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India joins US Global Entry programme.
http://indianexpress.com/article/wha...ramme-4724780/
http://www.indiawest.com/news/global...b7ecb9326.html https://thewire.in/151900/indian-tra...ited-entry-us/ this is good news but i wonder how long before this goes into effect.... |
I don't expect this anytime soon.
They signed the MoU last year and there has been no progress. https://www.indianembassy.org/press_detail.php?nid=2380 |
Originally Posted by tomcat007
(Post 28498250)
I don't expect this anytime soon.
They signed the MoU last year and there has been no progress. https://www.indianembassy.org/press_detail.php?nid=2380 then again, both have a history of making lots of promises & not delivering so on the other hand this could take a while or not happen at all.... |
Jusrt curious how the background check would work in India. The only system I could think of is via the Passport Office infrastructure.
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Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 28498532)
neither do i but given the hype around the modi-trump meeting & the need to make a big announcement regarding this, i'm expecting some progress on this in the foreseeable future....
then again, both have a history of making lots of promises & not delivering so on the other hand this could take a while or not happen at all.... CBP's own site now indicates the same in some way:
Originally Posted by cbp.gov
U.S. citizens, U.S nationals and U.S. lawful permanent residents may apply for Global Entry as well as citizens of certain countries with which CBP has trusted traveler arrangements, including Argentina, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and now India.
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Originally Posted by oliver2002
(Post 28498899)
Jusrt curious how the background check would work in India. The only system I could think of is via the Passport Office infrastructure.
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
(Post 28499065)
Some people have indicated that GOES is already taking applications for Global Entry from Indian citizens and that it was turned on yesterday. I have now verified the validity of such indications.
CBP's own site now indicates the same in some way: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-m...e-philadelphia |
Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 28499331)
just applied....lets see how long this takes....
I'm also looking forward to see what happens to a US B-1-visa-holding Indian citizen with an Interpol red notice from the UAE over a business debt still in commercial dispute. I'm assuming that person will not see a very timely conditional approval. But some people will still pay for the attempt. :D |
Originally Posted by GUWonder
(Post 28499580)
Looking forward to seeing how long it takes Indian citizens resident in India to get conditionally approved status from US CBP for this program. When you get an update, let me know.
also, i wonder if there is a time limit to schedule an interview from when one gets conditional approval????i couldn't find any information about this on the goes website.... |
No limit as such, but you are advised to get it done soon. For Germans it takes 2-3 weeks to get conditional approval, then finding a slot for the interview is euqally tough. Sometimes the DHS does interview camps in the countries added to GE, in order to promote the concept. Maybe they will come to India in the next months.
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Originally Posted by oliver2002
(Post 28499856)
No limit as such, but you are advised to get it done soon. For Germans it takes 2-3 weeks to get conditional approval, then finding a slot for the interview is euqally tough. Sometimes the DHS does interview camps in the countries added to GE, in order to promote the concept. Maybe they will come to India in the next months.
There used to be a limit. I don't recall if the required schedule limits are now all non-existent. But CBP still has links that say this kind of thing:
Originally Posted by CBP.gov
How soon should I schedule my appointment?
You will need to schedule an appointment within 30 days of being conditionally approved. The actual appointment date can be beyond the 30-day period. For example, the scheduled appointment date can be several months from now, as long as you schedule it within 30 days of the conditional approval date. Failing to schedule the interview within 30 days from the date of conditional approval will result in being denied. |
waiving the visa would be more beneficial
Curious decision. If India & USA truly wanted to expedite travel, they could mutually agree to waive visa requirements!
The biggest beneficiary of this decision is GOES travelers (like me) who travel to/from India. |
Curious what they will offer US GE members in return. There is no automation in the immgration process in India all they can do is offer access to the diplomat line.
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Originally Posted by oliver2002
(Post 28503237)
Curious what they will offer US GE members in return. There is no automation in the immgration process in India all they can do is offer access to the diplomat line.
This does me have curious if the Indian government has plans to set up self-service/automated passport control gates/kiosks and then also provide access to that to US GE members. I know that the GoI has been sparking concerns within the government employee ranks that decisions involving the Home Ministry and some other travel-related officials may result in reduced reliance upon (and headcount needs of) the current government workforce. For example, plans to make passport applications easier for the Indian public have caused some career government employees concern that they will end up disempowered and discarded in some way or another. |
Originally Posted by GUWonder
(Post 28499580)
Looking forward to seeing how long it takes Indian citizens resident in India to get conditionally approved status from US CBP for this program. When you get an update, let me know.
i had to register myself online on the passport seva website & then apply for background verification by filling up a form....then i had to schedule an appointment at one of the rpo offices by paying an inr 500 fee.... my appointment is now fixed for tomorrow afternoon....no clue what all i'm supposed to take with me....all the email said was that i need to take my original documents....i'm guessing that means my passport.... as a precaution i'm also going to carry some passport pictures, my driving license (since they asked for that information on the goes website), aadhaar card & my ticket for my upcoming travel to the us.... |
Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 28510227)
my appointment is now fixed for tomorrow afternoon....no clue what all i'm supposed to take with me....all the email said was that i need to take my original documents....i'm guessing that means my passport....
I just had to schedule mine for August... |
Originally Posted by SuperFlyBoy
(Post 28510330)
Wow - you got an appointment faster than in the US!
I just had to schedule mine for August... |
Originally Posted by SuperFlyBoy
(Post 28510330)
Wow - you got an appointment faster than in the US!
I just had to schedule mine for August... |
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 ?
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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.
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Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 28510227)
my appointment is now fixed for tomorrow afternoon....no clue what all i'm supposed to take with me....all the email said was that i need to take my original documents....i'm guessing that means my passport....
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.... |
Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 28514351)
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....:p
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.... |
Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 28514351)
...i was told i'm the first one to take such an appointment in india....
. |
Originally Posted by ft4lyf
(Post 28515425)
This achievement in itself is incredible!!! (being the first in India to apply for this clearance). ^^^^^^^^^
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Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 28517066)
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! |
Originally Posted by adkenikhil
(Post 28512917)
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 |
Originally Posted by Mav007
(Post 28525504)
Hi ,
Can you please share the link to background verification ? Unless its the same as Police verification . Thank you |
Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 28514351)
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....:p
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 |
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. |
Originally Posted by abcx
(Post 28530038)
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.
Originally Posted by abcx
(Post 28530038)
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.
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.... |
Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 28530089)
technically its not a farce or theater....my family & i have had to go through police verification for our passports a bunch of times over the last few years....
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.... |
Adhaar is relatively new. Before than people attempted things with Ration, PAN and election ID cards etc. India had no real registration/verification system, so the visit by police was required.
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Originally Posted by abcx
(Post 28530093)
For a new passport application I could understand. But the address has already been verified! You already have an Indian passport with that address. And presumably an Adhaar card, a driving license, PAN card, phone bill, etc. which also probably required some proof of address (and presumably they can cross-ref at least some of these databases). How much more proof do they want?!
the system is not perfect by any means but the police verification bit is a easy solution that seems to work well for the rpo.... |
Please note that there seems to be some movement on the whole Passport Seva issue.
A comment on this blog indicated that CBP didn't know that India would require verification first. The steps on the page for the first two days made no mention of Passport Seva, however that has now been updated. Seems They are offering refunds to anyone who purchased without knowing that they needed to go to India first. Very odd situation, that CBP didn't know that India wanted this! "Thank you for contacting the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Information Center. The Government of India (GOI) recently informed us of their new requirement to have Indian nationals applying to Global Entry go to India for an interview. As this was not previously disclosed to us or our applicants, we are offering full refunds for anyone that applied before July 6, 2017 who cannot fulfill the GOI terms. We apologize for this, but this is not a U.S. Government requirement but rather the GOI. Please reply to this email with the PASSID/membership number and we will send the request to process the refund." Also, the Indian ambassador to the US replied to a tweet saying that these procedures are all being looked into. "There are still some procedural issues to be sorted out...these are being worked upon." |
Originally Posted by abcx
(Post 28530038)
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. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-t...ndian-citizens |
Originally Posted by xobile
(Post 28532510)
Please note that there seems to be some movement on the whole Passport Seva issue.
Originally Posted by xobile
(Post 28532510)
A comment on this blog indicated that CBP didn't know that India would require verification first. The steps on the page for the first two days made no mention of Passport Seva, however that has now been updated. Seems They are offering refunds to anyone who purchased without knowing that they needed to go to India first. Very odd situation, that CBP didn't know that India wanted this!
this was a great pr opportunity for the indian pm's first meeting with trump so they announced & started this in a hurry without realizing how they were going to implement it.... glad that they are offering refunds to people who are not living in india.... |
It must have been frustrating to waste so many hours. But from the description, it seems that several staff (while being ill-informed) were at least trying to help and were polite. So compared to my horrible experiences with babus, this seemed like a good-feel story!!
Even first users of iPhone had to deal with glitches. So when you are the first one to go through the process, so close to announcement, resulting difficulties are not surprising. But glad it worked out so nicely. Lets hope they address following: a) re-issue of "lifelong" OCI card just one year after its issue just because you crossed age 50 b) 90 year invalid senior citizen will lose his airtel cell phone service in spite of providing aadhar card because he can not go to airtel service center and wait 2 hour in line to give his thumb impression (why?? only babus know) |
Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 28533992)
good to know....they really needed to sort all this out before opening up registration....
i don't think india knew themselves what they required....:p this was a great pr opportunity for the indian pm's first meeting with trump so they announced & started this in a hurry without realizing how they were going to implement it.... glad that they are offering refunds to people who are not living in india.... |
Originally Posted by desi
(Post 28535812)
Agree with everythintg but for someone not living in India to not able to figure out that this process can not be for them is being too much naive.
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Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 28536702)
i'm sorry but your post makes no sense....how could an indian citizen living outside of india figure out that they would have to return to india to complete this process????now the process is explained on the website but for the first week it wasn't....how is this being naive????
I doubt process is expected to work that way. As far as security clearance from local law enforecemenrt is involved, the process is usually limited to local residents (not citizens living anywhere in the world). Doubt Indian citizen living in Iran for 40 years is expected to get US Global Entry based on certificate from Indian police (even if he manages to get one by bribing local police). So returning to India for this purpose does not make sense. This is similar to police clearance for Green Card. You need police clearance from LE of your resident country, not your citizen country. One bad thing about US openning up global country to so many other nationals is that its advantages are going to degenerate into what has happened with fasttrack. |
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