Global Entry Changes

[fosterscik]

We just flew back from Roatan last Sunday via Miami and were surprised by the changes that have occurred since we last flew internationally (before covid; BC seems like an appropriate abbreviation given how long it seems )
Now entry went even faster. No fingerprints taken at the kiosk. No read your passport at the kiosk. No declarations page.

All we had to do was look at the camera. I assume they rely on facial recognition but that's pretty hard to believe given we entered ZERO information about ourselves before the machine spat out the usual slip (with our photo included) to present to a customs officer on the way out.

Can it rely exclusively on facial recognition to prove we're part of the global entry program? Amazing

 

[rrppve]

We just flew back from Roatan last Sunday via Miami and were surprised by the changes that have occurred since we last flew internationally (before covid; BC seems like an appropriate abbreviation given how long it seems )

Now entry went even faster. No fingerprints taken at the kiosk. No read your passport at the kiosk. No declarations page.



All we had to do was look at the camera. I assume they rely on facial recognition but that's pretty hard to believe given we entered ZERO information about ourselves before the machine spat out the usual slip (with our photo included) to present to a customs officer on the way out.



Can it rely exclusively on facial recognition to prove we're part of the global entry program? Amazing

Yep. Facial recognition is how it works. Kind of a bit scary.
Not sure how many Americans have Global Entry, so the database might not be that big. Also, airline manifests include passport information, so they could drastically limit the size of the search if that info was used.

 

[braumeister]

Yep. Facial recognition is how it works. Kind of a bit scary.

On one of our last trips BC, Delta had a camera and monitor set up at the gate when boarding the plane, so we didn't even have to show our boarding passes. Just look at the camera.

 

[donheff]

I assume the Global Entry DB just uses the passport/GE photos of registered members to run facial recognition. That would take virtually no time at all.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

The UK has been using just facial recognition at the border for a long time for anyone from the UK, EU or US.

Walk up, put your passport on the scanner, look at the camera, come on into the country.

When it works, its brilliant. Of course, their staffing presumes that it works. When the system fails (which is somewhat regularly) its complete chaos because they don't have teh staff on hand to process the arrivals.

 

[fosterscik]

The UK has been using just facial recognition at the border for a long time for anyone from the UK, EU or US.

Walk up, put your passport on the scanner, look at the camera, come on into the country.

That's the way it used to work at the US border (and I've used the automatic gates in the UK with my British passport), BUT now global entry doesn't scan your passport. I'm not sure why the change occurred but it sped things up by a few minutes.

 

[Drake3287]

Yep, same thing here. Just got back to SFO from 2 weeks in Switzerland and when we walked up to the Global Entry Kiosk all it wanted was a photo of us which spit out a copy to give to the TSA agent. Literally took 1 minute, that fast. Meanwhile, the other 200+ people were still waiting in a long line when we walked away. Money well spent!

 

[Alex The Great]

Yes I noticed it a couple of months ago at SFO, after international flight. People around me were curious why I'm heading into the aisle designed for flight attendants. It is amazing how many people did not hear about Global Entry. And it is a good thing too, otherwise there would be too many people in this line

 

[gayl]

Does Mobile Passport at SFO still use Global Entry line?

Also used Whyline at SeaTac and was through faster than those using TSA Precheck

 

[SecondAttempt]

We just got Global Entry after YEARS of trying. We live on the Big Island in Hawaii so scheduling the interview was difficult...then Covid. But thanks to some very helpful CBP agents we finally got it on return from an international trip last weekend. Helpful and accommodative because they went out of their way to do it during off hours when they were technically closed.

In the process, and maybe relevant here, there was a problem scanning my fingerprints. The agen said not to worry about it because they are moving away from fingerprints. He said my ticket will get an X but the agent should just pass me through on seeing the fingerprint reason.

 

[braumeister]

In the process, and maybe relevant here, there was a problem scanning my fingerprints. The agen said not to worry about it because they are moving away from fingerprints. He said my ticket will get an X but the agent should just pass me through on seeing the fingerprint reason.

Yes, biometrics keep changing. Canada was also big into retinal scanning in addition to fingerprints, but now facial recognition technology has become so good that it's becoming the new standard.

 

[jpeter1093]

Yep. Facial recognition is how it works. Kind of a bit scary.
Not sure how many Americans have Global Entry, so the database might not be that big. Also, airline manifests include passport information, so they could drastically limit the size of the search if that info was used.

My iPhone does the same thing to unlock the screen

 

[Pellice]

OK - some good news about FAST Global Entry renewal processing.

I applied online for a renewal of my Global Entry status on Thursday. Unbelievably, it was approved yesterday (Saturday) - only 48 hours! I can hardly believe a human looked at it. I am thinking that some automated process kicked in. Have others had this fast service when renewing a global entry trusted traveler status?

 

[donheff]

OK - some good news about FAST Global Entry renewal processing.

I applied online for a renewal of my Global Entry status on Thursday. Unbelievably, it was approved yesterday (Saturday) - only 48 hours! I can hardly believe a human looked at it. I am thinking that some automated process kicked in. Have others had this fast service when renewing a global entry trusted traveler status?

I recently renewed mine and it went through very quickly. But that reminds me that I don’t think DW’s did. I will have to check.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Questions for those with Global Entry experience...

I'm now hearing about something called Mobile Passport that is a free app. I can't quite figure out what it does but it seems to let you enter your information as soon as you land, or even before to make things even faster. At Honolulu last week they were sending crew, Global Entry, and Mobile Passport to the same line, or maybe I should say lane because there was no line at all.

Is Mobile Passport something we should get or does Global Entry do the same thing?

Also, we did our interview on 7/9 and were told we would be approved by the interviewer and would receive our cards in 7-10 days. It is now 15 days and no cards. Should we be concerned? When I log in it says we are approved. But they said we have to activate our cards before using the Known Traveler Number. I know we only need the cards for land crossings to Mexico or Canada but do we have to activate the card to be live in the system? I have a domestic trip I want to book but don't want the known traveler number to come up as invalid.

Comments?

 

[Gotadimple]

Mobile Passport is a free app that replaces going to the GE kiosk because you answer all the questions on the app when you land, and transmit them along with your photo. Not all airports accommodate Mobile Passport.

Can't speak to how well GE speeds your entry into Canada or Mexico.

 

[geeky_grrl]

Are the cameras positioned so they get people of different heights? Every time I've used a global entry kiosk when it took a photo of me it only got the top couple of inches of my head since I'm really short. The agents always let me through but it seemed like a useless photo.

 

[braumeister]

Are the cameras positioned so they get people of different heights? Every time I've used a global entry kiosk when it took a photo of me it only got the top couple of inches of my head since I'm really short. The agents always let me through but it seemed like a useless photo.

You can adjust the camera so it points at your face at every kiosk I've used.
I had the same problem until I realized that.

 

[Done]

Mobile Passport is a (free) way to access a shorter processing lane upon international arrival at certain US airports. Global Entry arrivals are also quick using a kiosk, but GE also includes TSA precheck so I think that is a significant advantage.

GE users can also use Mobile Passport and just choose the faster lane upon arrival. If you’re arriving with others who don’t have GE, Mobile Passport is a good option. https://www.afar.com/magazine/what-travelers-need-to-know-about-the-mobile-passport-app/amp

 

[braumeister]

If you like to visit Canada like we do, NEXUS is a better option. It's half the price of Global Entry but gives you all the same benefits. In addition, it can vastly speed up your arrival in Canada. We once drove back to the US over the Ambassador Bridge at Detroit, and the backup was easily a couple of hours. But there was a NEXUS lane open, so I just moved over there, showed the card and zipped on through.

It's more of a hassle to get the card since you can only do the interview at certain border crossings or airports, but well worth it for us.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Also, we did our interview on 7/9 and were told we would be approved by the interviewer and would receive our cards in 7-10 days. It is now 15 days and no cards. Should we be concerned?

Just an update...OUR GE CARDS ARRIVED TODAY!...very happy! It took 17 days. This has literally been an almost 5 year journey for us. We signed up but had great difficulty setting up an interview because the only place in Hawaii they do them is Honolulu and that would require a flight. Not a big deal of course except for the expense so we were trying to schedule around trips for other reasons. Then Covid.

Anyway, BIG relief and looking forward mostly to precheck. I used to get it 90% of the time until they started restricting airlines giving it out about 5 years ago.

 

[RetireBy90]

We applied for GE and paid 2 weeks ago. I did for DW and myself at the same time. 24 hours later I had email that said to schedule my interview. First appointment at our local airport (Dulles) was 1 Nov, 4 months away. DW still shows processing. I called the number and the LONG message before I could get to the hold for next agent (It said wait was 6 hours or something like that) they said it could take 6-8 months to process the application. WOW 24 hours or 6-8 months ?? Am I wasting time ? We plan a trip in March.

 

[Trailwalker]

We applied for GE and paid 2 weeks ago. I did for DW and myself at the same time. 24 hours later I had email that said to schedule my interview. First appointment at our local airport (Dulles) was 1 Nov, 4 months away. DW still shows processing. I called the number and the LONG message before I could get to the hold for next agent (It said wait was 6 hours or something like that) they said it could take 6-8 months to process the application. WOW 24 hours or 6-8 months ?? Am I wasting time ? We plan a trip in March.

I'm surprised that you were able to even get an appointment. I check every day, and there are never any appointments within 500 miles of us. We will try to do an an interview when we come back from Peru in the fall, but flight time changes have created a tighter window. DW was ticked off after I spent $200 and no convenient appointments available.

 

[cathy63]

We applied for GE and paid 2 weeks ago. I did for DW and myself at the same time. 24 hours later I had email that said to schedule my interview. First appointment at our local airport (Dulles) was 1 Nov, 4 months away. DW still shows processing. I called the number and the LONG message before I could get to the hold for next agent (It said wait was 6 hours or something like that) they said it could take 6-8 months to process the application. WOW 24 hours or 6-8 months ?? Am I wasting time ? We plan a trip in March.

Yes, this variance is normal and completely unpredictable. There was a thread last year where a bunch of us were renewing GE and one half of each couple got a quick renewal while the other took months and ended up having to do another interview. There's no rhyme or reason to it and no way to speed things up.

 

[audreyh1]

Come down here. Appointments have been readily available at a couple of the border bridges. Maybe an excuse to vacation at South Padre Island?