Originally Posted by
Chris Miller
Here is the update CBP gave my Senator, just received. Has some interesting stats
[My] renewal application has been received and is processing. The current status is "Pending Risk Assessment Review." All applicants can check the status of their application from the TTP Dashboard at , which is displayed after login. Please note – expediting pending applications is not a service CBP can provide.
New and renewing applicants for Global Entry (GE), SENTRI, NEXUS and FAST should expect significant delays in application processing times and limited appointment availability at TTP enrollment centers. Processing times vary per application. Trusted Traveler Program applications are being submitted at a rate of between 12,000 and 18,000 daily. Currently, 80% of applications complete the initial processing and are conditionally approved or approved without an interview within 15 days. For those application that require additional review, estimates for initial processing times for new and renewal TTP applications are as follows:
Global Entry applications at approximately 272 days (approximately 9 months)
SENTRI applications are at approximately 522 days (approximately 17 ½ months)
NEXUS applications are at approximately 584 days (approximately 19 ½ months)
Again, these are average times and all applicants may not have the same wait – in fact, some applicants may unfortunately have their application pending past the number of days listed above, while others may see their application approved before the listed number of days elapse. Global Entry applications are processed and vetted individually. As a result Global Entry applications submitted by a family group may experience varying processing times, with some family members receiving conditional approved ahead of others. Fortunately, up to 70 percent of incoming Global Entry applications are vetted within 16 days or less, but unfortunately, the other 30 percent require more time and there is no way to determine how much.
Regrettably we do not have a work around for this situation. In addition, some members of a family may have substantially more information to review in terms of a background check, which may also prolong a risk assessment review. Examples of this include but are not limited to a common first and last name, complex travel history, a career in the national security area or familial and/or business associations. An application may take a shorter or longer time to process due to the operational procedures at the Vetting Center, not when the application was submitted. Notification of these delays is displayed quite prominently on the TTP page and would have been visible at the start of their application process.
Earlier today we were at an enrollment center for my moms (new applicant) interview. This is what the officer told us that she heard from her supervisor. And supervisor had told us the same number a while ago when he stopped to have conversation with me.
Problem:
- Current backlog is 2.3 million applications (new and renewals combined) for officers to work on. Plus they got additional ~90k just last week.
- Enrollment centers are swamped with interviews and slots have been booked for months.
Remedies:
- They are now going to start (or started) approving renewal cases that were submitted in time and have no other red flags. So many will start to see their approval come in
- Resources are being called to DC to help with the backlog
- They are getting additional funding to add resources for interviews. So when you see a bunch of interview slots open up that is because that enrollment center got additional officers to help with interviews
Originally Posted by
RandomNobody
No, because not even the CBP knows whether or not they need an interview, either to clarify stuff they found in their background check, or to update photos/fingerprints, until the background check is complete.
The application reviewer looks at the info and decides whether or not an interview is needed.
The officer who interviewed my mom said that their auto approve algorithm is very stringent and if you are not automatically approved then that means someone has to manually review the application and push to approval. In fact even they do not get preferential and 3 of their own officers are in the same waiting game as ours.
When she looked into my application (applied Nexus and GE expires this year), she said it is pending Risk Assessment Recheck but everything else looks good. She said that she will not be surprised if my application just got approved out of the blue without an interview. My assumption is that some countries trigger Risk Assessment Recheck (manual check).
Note: Some of the information is hearsay so I am just passing along what I was told.