Checkpoints and Borders Policy Debate - Now Global Entry but was just SSSS'd

Well, I just flew MEX-LAX on UA 293. I am Premier Plat, traveling with three family members, one another Premier Plat and the other two with no status. All of us flying in F. All tix purchased with credit card (not cash). I've been at least Gold and mostly 1K with UA since 1999 and have flown on hundreds of flights and well over 1 million miles and never received a SSSS boarding pass until today, which subjected me to the more intrusive search. The other family members in my party did not receive the dreaded SSSS, even though one was just flying for the second or third time in his life. In the last month, I have also been granted Global Entry (GE) status by CBP and have entered all my GE info in my profile with UA. Makes me wonder how a SSSS is generated. Is it done through CBP? Through UA's (former CO's) SHARES? It just seems odd to me that one who has been vetted as a low risk traveler would get the SSSS. Seems to me that it just creates inefficiencies in identifying those that may pose an actual security risk. Or maybe, just maybe, UA knows that I have largely dumped them in favor of AA (loving my new EXP status) and now wants to show me "appreciation" on those few flights that I do take on COdbaUA :D

I think this is randomly done by TSA.

I think this is randomly done by TSA.

Never underestimate the incompetence of TSA.

I think this is randomly done by TSA.

But would TSA have authority to issue an SSSS boarding pass on a flight originating abroad (MEX)?

In case you don't know what the OP is talking about (like me):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_Security_Screening_Selection



According to the above link, some passengers are just randomly picked.

When was the ticket bought? Anything different from the other tickets?

TSA and CBP are two different organizations. TSA processes you from land to air side at an airport security screening point while CBP processes you back into the USA.

I found this out when I asked if I could do the advanced clearance thru security since I was Global Entry and the (annoyed) TSA guard told me "We do things differently." He then (gruffly) explained that the airline has to process it and that TSA then has their own checking process.

When was the ticket bought? Anything different from the other tickets?

Absolutely nothing different. All reservations were made together (LAX-MEX-LAX) about three weeks in advance and paid by the same credit card. No cash, no one ways, no same day purchase. Nothing that is different about any of my travel patterns. Though most of my flying is to Asia, I frequently fly to MEX and other locations within Latin America. Just seems strange. You would expect an SSSS for an unknown traveler.

Seems random -- only happened to me once in the last ten years PVR-DEN.

TSA and CBP are two different organizations. TSA processes you from land to air side at an airport security screening point while CBP processes you back into the USA.

I found this out when I asked if I could do the advanced clearance thru security since I was Global Entry and the (annoyed) TSA guard told me "We do things differently." He then (gruffly) explained that the airline has to process it and that TSA then has their own checking process.

I'm also registered with the TSA Pre-Check Program, so I use the fast security lanes when going through security when flying AA at LAX T-4 (leave shoes on, leave laptop in backpack, etc). I don't think UA has it yet, at least at LAX, my home airport.

TSA and CBP are two different organizations. TSA processes you from land to air side at an airport security screening point while CBP processes you back into the USA.

I found this out when I asked if I could do the advanced clearance thru security since I was Global Entry and the (annoyed) TSA guard told me "We do things differently." He then (gruffly) explained that the airline has to process it and that TSA then has their own checking process.

Both under DHS. TSA is the most ridiculous of them all.

I have had it happen twice.......................both times flying CO before the merger from HNL I had NO FF info in the record as it was when CO was with Sky Team and I dont (wont) bother earning miles w any sky team member.....................both times though the tickets were in F (excuse me, Business First) and booked THE SAME DAY AS TRAVEL so I kinda knew why it was done. Tkt w No FF info is rare on a domestic airline (even for a kettle), booked same day and my credit card issued by Dubai Islamic Bank :eek: (I have since gotten rid of that card :rolleyes:

I'm also registered with the TSA Pre-Check Program, so I use the fast security lanes when going through security when flying AA at LAX T-4 (leave shoes on, leave laptop in backpack, etc). I don't think UA has it yet, at least at LAX, my home airport.

The CBP folks who interviewed me for Global Entry were very dismissive of TSA, especially for piggybacking on their work of doing the Global Entry interviews for TSA Pre-Check.

However, they also indicated that sometimes even people in TSA Pre-Check would be selected for Secondary Screening, simply to keep people guessing.

I'm also registered with the TSA Pre-Check Program, so I use the fast security lanes when going through security when flying AA at LAX T-4 (leave shoes on, leave laptop in backpack, etc). I don't think UA has it yet, at least at LAX, my home airport.

When I asked the question it was going thru premium securing at T4 LAX.

You would think that TSA Pre-Check would be automatically done for Global Entry members since we've been background checked by CBP, but doesn't appear to be the case. My understanding is that the Global Entry number is for reference only and that TSA still does their own back ground check.

I also do most of my flying from ONT so it's, relatively speaking, a non-issue since security is < 5 minutes typically.

Both under DHS. TSA is the most ridiculous of them all.

According to the TSA guard I talked with, the two departments don't seem to have much interaction. So much for the streamlined intelligence gathering across organizations that the DHS was supposed to resolve.

The CBP folks who interviewed me for Global Entry were very dismissive of TSA, especially for piggybacking on their work of doing the Global Entry interviews for TSA Pre-Check.

However, they also indicated that sometimes even people in TSA Pre-Check would be selected for Secondary Screening, simply to keep people guessing.

Guessing why we still fund the TSA.

Just curious, but if you got SSSS on your paper ticket, what would happen if you went on your mobile and downloaded your boarding pass to your phone--not as an email, but a in-app image ?

Anyone know if the barcode contains an SSSS indicator decoded during the ID-Check ? (never had the opportunity to check myself)

I'll bite:

AA YOW-ORD with PASS ID (GE) entered; SSSS.

I'll bite:

AA YOW-ORD with PASS ID (GE) entered; SSSS.

I was in the same boat as OP. First time I flew internationally with GE, I got SSSS on the way back. Ticket purchased well in advance, US credit card, etc. I got SSSS'd at LIR (Liberia, Costa Rica). Interesting thing with GE and SSSS is getting extra screening at departure, but not talking to anyone at CBP at MIA! Annoying, but not worse than a rigorous TSA opt-out patdown, except for not expecting the waistband search as I wasn't warned by LIR security that it would be included. They should have as I almost had a reflex reaction to it that wouldn't have ended well for my screener. Only flight out of 54 that I've received it this year, in fact I'm the only person I've seen receive it on any of them (for whatever that is worth).

Really? I just flew my first international flight after getting GE and was selected for extra groping at Narita on the way back. I told them I'd rather just switch to the next flight and that I would wait as long as necessary in Japan rather than let them grope me, but the woman at the gate told me I was chosen particularly by the TSA and that I would be flagged no matter what flight I took. This is an interesting pattern.

Can other new GE members chime in? Do you get special security attention on your first return to the U.S. after getting GE?

Can other new GE members chime in? Do you get special security attention on your first return to the U.S. after getting GE?

I received no additional scrutiny before my first flight back after GE, and I am almost certain that the same applies to the vast majority of GE members. I highly doubt your additional security attention was connected in any way with GE.

Really? I just flew my first international flight after getting GE and was selected for extra groping at Narita on the way back. I told them I'd rather just switch to the next flight and that I would wait as long as necessary in Japan rather than let them grope me, but the woman at the gate told me I was chosen particularly by the TSA and that I would be flagged no matter what flight I took. This is an interesting pattern.

Can other new GE members chime in? Do you get special security attention on your first return to the U.S. after getting GE?

If being SSSS'd on the int'l segment is the price we have to pay for PreCheck on the domestic segment... that's a bargain that I don't care to make. At all. A domestic opt-out/grope is far better than a SSSS.

Since becoming a GE traveler I have not been SSSS'd on any flight (intl. or dom.) SSSS can pop up in odd situations: (1)I was on a flight that was cancelled, and rebooked on another airline--the system perceives this as a same day ticket purchase, (2)I was flying from cdg to jfk (a few years before GE even existed), (3)I was on a connecting flight lga-stl-las, my two bp's had no SSSS, on arrival in STL I checked if my upg had cleared, and that new (1st cl.) bp had SSSS--the agent was able to "suppress" the SSSS, but on my return trip I was SSSS'd on the initial segment.:confused:

Same thing happened to me, I have now received the dreaded SSSS twice in the past year. In both cases they were overseas flights where the airport desk or gate popped out a new SSSS pass to replace the one I had received earlier in the day. :mad:

I am hoping that it was just random SSSS i.e. unlucky, and NOT the result of recent travel to the middle east or worse an indication that the Boraxo name is now on the watch list :eek:

As noted above it makes little sense to pre-clear individuals through GE while at the same time subjecting them to heighten security theatre, but then feds and specifically TSA are not known for competence or intellect.

I received no additional scrutiny before my first flight back after GE, and I am almost certain that the same applies to the vast majority of GE members. I highly doubt your additional security attention was connected in any way with GE.
Just adding another data point. First international flight back to the States after obtaining GE and got the SSSS out of NRT. Fiance will be in the same condition in two weeks--should be able to add another data point then.

Just to be clear, there is no evidence that GE is the cause of the SSSS, just that it is not creating exemption from SSSS in airline systems setup to accept known traveler numbers. The irony is that a redress number would probably nix the SSSS, but not a PASS ID.

It is just how [in]SecureFlight is setup. The proper tweak would to be for SecureFlight to take PASS IDs where offered and add that to the protocol for exemption from SSSS-- right now, an SSSS generated due to PNR factors is not nixed by a PASS ID, but can be by a valid redress number. It is just a matter of putting some lines of code into the SecureFlight software that no one has bothered to put in yet.

I got the SSSS earlier this year on a MAD-PHL flight. When leaving Europe with a U.S. carrier, one needs to go through some sort of question and answer ritual. Simple questions like if your luggage has been with you all the time, do you carry guns in your luggage, you get the drift. Since I was walking with a cane, the security guy asked me when I had surgery. I thought that was quite a silly question and replied that in the U.S. surgery is not a prerequisite to walk with a cane. I don't think he liked this answer and he left for a lengthy chat with his supervisor. When I finally was allowed to approach the check in counter, my boarding pass was printed and was marked SSSS. I don't believe that this was a random act and attribute this solely to the interaction with the security agent and certainly not to my GE status.

When I applied for and was granted GE, I did not receive any sort of SSSS and thank god have not since.

Dan

It seems hypocritical. The TSA's long stated argument for having an SSSS system is, "We need to know more about you." Well, a trusted traveler program serves that very purpose. The occasional misfortune of a random is partially understandable, but Global Entry passengers should not routinely be subject to this.

I've had Global Entry for several years, and I've always had good luck (perhaps I've just jinxed that.)

I also used NEXUS for the fist time for travel by air, and did encounter secondary screening by customs, and I just got a web check-in Air Canada boarding card without the SSSS. I hope that the good luck continues.

I think that the variations of CAPPS need to be able to recognize a valid PASSID, and that would leave security agencies to concentrate their efforts on less trustred travelers. It seems like a pretty reasonable expectation.