Originally Posted by
wilp888
Happened to me last year in ORD. I knew it was my fingerprints because there was some sort of error message on the screen but it flashed really quick and I couldn't really see what it was. I took the "X" receipt to the nearest CBP officer and he asked me if I knew why I got the "X" so apparently there is no code on the receipt to indicate the problem. Anyway he asked me a couple of questions about cash, food, etc. and then told me I could go. I received an email a few days later asking for feedback about my experience. I provided the feedback and this was part of the reply I received from the Program Manager:
"Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on the Global Entry program. We apologize for the difficulties that you encountered while using the Global Entry kiosks to enter the United States on February 22, 2010. On this date the kiosk failed to grant you passage, because your fingerprints were not properly recognized; the images captured by the scanner on this date were of poor quality.
We endeavor to improve the quality of the program and are examining alternate means of verifying the identity of program members. In the interim, please ensure that your four fingers are properly placed on the fingerprint scanner when the images are captured. This will allow the scanner to obtain a more accurate image of your fingerprints. We are also making modifications to the system to allow for a second attempt at fingerprint capture, should the first attempt fail."
You may receive a similar email.
I usually have to press really hard for the scanner to recognize my fingerprints. One agent suggested it was because my skin might be particularly dry (true).
Based on what some posters are reporting, I'm beginning to wonder if there are different types of kiosks. I've always encountered little boxes for each finger. Sometimes one finger (usually my baby finger) generates a little message above the square that says something like 'can not read', so I have to press harder.
When I couldn't get either kiosk to register my fingertips at all (LAX), I tried multiple times - I kept getting general messages (something like 'unable to read'), but there was a counter at the top that was counting down the seconds allowed, presumably for retries. Interestingly (to me, as an IT person), there didn't seem to be a problem with me timing out/multiple tries first on one kiosk, then on the other. I just finally gave up and went to the head of the nearest line
What was curious about that was that I had no card, with or without an 'X'. I just explained that I was GE and the scanner wouldn't register my fingerprints. The agent asked a couple questions and I was good to go. He did
not see my 'CBP' sticker and he didn't ask about it.
(When I got my CBP sticker at ATL, they put it on the outside back of my passport. I usually have my passport in a simple clear plastic passport folder, with the front cover pulled free. The back outside is covered with all those little 'security/initial' stickers you pick up overseas, so in order to see the CBP sticker on the back of the passport itself, you have to remove the passport from the plastic jacket.