Global Entry - US Citizens & LPRs First Time Applicants' Timelines & Information
 

Applied for global entry on Nov. 1st and still waiting for ability to schedule interview!! Does this mean there was a problem or is it the holidays? Hope someone out there knows what might be holding this up! Thank you!!

There is no way to know. Some people receive conditional approval in 2-3 days and others take much longer and are then denied. It could be anything from random follow up for something in your background to something more serious to something where you listed something incorrectly to somebody with a similar name and date of birth being on a watch list.

The government shut down has stopped all GE processing, so whatever was outstanding on 12/21 is sitting there and won't change until CBP is fully funded. At that point there will also be a backlog, so unfortunately, delays may get a lot worse.

Is there anything in your background, including anything you omitted which might -- stress might -- raise concerns?

Status uncertain
 

I am unable to access my account since applying in late September (I changed phone numbers so I can't receive my account verification message and can't find my account number). I have received several of the emails addressed to Global Entry Applicant regarding airport interviews upon return from an international flight. Are these sent to everyone or can I assume my application has been conditionally approved? Thanks so much!

You can't presume anything.

Unfortunately, GE operations are shut down so there is nowhere to check or to call.

You are going to have to reset your account and then relink your Trusted Traveler's profile to it.

Ok so update on 12/20 my son got Conditionally Approved. Ironically it happened when we were on the airport flying out for our vacation to Mexico. When we came back we did a Interview on arrival for him on 12/26 and today we got his cards.

So for my son it was 10/28/2018 to 12/20/2018.

Global entry conditional approval waiting 55 days
 

I applied for global entry on 11/9 an still have not been conditionally approved. That's 55 days and not a word yet. My husband was approved and has his global entry within 2 weeks of applying. I am a US citizen with no criminal record and am baffled by what is taking so long. Any ideas? I have a trip coming up in the middle of Feb that I was hoping to be set up for but I am really worried at this point

All GE processing shut down 13 days ago due to a lack of government funding. Means that 42 of your 55 day wait are due to something else. That is by no means unreasonable and it is not even worth giving this another thought until you hit at least 3 months.

That may well get a lot worse as the shut down continues. Not only will there be the ordinary backlog, but for every day the government is shut down the back log gets worse.

There is no way to predict how long an application will take. Could just be that yours was in the wrong queue or that your name and DOB and perhaps other particulars are a close match to someone who is on some "bad" list or other.

Thank you for responding! I totally forgot that the shutdown would have an impact on this. I just don't understand how my husband got approved so quickly when I did his application after mine. It seems like they should be able to pull my SS# and see that I haven't had any legal issues. Most people that I saw posting about this had been approved in 2-4 weeks and I am just worried what could be holding mine up. It's just very strange

Yes, the charge showed up like 5 minutes after I applied so they definitely got paid.

You're lucky you did interview on arrival since my son's 12/24 appointment was canceled due to the shutdown! Hopefully they'll be back in business at the next school holiday: 1/21

It is not just about you. Their searches could have come up with names of people similar to yours who have been in legal trouble and that can sometimes take time to work out.

And I wouldn't rely on your SSN number being a specific identifier. Digits can get transposed in all sorts of situations and again they need to check those mis-matches out to make sure it really is you.

I'm afraid you'll just have to keep waiting.

With current gov't shutdown I don't expect approval before March. Though I am hoping it will come before the end of Feb. so I can at least use PreCheck for a bit of upcoming travel next month. I will try to update when the status changes.

Applied and charged December 2nd.
Pending Review as of Jan. 6.
EDIT: CONDITIONALLY APPROVED 02/19/2019!
*Side note: I suspect that answering the nicknames/other names field truthfully (think Nick vs. Nicholas) was a long stride on a short pier. Should have just kept it simple. :rolleyes:

Moderator's Action
 

For indexing and future search purposes, recent posts discussing the need for a Global Entry card was moved to the relevant thread:
TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator