As of today I just came out of my GLOBAL ENTRY interview and back home. It was pretty simple , simple questions . It’s all really a verification of who you are and a background check that they conduct through their systems. A face to face interview is to take a photo of you and finger prints and meet you. My kids (both under 5 years of age) also did the interview in which they were asked fun questions or what their abilities are capable of. Great stuff !
Credit Shifu - I will give you some Global Entry inside information. Once you apply and you have an interview date set (generally 2 - 6 weeks out); you likely will not have to wait for the interview date. As you experienced it's often not that busy. So just show up at the Global Entry office and let them know that you have an interview set up a few weeks out and ask if you can wait to be interviewed that day. They may take you immediately if no one is waiting or may ask you to have a seat and they will see you when they have an opening. You may be seen within 15 minutes and generally not longer than 30 - 40 minutes. I've done this myself and with family members. We generally went around 1:00 pm during the week. The interview process is around 3 to 5 minutes long if you don't have anything negative in your background. However, if you do have something negative in your background don't act as if you forgot that you were arrested at some point, just be honest. Even if you have a negative item in your background it's generally a very pleasant experience. Just be polite with the interviewer and very honest. Remember if you were granted an interview you have already been pre-approved even with the negative item on your record. I observed on one occasion a gentleman who had been arrested in the 1960's; the interviewer was very nice and asked about the arrest and tried to get the interviewee to admit to the arrest. However, the interviewee behaved as if he knew nothing about the arrest. The interviewer again tried to help him remember the arrest, again the interviewee behaved as if he was unaware of it. After the third attempt, the interviewer asked the interviewee to step outside and spoke to him privately, brought him back in and then issued his Global Entry credentials. Hope this eases some concerns.
Not every Global Entry interview location accepts walk-ins, so you have to keep that in mind. Because people cancel their appointments from time to time, it's also advisable to check back on the site for your interview location to see if you can book an appointment for earlier.
You are correct Jalabi99, actually to my knowledge none of them "technically" accept walk-ins. This is just a little hack that's available to try if you live relatively close by or you are at the airport at some point before your interview to catch a flight.
I live in the San Francisco Bay area and it can be many months before you can get an interview here. If you're getting Global Entry or TSA you probably travel a lot already anyways so a lot of people just go to a different location to do their interview, like for me Las Vegas.
I was able to schedule my interview the next day after I got approved so really depends on the city. My interview location was Newark(NJ) meanwhile another location (NY Penn) was located 30 minutes from there was booked for months.
Done in one week! I applied on Saturday, conditional approval on Wednesday, the Interview on Friday. TIP: You can go to the scheduling calendar and click back and forth to refresh your screen until a sooner opening comes up due to cancellations. It was 12pm here and I saw an opening for 12:15, so I rescheduled and left immediately. Luckily, I live only 2 miles away from a Global Entry site.
pro tips: my appointment at LAX had to be scheduled months in the future due to no availability. So, I scheduled it in KC and went to visit my mom. Go visit your mom or a friend at a slow airport. Also, you can pay a little extra and get a similar entry card for a bunch of Asian countries called APEC Business Travel card. Just gives you a short entry line on that side which can be QUITE helpful.
That's a interesting tip about APEC! Do you interview for it the same time you do the in person global entry interview? What if one isn't using it for 'business', just embellish a little?
I had my Global Entry interview in Memphis. It was the closest airport that fit my schedule so I made a 2 day trip of it. The Border Patrol agent asked me pretty standard questions and asked me why I wanted Global Entry. I was honest and said that it was a free perk of my Chase Sapphire Reserve and the other agent that was in the desk next to us chimed in. She said they had seen an upswing in applicants for that same reason. I passed and my card was mailed to me. Even if you fly once a year I feel like this is an undervalued perk. TSA lines are the worst so anything to make that experience better is worth it in my book. Having had the experience I would pay for it out of pocket if it wasn't offered with cards.
It was super easy to get my global entry. My interview was at the Philadelphia Airport. The interview was fast. Took me longer to find my car afterwards.
Hey Mr. Shifu....this video inspired me to apply for Global Entry, to which I did on 2-19-2019. Being that I live in NJ, I probably went to the same place as you at EWR (Terminal B). Thanks for this detailed video. It prepared me for the whole the process and experience which was just as you described.
Great Video! I would be interested in a video showing how you can use multiple credit cards and combine the sign-up bonus for perks such as a business class ticket, etc
You cannot use Nexus lands entering Canada. You can only use the Nexus lanes entering the US. To use Nexus lanes entering Canada you need to sign up for Nexus itself, another Trusted Traveler Program. It is actually half the cost and comes with global entry and Precheck, but their are fewer enrollment centers, mostly located near the Canadian border or in Canada
You should talk about NEXUS. Includes TSA Pre, Global Entry, and like 12 other benefits of both the US and Canadian government for half the price ($50).
NEXUS costs CDN $50 (if you're Canadian) or US $50 (if you're from the USA). While it does contain all the benefits of TSA Pre and Global Entry, because you have to be interviewed by representatives of both countries, you have to do the interview at locations at or near the US/Canada border. There are fewer such interview locations than for GE. The background check process also takes longer. On average, you get called for your GE interview in two to three weeks, but you might not hear back from the NEXUS people for two to three months sometimes. Instead of just taking your fingerprints (like the US CBP does), the Canadian BSA will also scan your irises. So if you're uncomfortable with sharing such sensitive biometric data with two governments, NEXUS might not be for you. www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/nexus/nexus-eligibility
Master.... I have been travelling for 35 years, 56 countries, but I have been travelling domestically 'only' for the last few years with PreCheck and Clear. I started travelling again internationally and got my Global Entry and ran into some 'user error' issues. Could you do a piece on that. There are a few 'not so clearly' explained things about this. I generally fly so it has been extremely useful for that, but land crossings have other stipulations.I recently did a job in Mexico that I rented a car in San Diego, paid for the extra insurance per my company policy, and on the way back up a week later, saw a 'global entry/sentri' lane and said a little 'yippy' as it took me ten minutes. Then they took my car apart, my luggage apart and really tried to intimidate me (total assholes to be honest). At the end they finally told me that I could use the Global Entry lane, but I had to register my Car as a Sentri/Nexus car first. Due to my messup they wanted to pull my Global entry status.This is a good one to cover. Thanks for all of your videos.
Nicholas Markovich it took like less than 5 mins. No star wars talk but the lady was very nice. It was less of an interview and more of confirming I wasnt a flight risk
Just went through the whole process. Received the conditional approval less than a week and was able to schedule my interview the next day at 8:45pm at Newark Airport. A handful of people were waiting until an officer came out and started checking everyone's name off his list and collected their passport with their driver's license inside. Then we were assigned our own booth with an officer waiting to interview us. Standard questions like, why are you interested in this program...do you plan on using this for business...what do you do? The only thing that stood out for me was the officer were trying to see if I had actual business reasons for use of this program. I'm guessing many people are taking advantage of this program for tourism purposes so they're trying to limit that. Asked what I do so I said I work for a non-profit charity org which he then says, so you will be going to conferences and doing international humanitarian work? I replied yes, most definitely. Got approved and left.
I don't have global entry cause Canadians can not get access to it. however I have the Nexus card which is the equivalent of TSA precheck in America . And in my opinion it's worth it. Not only it's the cheapest of the bunch but it also has global entry in the US and TSA precheck combined. And it's so much easier to go to the US & Canada
Thanks for the vid. I just got the conditional approval and I scheduled an interview in 4 days. After the interview am I all set with global entry? Or I need to wait for some acknowledgement from them ? I am traveling out of the county on the 25th and want to know if I will be able to use GE in the way back on the 30th
Once you complete the interview, the CBP officer will demonstrate how to use the Global Entry kiosk and tell you to expect an email "in a few days" but 99% of the time you get the "Welcome to Global Entry" email less than 10 minutes after you leave the interview room. The actual Global Entry card will be sent to your address on file within 7 to 10 business days. I have no idea if they can expedite the card to you, but the welcome email should contain your Known Traveler Number (KTN). If for some reason it doesn't you can log into your GOES account, click on the Activate Membership Card button under the Program Membership(s) section on the site's homepage, and then look for it toward the top of the page.
Hi Credit Sifu. My wife and I both own a Amex platinum and want to apply for global entry. My question is we have two kids that will travel with us when we go overseas and wondered if they needed global entry as well. (Both under 10) If so, will they go through the same process and pay $100 and schedule a separate interview like an adult? Just wondering if you know this information.
Any tips on how to get children 12 and under GE for free? Amex has authorized users beginning at age 13 which includes the GE credit which is nice, but do you just use any unused GE credits on other tier 4 cards if possible? (It’s pointless for me to have GE unless my small children have it too.)
Got pre-approved but haven't scheduled an appointment. Availabilities are in months and I don't have a car to just drive to the airport, and Uber is expensive. Question: can I just pop up into an office after landing in an airport without scheduling an appointment? And is it located before or after security?
You cant, they need weeks in advance so they can run the BG Checks before going to the interview. As the CShifu said, once you have the interview scheduled, you’re pretty much already accepted.
What happened to your last video about the (small) conflict with Sebby, Ben? Was there an error or did you just want to close the chapter and delete the vid?
Although there tends to be a lot of things they both covered, Sebby created a video about a credit tier system that Ben felt was somewhat based off of his, and was bordering plagiarism. Sebby ended up clearing things up, and both were very respectable about it.
I have 3 cards that provide the 1 in 5 yrs benefit and also use it for my spouse. I do travel internationally on business a few times a year and on personal travel, so the Global Entry is really nice and fast, especially at airports like Chicago where immigration and customs is really, really REALLY slow at peak arrival hours. I've been TSA Pre since close to when it started. When only TSA Pre-check, I would occasionally not get it at random and have to go through the regular lanes, as they told you would happen. WIth Global Entry this has never happened. Don't know if its the increased status level or just a change of the times but for the slight difference in fees Global Entry is the way to go even if you don'now or expect to travel abroad. Like you, the process was a formality (unlike you I'm a native born US citizen), it was more of a "what you do for a living, why do you travel" interview and mostly focused on how to use the arrival kiosks along with the e-fingerprinting. Thanks for your review, and enjoy Global Entry -- it's normally REALLY fast - at least gettint through immigration and customs -- baggage claim arrival is another story, but an airline issue. Keep up the good advice! We appreciate it . . . .
Yes it does. (SENRTI lanes entering the US from Mexico by car) But you have to show the card and you need to register your vehicle when you do the global entry application.
I cant get passed the document portion. I have the needed information but it will still not let me threw. Called 5 times to talk to their customer service team. They just say they don't know. Tried different browsers and computers. Does anybody have any idea?
How many countries have you been in? What would say to people who haven't visited other countries? I'm from the USA, what problems do you think we need to work on, or is getting my passport useless, because I'm already in the greatest nation in the world.
Well people often criticize Americans because a large portion of them have never been to another country. But when the country is so big, with such a variety of landscapes, climates etc… it is understandable, probably a lot of Europeans have never left Europe either. To be honest although i do go to other countries, I go on a lot of domestic US vacations too.
Yes, it is not like TSA pre, everyone need their own, even kids. So your kids can benefit from the TSA pre part of it, but when coming back into the country, only you can use it
So, if a family of 4 travels, and the mom and dad have global entry, but the 17 and 18 year-old kids do NOT have global entry... Then what? The kids get screwed?
So my Global Entry interview almost got me denied and blacklisted... The only question they asked me was what other countries besides the listed ones you have been in, in the past 10 years. Now I had a layover at Korea a year ago, so I said. "Oh I also went to Korea, it was a layover, but I thought you should know about it." The interviewer asks, which city, North Korea? I'm like Incheon yes yes. The guy went into redflag mode when I said that. I asked if everything was okay, hes like, what were you doing in North Korea? I'm like what? wait what? Then I went, OH S**T, NOOOOO I DIDN'T GO TO NORTH KOREA, MY MISTAKE NONONONONO......... The whole room started laughing at my stupidity... But hey, I got my card.
Not every airline is part of the program. It gets printed on your boarding pass. The TSA website has a list of participating airlines on their website.
If you read the fine print on the site they tell you that they will still ask some people randomly to submit to a check, even if they're on TSA Pre. In theory this is to trip the bad guys.
Yes lately when leaving later at night out of Denver they have been shutting down the TSA pre check lanes forcing us into the non pre check lines, not to happy about that, but they do give you a pass that keeps from having to take off shoes etc, but had to take tech items out which was not fun.
Yes, in theory, although in practice they often just allow you to take your kids through with you. You can also look into the app mobile passport, if your local airport has a lane for that, it does the same thing as global entry.
hi credit shifu, I am just wondering if I want to go and get a credit card which one is best for me and I'm about to start college and I'm only 17 going 18 this month and living in Ireland
I mostly comment on US credit cards, I don't really have much knowledge about the situation in Ireland. I would suggest to look for something with no annual fee or go to your bank and say you want a starter credit card. My grandfather was from Cork, nice to have an Irishman comment on the videos.
The Credit Shifu that's awesome dude, it's my pleasure, I always want to learn so I watch your vidoes and they are so informative :) best content going and come to Ireland on your travels :) is it true that American banks are only bring chip and pin out like last year? 😂 keep up the good work you have a loyal Irish man here :)
The Credit Shifu I looked at the Ulster bank credit card here play him and it's saying i have to pay €90 for priorty pass for the airport lounges and it doesn't seem great
I think you should still get reimbursed, but if not call chase and ask. I recommend going through the chase site just to make sure you have the correct link, there can sometimes be scams stealing your information if you just search on google.
It's a one-time fee of US $100, and it's renewable every five years. So basically it comes out to US $20 a year. Considering the benefits of the program, that's a huge bargain!
The Credit Shifu damn. Lol. I had it in my watch later list but then disappeared :(. That's what I get for not watching when I get the notification. Lol. Keep up the good work and thanks for the response!
Who said you'll never need a Visa? Visas are needed upon arrival to a foreign country (if requested). Global entry only works in the usa for us citizens or permanent residents.
