Back story published above back in December, but here's a summary of what has occurred:
1. Applied for my G.E. renewal in November, was inexplicably denied, reason stating "Previous Customs Violation". (Of which I was unaware I had one).
2. Filed a FoIA request, was shocked at the reply, "
Due to law enforcement sensitive information, we are unable to disclose specific information regarding your denial. Any responsive records have been withheld, pursuant to Title 5 U.S.C. § 552 and have applied the appropriate exemptions, b(7)(E)."
3. I still had no idea why I was declined and nervous as can be, "What the heck did I do (more like what did they think I did????)".
4. Filed via the Ombudsman for a review of my application.
5. Had lots of domestic travel in December and beyond, so I applied for stand-alone PreCheck--wasn't waiting around for however long this process took without PreCheck. Was approved quickly without an issue.
6. Received conditional approval about a month ago and had my interview last week.
7. Had my full approval e-mail waiting in my inbox by the time I got back to my office.
Officer asked me in my interview, "Have you ever had a Customs violation, either in the USA or in a foreign country?". I replied that I know I have not in a foreign country, but I just don't know about the US and specifically addressed the above situation. Turns out, the privately-held corporation I work for, of which I am NOT a shareholder, imports from Asia. We bring in container after container after container (off topic: don't get me started on the supply chain issues!)...Anyway, about a year ago the company had an innocent-enough Customs violation--our first in probably a decade. It was proven unintentional, we showed we acted in good faith, did NOT get fined by Customs, but lost the product to seizure (which probably happens hundreds of times a day at various ports across the US). To put it into perspective, we've brought in probably 2,500 different line items in the last decade alone, in wholesale quantities and had one violation--it's like driving--if a cop follows you long enough, you're going to commit an offense and get pulled over. I'm not poo-pooing it off, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not that big of a deal (at least until now, LOL). Because I'm the point of contact for Customs within our company, it apparently went into some sort of 'file' on me, would be my guess.
The officer was quite sympathetic and even said "That doesn't seem right" and was going to look deeper into it (but I don't expect a response)...And again, I had my full approval an hour after my interview. While all's well that ends well, this is kind of BS as far as I'm concerned.