My kids' (6) global entry has expired. We renewed it and they are conditionally approved pending their "interview". Obviously getting an interview is a pain in the ass.

My wife and kids are going to England this summer. Am I correct that they can just do their "interview" when they come back jnto the country?

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-arrival

yes they can. My wife did that exact thing when we came back from England this past September. Her interview was for her initial GE Applicaiton. I think it took about 30 minutes. Gave me time to get luggage and a coffee.

Just went through this entire process.

HIGHLY recommend doing it upon entry with the customs agent, as you do not need an appointment. Do NOT let an airport employee tell you that they aren't available if it's at a weird hour (that's what happened to me); just talk to the customs agent and ask to do your interview. Takes maybe 2 minutes.

Alternatively, I recommend using https://appointmentscanner.com to auto scan for open appointments. You pay $29, get text/email alerts for 3 different airports of your choice the second they open. I have used this with great success for my entire family. It's not a subscription, as people generally are able to book the appointment inside of a few days from signing up.

I was renewed without doing an interview. No idea why or how.

Same here. Honestly they took way longer to approve mine than others (I was expecting to be denied) but after a few months I got approved without an interview. My mom was approved in days.

I figured me accidentally trying to take a gun through security would have denied me from getting it renewed.

A little derail from OP (sorry). Has anyone taken more than six months to renew? I submitted renewal in November. The only change was a change of address. Just checked a couple days ago, and the application STILL being processed. Wondering if something is wrong/problematic

It pisses me off as a dad of an infant that my wife and I's GE doesn't get them through like it does for precheck

Wish I could just get approved for an interview. Been waiting a few months now, checking the website every other week to see if my app has been approved to proceed.

amg405 said:

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Just went through this entire process.

HIGHLY recommend doing it upon entry with the customs agent, as you do not need an appointment. Do NOT let an airport employee tell you that they aren't available if it's at a weird hour (that's what happened to me); just talk to the customs agent and ask to do your interview. Takes maybe 2 minutes.

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I had this same experience. Waited months for an interview spot to open. Finally, I just gave up and decided to do the interview thru customs upon return from an International flight.

All 4 people in my family were done in less than 5 minutes total.

Mobile passport is better than global entry anyways.

Wish I knew how they picked whether you need an interview or not.....I checked weekly and didn't get an interview slot within the year. So I actually had to apply again. So frustrating.

Edit: this was about a year ago, I finally got my interview and got everything done.

I applied for GE last year. Rather than wait for an interview slot to open up in Houston, I picked a Friday and jumped in the truck. No appointment necessary in Laredo at the port of entry (though I did schedule one). Walked around the markets down there, and spent the night at La Posada. Good food, and great drinks right in the hotel.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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Mobile passport is better than global entry anyways.

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This. I did this once, it was free, and I went into a separate custooms line with no one in it.

What is the benefit of GE over MPC anyway? Other than availability maybe, and GE obviously has TSA precheck included.

62strat said:

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ChoppinDs40 said:

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Mobile passport is better than global entry anyways.

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This. I did this once, it was free, and I went into a separate custooms line with no one in it.

What is the benefit of GE over MPC anyway? Other than availability maybe, and GE obviously has TSA precheck included.

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shhh. don't tell anyone about MPC - it's the literal hack of international travel.

Last time I used it... global entry line had 100 people in it... no one but us and a flight attendant in the MPC line... through immigration in less than 3 minutes at DFW.

I have pre-check separately as it's cheaper and now i'm on renewal status.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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62strat said:

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ChoppinDs40 said:

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Mobile passport is better than global entry anyways.

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This. I did this once, it was free, and I went into a separate custooms line with no one in it.

What is the benefit of GE over MPC anyway? Other than availability maybe, and GE obviously has TSA precheck included.

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shhh. don't tell anyone about MPC - it's the literal hack of international travel.

Last time I used it... global entry line had 100 people in it... no one but us and a flight attendant in the MPC line... through immigration in less than 3 minutes at DFW.

I have pre-check separately as it's cheaper and now i'm on renewal status.

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You're the one who brought it up….

true, I was hoping everyone would just gloss over it not knowing what "mobile passport" was. lol

Been waiting 11 months for my 'Pending Review'

If you are in Houston, IAH unofficially does walk-in interviews on Mondays and Fridays. They work you in in between people with appointments who are no-shows.

I had a scheduled appt one Friday and there were several walk-ins who were accommodated while I was there. Just get there early to be the first in line.

TXTransplant said:

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If you are in Houston, IAH unofficially does walk-in interviews on Mondays and Fridays. They work you in in between people with appointments who are no-shows.

I had a scheduled appt one Friday and there were several walk-ins who were accommodated while I was there. Just get there early to be the first in line.

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Shocked they can get them in with how ****ty the process is. For my interview at IAH they were like 2 1/2 hours behind schedule.

JMac03 said:

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Same here. Honestly they took way longer to approve mine than others (I was expecting to be denied) but after a few months I got approved without an interview. My mom was approved in days.

I figured me accidentally trying to take a gun through security would have denied me from getting it renewed.

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Count me as one of the few that renewed without an interview.

I can't interview out of my local airport and was months into trying to coordinate something through SEA / IAH. And then the card showed up in the mail one day.

My wife was renewed without an interview in less than 2 weeks. It took 11 months for me but I finally was approved last week BUT was notified I would not be receiving a new GE ID card. That concerns me somewhat.

I don't think I got a new card. I can honestly say I don't think I have used the card ever.

DallasAggie89 said:

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I was renewed without doing an interview. No idea why or how.

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Me too...2 months ago.

Anyone have problems with the passport/document verification when renewing online? I keep getting a message it wasn't able to verify the document. Same passport I used when I initially applying for GE.

htxag09 said:

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TXTransplant said:

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If you are in Houston, IAH unofficially does walk-in interviews on Mondays and Fridays. They work you in in between people with appointments who are no-shows.

I had a scheduled appt one Friday and there were several walk-ins who were accommodated while I was there. Just get there early to be the first in line.

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Shocked they can get them in with how ****ty the process is. For my interview at IAH they were like 2 1/2 hours behind schedule.

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I had no issues at IAH back in September (at least I think that's when my interview was). If anything, I was the problem because I parked and got on the train only to realize I left my passport in my car. I panicked, and a nice guy on the train said he worked at the office and would tell them I was on my way. I ran back to my car and then ran back to the terminal (I could run faster than the stupid train) and was only a few minutes late for my appt. Hadn't missed anything, and I was called back shortly after that. They did get a little out of order based on appt times, but I hadn't missed my name being called.

Interview didn't take more than 5 min, and they gave me the number that would be on my card so I could go ahead and start using it. Picture is just a little bit of a hot mess since I worked up a sweat running like a crazy person through the underground tunnel.

I imagine the speed of service and length of the line varies on any given day. My appt was early in the day, and there were probably already 30 walk-ins lined up trying to get worked in.

Aside from my own stupidity leaving the passport in the car, the process was much easier than I expected, given how hard it was to get the damn appt in the first place.

CLEAR
Global Entry
Pre-Check
Digital Passport
Trusted Traveller

It's wild that we have all these competing programs. I can't keep up with wtf is going on here.

It's also wild that if you've got Global entry, you still have to enter the Pass ID / Trusted Traveller number on your ticketing profile for te system to put you in Pre check.

Thats pretty much the only use for the GE card is that it has that number printed one the back of it.

I've only used my GE number, and it's gotten me pre-check on several flights. I've now entered it in my ff profiles with the airlines I travel with. Have never been asked for another number.

But, yes, it's super confusing.

TXTransplant said:

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I've now entered it in my ff profiles with the airlines I travel with.

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This, I entered my and my wifes TSA pc number into united/sw and frontier years ago, haven't thought about it since.

TXTransplant said:

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I've only used my GE number, and it's gotten me pre-check on several flights. I've now entered it in my ff profiles with the airlines I travel with. Have never been asked for another number.

But, yes, it's super confusing.

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I didn't know you had to manually enter the number for several years until somebody on here pointed it out.

What are the advantages of CLEAR?

Just from looking at people who have it, they are taken to the front of the line but then have to go through regular TSA security.

SW AG80 said:

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What are the advantages of CLEAR?

Just from looking at people who have it, they are taken to the front of the line but then have to go through regular TSA security.

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https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/tsa-precheck-vs-clear

Clear is pricey (~12x that of TSA precheck, $189 a year), but it's also used outside of the airport (for instance, at sports games and such you can skip lines with clear)
Clear doesn't put you in TSA precheck, which means you are still taking out liquids/laptops, taking off shoes, etc.

They can complement each other, but neither replaces the other.

You can get discounts on clear as well.. example, it's free if you're united premier 1k
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/mileageplus/clear.html


Using in combo, you basically skip the line with clear, then go to tsa precheck line for quicker/less cumbersome security screening.

Thanks.

I will add, if you are a united general member (which is free, and requires no flights or money spent, the lowest status), the cost is down to $149, additional family members are $60, and kids are free.

So two adults and kids is $210 a year. Not quite as bad as I made it sound. Or go further and add your parents/adult children, or some random 'friends' for that matter, and 4 adults is $330, or $165 a couple.

https://www.clearme.com/support
"Bundle and save! Add up to 3 family members or friends to your account for just $60 each. Family members under 18 years old can always join you in the CLEAR Lane for free."

Edit; Having read this FAQ, I may see if my parents want to join and they can add me/wife. They are retired and fly 8-10x a year, so I think they would get use out of it and it would get my cost down to $165 for my family

Wow, so much information so little brain function left!

Are any of these options helpful when going through Security at Heathrow? Have an eight hour layover and would like to see central London but worried about re-entry going badly. Any advice?

Straight Talk said:

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Wow, so much information so little brain function left!

Are any of these options helpful when going through Security at Heathrow? Have an eight hour layover and would like to see central London but worried about re-entry going badly. Any advice?

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Personally, I do not think you have the time to go to central London. If not collecting luggage, I would budget at least an hour from arrival (opening the door) to get off plane, walk to customs / immigration, 30 minutes at least if able to catch the Heathrow Express so at least 2 hours to get from plane to London, quite possibly 2.5 to 3 hours. Budget at least the same to return, check in and clear security and you are looking at best having enough time to grab a bite and wave at Buckingham Palace.

My personal advice, skip it but others may have more recent, relevant experience doing just as you plan.

Also, check out www.flyertalk.com. They have location specific forums and are my go to for detailed travel questions such as yours. TexAgs is a decent 2nd for info.