Originally Posted by
Zorak
First time for me through the relatively new IAF at SEA. As you come down the escalators from the skywalk into the actual arrivals area, the GE kiosks are wedged into the far back corner, but that's also where the escalators down to the baggage carousels are. But since it was completely deserted and I was the first one there off my flight (not even close to first off the plane, but fastest walker
) it made me wonder if they were even in service. Also one row of kiosks had heavy glare from the sunlight streaming in through the windows but still worked fine, the only wrinkle being that the kiosk I walked up to had a camera that had half fallen out of its mount, so the "line your face up" picture was at a near 45 degree angle and I had to contort my body to match. There was a dial that could have been used to adjust the camera angle up/down, if it had still been mounted correctly...
No receipt (there are stickers to that effect at the slot at the bottom where you might expect a receipt to come out), then, having no checked bags, had to hike clear to the opposite corner to find the GE exit lane
multiple agents seemed to be handling GE exits; I was beckoned to one of them, who asked me a few routine questions about where I'd been and how long, anything to declare, then welcomed me back to the US.
This echoes my experience yesterday. There is a bank of GE kiosks before the escalators coming down to the baggage hall, but they still did not appear to be in service two months later. SEA is a bit different most other FIS facilities since you collect your checked baggage before proceeding via passport control. The GE kiosks you use are against the wall to your left coming down the escalator. Fortunately there were no odd camera angles from the kiosks there. A USCBP officer was at a booth right after the kiosks. Like your experience, these ones have no receipt.
One thing to note is that if you have a connecting flight and proceed straight to the recheck desks and transit security is that there is no Precheck at this checkpoint. I asked if there was Precheck light or equivalent to the TSOs if one can show a boarding pass with the TSA PRECHECK designation, and they said there wasn't at this checkpoint. It's a bit disappointing considering the facility is new and expansive. I understand the limitations of the old transit security at the S gates, but I would have thought they'd have rectified this with the new FIS. If you value Precheck, I'd exit landside after transit security and go to the Precheck checkpoint.