Feb 2, 2019, 9:22 am
Last edit by: TWA884
Please check out the parallel thread in the Travel Safety/Security Trusted Travelers forum:
Global Entry for Citizens of India
Global Entry for Citizens of India
India joins US Global Entry programme.
Jul 2, 2017, 3:43 am
#16
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I just had to schedule mine for August...
Jul 2, 2017, 3:59 am
#17
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i'm guessing this is just the first step & once i get an approval from here then the goes approval will follow, after which i will have to schedule an interview in the us....
Jul 2, 2017, 9:21 am
#18
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Jul 2, 2017, 7:40 pm
#19
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 1
I currently reside in US on H1b visa. I started the GEP application and as mentioned earlier , received an appointment from passport sera Kendra on background verification. Is it expected for me to be in India to do this background verification ? Anyone have a clue on this situation ?
Jul 3, 2017, 1:26 am
#20
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Respond to them that you are resident in the US, so the RPO in your case will be in the local consulate.
Jul 3, 2017, 7:16 am
#21
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my appointment was for noon so i got there around 15 minutes earlier....i went to the counter & presented the application & payment receipts....the girl at the counter had no clue what this application was for....she called one of her superiors who also had no idea what this verification was for....i tried my best to explain the situation but they kept telling me i was in the wrong place since they had never heard of anyone applying for background verification for global entry....
after 15 minutes of everyone scratching their heads trying to figure out what was going on, i asked to speak with the head passport officer at the rpo as i figured he would have some idea what was going on....i was escorted over to his office & presented him the papers....he too had no idea what i was handing him & he had received no notification on global entry or any other verification that had to be done for this process....
he next called up his boss who had no clue as well & then called up the liaison officer who deals with the various ministries on their behalf & he too had no information on global entry....the liaison then called up the ministry of external affairs who once again had no clue what was going on....
by now it was lunch time so the head passport officer walked me over to the vip sitting area & asked me to wait there while he tried to figure out what was going on....over the next hour i had a number of people who came over to me to look at my papers....they asked me a bunch of really stupid questions, scratched their heads & moved on....one guy sat with me for 20 minutes & went over everything in detail....at that point he even started to doubt whether the email i received to book the appointment was genuine or not....he said it might be a scam to get me to pay inr 500 & book an appointment that did not exist....i told him that it was not possible that this was a scam since the appointment was booked on the passport seva website....he too went away scratching his head....
around 3 pm i was ready to give up & go home when the head passport officer came back & told me there was a lot of confusion as no one knew what to do....he took my number & told me he would get to the bottom of this & get back to me soon but it would take him a week or maybe even more time....
just before leaving i asked him whether he checked with whatever department handles the passport seva website & email since that is where i got the email from....he told me that is managed by tata consultancy services but if he had no information on this then neither would they....i still asked him whether he could check....he agreed to do so & sent someone to go get the guy from tcs....5 minutes later the guy from tcs comes over & had a look at my papers....he then mumbled something about a note that was circulated late last week & asked me to wait while he confirmed with his team in mumbai....another 10 minutes later both he & the head passport officer come back with huge smiles on their faces....turns out they found someone in mumbai who finally had some information on the program & now they knew what to do....it appears that a circular had been sent to all the concerned authorities late last week but no one seems to have had gone through it....i was told i'm the first one to take such an appointment in india....
i was then taken to another room where my picture was taken & bio-metrics were done after which all my information was verified & entered into the system....i received an acknowledgment receipt stating that my background verification for gep had been granted & a police verification would follow after which the rpo would send their report back to the us....
the head passport officer was so embarrassed over this whole situation that he said he would get my police verification done as soon as possible, perhaps even today itself....i thanked him for all his help & left....i hadn't even made it back to my office when i got a call from the police officer who would be completing the verification process & he said he would stop by my house around 6pm....
i left work early & was just pulling into my driveway when my wife called to let me know someone from the police was here to complete the verification process....dot at 6pm....he had a look at my documents, got me to sign a couple of forms & in 5 minutes he was done....
i have the number for the head passport officer so will be calling him tomorrow to thank him for all his help....i'll also ask him if he has any idea when the information would be sent back to the us....
Last edited by Keyser; Jul 3, 2017 at 10:26 am
Jul 3, 2017, 9:30 am
#22
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ATL
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Posts: 83
i guess stuff like this can only happen in india....i spent 4 hours are the rpo office today going through what can only be described as indian bureaucracy at its best....
my appointment was for noon so i got there around 15 minutes earlier....i went to the counter & presented the application & payment receipts....the girl at the counter had no clue what this application was for....she called one of her superiors who also had no idea what this verification was for....i tried my best to explain the situation but they kept telling me i was in the wrong place since they had never heard of anyone applying for background verification for global entry....
after 15 minutes of everyone scratching their heads trying to figure out what was going on, i asked to speak with the head passport officer at the rpo as i figured he would have some idea what was going on....i was escorted over to his office & presented him the papers....he too had no idea what i was handing him & he had received no notification on global entry or any other verification that had to be done for this process....
he next called up his boss who had no clue as well & then called up the liaison officer who deals with the various ministries on their behalf & he too had no information on global entry....the liaison then called up the ministry of external affairs who once again had no clue what was going on....
by now it was lunch time so the head passport officer walked me over to the vip sitting area & asked me to wait there while he tried to figure out what was going on....over the next hour i had a number of people who came over to me to look at my papers....they asked me a bunch of really stupid questions, scratched their heads & moved on....one guy sat with me for 20 minutes & went over everything in detail....at that point he even started to doubt whether the email i received to book the appointment was genuine or not....he said it might be a scam to get me to pay inr 500 & book an appointment that did not exist....i told him that it was not possible that this was a scam since the appointment was booked on the passport seva website....he too went away scratching his head....
around 3 pm i was ready to give up & go home when the head passport officer came back & told me there was a lot of confusion as no one knew what to do....he took my number & told me he would get to the bottom of this & get back to me soon but it would take him a week or maybe even more time....
just before leaving i asked him whether he checked with whatever department handles the passport seva website & email since that is where i got the email from....he told me that is managed by tata consultancy services but if he had no information on this then neither would they....i still asked him whether he could check....he agreed to do so & sent someone to go get the guy from tcs....5 minutes later the guy from tcs comes over & had a look at my papers....he then mumbled something about a note that was circulated late last week & asked me to wait while he confirmed with his team in mumbai....another 10 minutes later both he & the head passport officer come back with huge smiles on their faces....turns out they found someone in mumbai who finally had some information on the program & now they knew what to do....it appears that a circular had been sent to all the concerned authorities late last week but no one seems to have had gone through it....i was told i'm the first one to take such an appointment in india....
i was then taken to another room where my picture was taken & bio-metrics were done after which all my information was verified & entered into the system....i received an acknowledgment receipt stating that my background verification for gep had been granted & a police verification would follow after which the rpo would send their report back to the us....
the head passport officer was so embarrassed over this whole situation that he said he would get my police verification done as soon as possible, perhaps even today itself....i thanked him for all his help & left....i hadn't even made it back to my office when i got a call from the police officer who would be completing the verification process & he said he would stop by my house around 6pm....
i left work early & was just pulling into my driveway when my wife called to let me know someone from the police was here to complete the verification process....dot at 6pm....he had a look at my documents, got me 2 sign a couple of forms & in 5 minutes he was done....
i have the number for the head passport officer so will be calling him tomorrow to thank him for all his help....i'll also ask him if he has any idea when the information would be sent back to the us....
my appointment was for noon so i got there around 15 minutes earlier....i went to the counter & presented the application & payment receipts....the girl at the counter had no clue what this application was for....she called one of her superiors who also had no idea what this verification was for....i tried my best to explain the situation but they kept telling me i was in the wrong place since they had never heard of anyone applying for background verification for global entry....
after 15 minutes of everyone scratching their heads trying to figure out what was going on, i asked to speak with the head passport officer at the rpo as i figured he would have some idea what was going on....i was escorted over to his office & presented him the papers....he too had no idea what i was handing him & he had received no notification on global entry or any other verification that had to be done for this process....
he next called up his boss who had no clue as well & then called up the liaison officer who deals with the various ministries on their behalf & he too had no information on global entry....the liaison then called up the ministry of external affairs who once again had no clue what was going on....
by now it was lunch time so the head passport officer walked me over to the vip sitting area & asked me to wait there while he tried to figure out what was going on....over the next hour i had a number of people who came over to me to look at my papers....they asked me a bunch of really stupid questions, scratched their heads & moved on....one guy sat with me for 20 minutes & went over everything in detail....at that point he even started to doubt whether the email i received to book the appointment was genuine or not....he said it might be a scam to get me to pay inr 500 & book an appointment that did not exist....i told him that it was not possible that this was a scam since the appointment was booked on the passport seva website....he too went away scratching his head....
around 3 pm i was ready to give up & go home when the head passport officer came back & told me there was a lot of confusion as no one knew what to do....he took my number & told me he would get to the bottom of this & get back to me soon but it would take him a week or maybe even more time....
just before leaving i asked him whether he checked with whatever department handles the passport seva website & email since that is where i got the email from....he told me that is managed by tata consultancy services but if he had no information on this then neither would they....i still asked him whether he could check....he agreed to do so & sent someone to go get the guy from tcs....5 minutes later the guy from tcs comes over & had a look at my papers....he then mumbled something about a note that was circulated late last week & asked me to wait while he confirmed with his team in mumbai....another 10 minutes later both he & the head passport officer come back with huge smiles on their faces....turns out they found someone in mumbai who finally had some information on the program & now they knew what to do....it appears that a circular had been sent to all the concerned authorities late last week but no one seems to have had gone through it....i was told i'm the first one to take such an appointment in india....
i was then taken to another room where my picture was taken & bio-metrics were done after which all my information was verified & entered into the system....i received an acknowledgment receipt stating that my background verification for gep had been granted & a police verification would follow after which the rpo would send their report back to the us....
the head passport officer was so embarrassed over this whole situation that he said he would get my police verification done as soon as possible, perhaps even today itself....i thanked him for all his help & left....i hadn't even made it back to my office when i got a call from the police officer who would be completing the verification process & he said he would stop by my house around 6pm....
i left work early & was just pulling into my driveway when my wife called to let me know someone from the police was here to complete the verification process....dot at 6pm....he had a look at my documents, got me 2 sign a couple of forms & in 5 minutes he was done....
i have the number for the head passport officer so will be calling him tomorrow to thank him for all his help....i'll also ask him if he has any idea when the information would be sent back to the us....
Jul 3, 2017, 10:27 pm
#24
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
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this 'achievement' has me a bit worried....the likelihood of them messing up the first application & sending incomplete info back to the us is a possibility....i would much rather have been the 32nd or 101st or any other higher number applicant....at that point hopefully they would have gotten a hang on things & would process these applications properly....
Jul 4, 2017, 4:40 am
#25
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,018
this 'achievement' has me a bit worried....the likelihood of them messing up the first application & sending incomplete info back to the us is a possibility....i would much rather have been the 32nd or 101st or any other higher number applicant....at that point hopefully they would have gotten a hang on things & would process these applications properly....
But, in all seriousness...I hope it goes perfectly!
Jul 6, 2017, 2:30 am
#26
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 1
I currently reside in US on H1b visa. I started the GEP application and as mentioned earlier , received an appointment from passport sera Kendra on background verification. Is it expected for me to be in India to do this background verification ? Anyone have a clue on this situation ?
Can you please share the link to background verification ? Unless its the same as Police verification .
Thank you
Jul 6, 2017, 4:16 am
#27
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
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just go the passport seva website & register....once you have done that then just log in & click on the 'apply for background verification for gep' link....
Jul 7, 2017, 1:15 am
#28
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 24
i guess stuff like this can only happen in india....i spent 4 hours at the rpo office today going through what can only be described as indian bureaucracy at its best....
my appointment was for noon so i got there around 15 minutes earlier....i went to the counter & presented the application & payment receipts....the girl at the counter had no clue what this application was for....she called one of her superiors who also had no idea what this verification was for....i tried my best to explain the situation but they kept telling me i was in the wrong place since they had never heard of anyone applying for background verification for global entry....
after 15 minutes of everyone scratching their heads trying to figure out what was going on, i asked to speak with the head passport officer at the rpo as i figured he would have some idea what was going on....i was escorted over to his office & presented him the papers....he too had no idea what i was handing him & he had received no notification on global entry or any other verification that had to be done for this process....
he next called up his boss who had no clue as well & then called up the liaison officer who deals with the various ministries on their behalf & he too had no information on global entry....the liaison then called up the ministry of external affairs who once again had no clue what was going on....
by now it was lunch time so the head passport officer walked me over to the vip sitting area & asked me to wait there while he tried to figure out what was going on....over the next hour i had a number of people who came over to me to look at my papers....they asked me a bunch of really stupid questions, scratched their heads & moved on....one guy sat with me for 20 minutes & went over everything in detail....at that point he even started to doubt whether the email i received to book the appointment was genuine or not....he said it might be a scam to get me to pay inr 500 & book an appointment that did not exist....i told him that it was not possible that this was a scam since the appointment was booked on the passport seva website....he too went away scratching his head....
around 3 pm i was ready to give up & go home when the head passport officer came back & told me there was a lot of confusion as no one knew what to do....he took my number & told me he would get to the bottom of this & get back to me soon but it would take him a week or maybe even more time....
just before leaving i asked him whether he checked with whatever department handles the passport seva website & email since that is where i got the email from....he told me that is managed by tata consultancy services but if he had no information on this then neither would they....i still asked him whether he could check....he agreed to do so & sent someone to go get the guy from tcs....5 minutes later the guy from tcs comes over & had a look at my papers....he then mumbled something about a note that was circulated late last week & asked me to wait while he confirmed with his team in mumbai....another 10 minutes later both he & the head passport officer come back with huge smiles on their faces....turns out they found someone in mumbai who finally had some information on the program & now they knew what to do....it appears that a circular had been sent to all the concerned authorities late last week but no one seems to have had gone through it....i was told i'm the first one to take such an appointment in india....
i was then taken to another room where my picture was taken & bio-metrics were done after which all my information was verified & entered into the system....i received an acknowledgment receipt stating that my background verification for gep had been granted & a police verification would follow after which the rpo would send their report back to the us....
the head passport officer was so embarrassed over this whole situation that he said he would get my police verification done as soon as possible, perhaps even today itself....i thanked him for all his help & left....i hadn't even made it back to my office when i got a call from the police officer who would be completing the verification process & he said he would stop by my house around 6pm....
i left work early & was just pulling into my driveway when my wife called to let me know someone from the police was here to complete the verification process....dot at 6pm....he had a look at my documents, got me to sign a couple of forms & in 5 minutes he was done....
i have the number for the head passport officer so will be calling him tomorrow to thank him for all his help....i'll also ask him if he has any idea when the information would be sent back to the us....
my appointment was for noon so i got there around 15 minutes earlier....i went to the counter & presented the application & payment receipts....the girl at the counter had no clue what this application was for....she called one of her superiors who also had no idea what this verification was for....i tried my best to explain the situation but they kept telling me i was in the wrong place since they had never heard of anyone applying for background verification for global entry....
after 15 minutes of everyone scratching their heads trying to figure out what was going on, i asked to speak with the head passport officer at the rpo as i figured he would have some idea what was going on....i was escorted over to his office & presented him the papers....he too had no idea what i was handing him & he had received no notification on global entry or any other verification that had to be done for this process....
he next called up his boss who had no clue as well & then called up the liaison officer who deals with the various ministries on their behalf & he too had no information on global entry....the liaison then called up the ministry of external affairs who once again had no clue what was going on....
by now it was lunch time so the head passport officer walked me over to the vip sitting area & asked me to wait there while he tried to figure out what was going on....over the next hour i had a number of people who came over to me to look at my papers....they asked me a bunch of really stupid questions, scratched their heads & moved on....one guy sat with me for 20 minutes & went over everything in detail....at that point he even started to doubt whether the email i received to book the appointment was genuine or not....he said it might be a scam to get me to pay inr 500 & book an appointment that did not exist....i told him that it was not possible that this was a scam since the appointment was booked on the passport seva website....he too went away scratching his head....
around 3 pm i was ready to give up & go home when the head passport officer came back & told me there was a lot of confusion as no one knew what to do....he took my number & told me he would get to the bottom of this & get back to me soon but it would take him a week or maybe even more time....
just before leaving i asked him whether he checked with whatever department handles the passport seva website & email since that is where i got the email from....he told me that is managed by tata consultancy services but if he had no information on this then neither would they....i still asked him whether he could check....he agreed to do so & sent someone to go get the guy from tcs....5 minutes later the guy from tcs comes over & had a look at my papers....he then mumbled something about a note that was circulated late last week & asked me to wait while he confirmed with his team in mumbai....another 10 minutes later both he & the head passport officer come back with huge smiles on their faces....turns out they found someone in mumbai who finally had some information on the program & now they knew what to do....it appears that a circular had been sent to all the concerned authorities late last week but no one seems to have had gone through it....i was told i'm the first one to take such an appointment in india....
i was then taken to another room where my picture was taken & bio-metrics were done after which all my information was verified & entered into the system....i received an acknowledgment receipt stating that my background verification for gep had been granted & a police verification would follow after which the rpo would send their report back to the us....
the head passport officer was so embarrassed over this whole situation that he said he would get my police verification done as soon as possible, perhaps even today itself....i thanked him for all his help & left....i hadn't even made it back to my office when i got a call from the police officer who would be completing the verification process & he said he would stop by my house around 6pm....
i left work early & was just pulling into my driveway when my wife called to let me know someone from the police was here to complete the verification process....dot at 6pm....he had a look at my documents, got me to sign a couple of forms & in 5 minutes he was done....
i have the number for the head passport officer so will be calling him tomorrow to thank him for all his help....i'll also ask him if he has any idea when the information would be sent back to the us....
The CBP global entry website till yesterday had no mention of the need to go to India but now it does.
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-t...ndian-citizens
In fact they are refunding the application money to those who had applied if they have no immediate plans to go to India for verification.
http://livefromalounge.boardingarea....live/#comments
Jul 7, 2017, 1:17 am
#29
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,032
According to the comments on the Live From A Lounge blog, Indians in the US need to go back to India for police verification. Great. Sigh.
This police verification business is a total farce. They did something like that for a tatkal passport application (post-facto that too I think!) and it's all just theater.
This police verification business is a total farce. They did something like that for a tatkal passport application (post-facto that too I think!) and it's all just theater.
Jul 7, 2017, 1:44 am
#30
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,682
the last time both my wife & i renewed our passport we had to go through police verification since our address had changed since our previous passport was issued....when we applied for passports for both our kids we had to go through it again....& then again earlier this week for global entry....
each time we had someone from the police visit & check our documents to verify that we lived at the address we had mentioned in our application....
in my conversation with the head passport officer at the rpo i brought up the police verification bit & he said it was necessary as they receive a number of fraudulent applications daily....mostly from afhgan nationals trying to get an indian passport....so the physical act of visiting the residence of the applicant to verify the details is something they have to do....