I am in Southern CA, not far from the border. When I applied for 2nd renewal on June 12, that was 5 months prior to my expiry this month. My husband and daughter, who reside at the same address, also applied around mid-June. My husband was 2 months prior to expiry, my daughter 4 months. They BOTH got approved in less than 5 business days and got new cards in less than 2 weeks, no interview required.
[MENTION=48923]stanj[/MENTION] -

Most here believe it's completely random, and I agree but I also think that what's being randomized is ONE person from each shared household ending up in the long queue, regardless of location or anything else.

As for location and interviews, etc., if I can't get an appointment I'll just have to make a trip to Vancouver and do Entry on Arrival (separate thread on this forum fyi, you get 1 year to complete interview however there are NO appointments available for months out at most airports and most office hours have been cut).

An email I received confirming receipt of my renewal app stated that you get ONE year beyond expiration date in which the GE benefits are still good. There have been varying reports about TSA-Pre, but it's looking like if you filed renewal before expiry it will also continue, but no one knows if that will be 6 vs. 12 months post expiry, as TSA and CBP are different sub-agencies.

And just to relay some info from the other, EoA thread, people are having reasonable luck at walk-in interviews at both IAD and at the Reagan Building in DC. See the other thread for specifics.

StanJ - I hereby cede my Crown of Pointless Waiting to you. Huzzah. Do let us know when you get approval!