSN's by employers when hiring a person.
Since it is against the law to hire someone without a legitimate SSN (broadly speaking) as the gov't wouldn't be collecting any taxes on that person. Companies get raided and fined for having illegal workers, so companies (only) go to the site to check on the legality of the SSN.

So currently some companies are stalling on hiring, and some are hiring regardless as crops etc need workers now.

Here is the site: https://www.e-verify.gov/

Thanks for the clarification

 

[braumeister]

FWIW, our Nexus memberships are expiring this year so we want to renew them. I was under the impression that this could only be done within the 90 day window before expiration, but I learned that you can renew any time within the final year. Plus, the renewal will only begin at your current expiration date, so you get another full five years.

 

[Chuckanut]

FWIW, our Nexus memberships are expiring this year so we want to renew them. I was under the impression that this could only be done within the 90 day window before expiration, but I learned that you can renew any time within the final year. Plus, the renewal will only begin at your current expiration date, so you get another full five years.

Do it, ASAP. My renewal interview occurred during the government shutdown. I was pro-active and rescheduled it, guessing that they would not let the shutdown last much more than a month. My interview now takes place a few days before the end of this three week re-opening. I should have my card in time for the trip to the Mud Pits National Park in Lower Slobovia.

 

[braumeister]

Looks like we're in for a wait. Renewed our Nexus memberships last week online, but just saw this notice:

The extended partial government shutdown has resulted in a substantial backlog of CBP's Trusted Traveler Programs (TTP) applications and renewals.
Applicants for Global Entry (GE), SENTRI, NEXUS and FAST should expect significant delays in application processing times and limited appointment availability at TTP enrollment centers.
Conditionally approved GE members should seek to complete their GE interviews without an appointment upon arrival from an international flight at any of the 49 airports participating in CBP's Enrollment on Arrival (EoA) program.

So if you're within one year of expiration you should definitely apply for renewal right away.

 

[braumeister]

Good news today. Our Nexus membership was renewed, just a week after submitting it. No interview needed -- they will mail new cards. So the dire warnings about delays caused by the shutdown were a bit overblown.

 

[braumeister]

Update: Our new cards were in my mailbox 11 days after the online renewal application (five days after approval). I'm very impressed.

 

[thatguy]

We have had conditional approval since August 1. I found out by calling an enrollment center. We received no notice. I don't know when we're going back. We may let the damned conditional approval expire. I'm too frustrated with the process. I tried so many times via phone and online to check the status of our application and was unable to find out anything.

That post was last year. We had been to Canada and back. Were unable to find out we had Nexus conditional approval before we left.

We'll, we still have time left on a 1 year park pass. We went back. Had our interview & iris scan in Calgary. All they asked for was drivers license & passport. The Nexus card should be coming in the mail. It will last 5 years from now.

 

[braumeister]

NEXUS moving from iris scan to facial recognition

Reviving this thread just to mention that I got an update from NEXUS today.

Starting next month, they will transition from the current iris scan to facial recognition.

The existing NEXUS kiosks that use iris recognition technology will be replaced with new, modernized NEXUS kiosks that use facial verification technology. Vancouver International Airport will be the first to launch this new process in fall 2019, with other Canadian airports following in the ensuing months. These airports are:

· Halifax Stanfield International Airport
· Montréal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
· Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport
· Calgary International Airport
· Edmonton International Airport
· Toronto Pearson International Airport
· Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport
· Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport

This modernization is intended to better serve NEXUS members travelling by air as facial biometric verification provides travellers with a simplified method of being identified. This initiative aligns the NEXUS program with international trends on traveller processing, and supports the CBSA’s goal to increase efficiencies without compromising security.

More detail here.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Reviving this thread just to mention that I got an update from NEXUS today.

Starting next month, they will transition from the current iris scan to facial recognition.



More detail here.

I was pleasantly surprised when DW and I came back from our last trip a few days ago. Went to the Global Entry kiosk and there was no fingerprints, no passport scan...just a quick picture and off we went. It took less than 10 seconds and it was fantastic. Not sure if it was facial recognition or iris scan, but I approve! Now, if we could just visit other countries without waiting over an hour to clear customs...boo!

More info on biometric entry:

Just before entry or exit, each international traveler’s photo is taken, either by CBP-owned cameras or equipment provided by the airlines, airport authority, or cruise line. CBP’s biometric matching service, the Traveler Verification Service (TVS), compares the new photo with DHS holdings, which include images from photographs taken by CBP during the entry inspection, photographs from U.S. passports, U.S. visas and other travel documents, as well as photographs from previous DHS encounters. See the most recent TVS Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for more information.

 

[braumeister]

I was pleasantly surprised when DW and I came back from our last trip a few days ago. Went to the Global Entry kiosk and there was no fingerprints, no passport scan...just a quick picture and off we went. It took less than 10 seconds and it was fantastic. Not sure if it was facial recognition or iris scan, but I approve! Now, if we could just visit other countries without waiting over an hour to clear customs...boo!

That's interesting. We returned from Europe a few weeks ago and the kiosk wanted passports, fingerprints and photo just like always. I did notice however that it was faster than usual, and seemed quite happy with just a few good fingerprints.