03 Feb 2016
Did the
German Federal Police Interview at DUS. No appointment necessary for interview. Results of background/warrant check are instant. Made sure both my passports were uploaded.
06 Feb 2016
Applied for GE via GOES and made payment
26 Feb 2016
Conditional approval. Mine took almost 3 weeks! I will admit that I look pretty shady on paper so it makes sense that mine took a bit longer. But I am a nice guy once you get to know me LOL.
Found some slots at ORD on 15 Mar that worked for my schedule.
15 Mar 2016
Showed up 15 minutes early for my interview at ORD. There were 16 people in the waiting room! The enrollment center there is very very busy. I cannot imagine doing a walk-in there. They got to me after a 45 minute wait, 30 minutes past my allotted time. Anyone planning a tight turn-around at ORD be aware it may take a while!
Interview was professional and friendly. I pointed out that GOES wouldn't let me put in the second passport and that my travel history was incomplete. There is no entry for Curacao or Netherlands Antilles in GOES.
The officer was friendly and after a little data entry work asked me the usually questions that everyone else has reported.
Then he asked me how many languages I speak.
and what I had been doing in Myanmar.
I told him about the epic mistake fare a few years back and it turned out he is a Flyertalker or at least aware of FT as he brought it up
10 minutes later I was on my way back to the hotel and the confirmation e-mail saying that I am
approved came around 30 minutes after that.