Applied for TSA Pre after Global Entry is revoked. What are odds of getting approved?
My Global Entry was revoked more than 2 years ago, when I missed tossing out a mango that was in my bag after landing, and a CBP beagle sniffed it up. After an exhausting 14+ hour flight it slipped my mind that I did not consume the mango en route. At that time, I lost all hope of ever getting accepted again to any of the trusted traveler programs.
After that incident, over the past 2 years, on about 10 international trips (except the last two), I was flagged for secondary inspection before boarding the US bound flight. My cabin bags were opened and inspected, and I was quizzed as if I could be a potential threat. After landing at a US airport, my bags were x-rayed, and some of them were opened and inspected by CBP officials. I accepted that this routine is part of my international travel experience, for the rest of my life.
Then something changed on the last two trips. I was not flagged for secondary inspection before boarding the US bound flight, and my bags were not inspected at port of entry. My guess is that I was surveilled for 2 years like I'm a potential threat, and was discovered over the course of this time, that I am as harmless as any peace loving normal citizen, and so I was knocked out of whatever lists are maintained for potential terror suspects. I have no idea what lists are maintained by US counter terrorism agencies, and what criteria they use to keep someone on these lists or not. It is all my hunch that that was what happened. Any experts can chime in, how these things work.
This gave me some hope, that I might be accepted as a trusted traveler again. So, I applied for TSA Pre, and will be appearing for an interview.
Questions:
1) Am I having false hope? Once revoked for a violation, is there is no chance of ever getting accepted into any trusted traveler program again?
2) Are all violations the same? Or some violations more severe than others, and hence treated differently for the purpose of re-acceptance?
3) In particular, where does my violation rank in degree of severity?
4) How should I prepare for the interview? In particular, how should I tackle my customs violation during the upcoming interview, without being untruthful, and without making it appear self incriminating? That was my only customs violation in my entire life.