I hope I'm putting this in the right place.
Coming back to MIA from LHR a couple weeks ago. My wife and I have Global Entry. They had only three machines working, which was bad enough. But after getting a receipt, instead of just showing it to a CBP agent, the (only) guy on duty is quizzing everyone, just as though they didn't have GE. The line was brutal. Finally, a second CBP guy, who'd been clearing our flight crew, finished with them and started taking GE people and moving them through quickly.
But what's up with the first guy? Isn't the point of GE that you're not supposed to have to be questioned? And no, it wasn't just one group, it was several.
I've had several interminable waits going through the lines at MIA; indeed, it was one of my motivations for enrolling in a TTP to begin with. Last time, however, they had the new GE terminals. This was in January 2022.
I walked up to the terminal, had my photo taken, and had my passport ready to scan. But it identified me based on the photograph alone, and printed a receipt right away. The officer at the far left lane saw I had a receipt in my hand and waved me through without so much as looking at it. I also did not get a chance to declare that I had food items (nothing that's not permitted, mainly just candy from Norway) either on the kiosk or verbally.
I think that was my fastest entry into the US ever. I collected my bags, walked out to my friend who was picking me up, and while I was waiting for him to battle his way up to where I was waiting outside, I was left with a feeling of "what just happened"?
I mean, I'm happy that the process was fast and trouble-free for a change, but the change in procedure from last time was so drastic that it left me a little dumbfounded.