Global Entry Interview Location question
 

Hello, this is my first time here and was looking around for Global Entry information and it seems that this forum has a wealth of information.

I will be travelling out of US in the end of December.
I will be leaving through IAD and coming back through ORD.
The closest global entry location is CLT.
I am not a US citizen but I recently obtained a green card.

Now, here's my questions.
1. I applied for Global Entry, got the conditional approval, and voila - no interview slots. How often are interview slots available? I've heard here check every single day..
2. I only have 1 hour layover in IAD and it's going out of country so it's unlikely for walk in anyway. For ORD, I have a 4 hour layover. Is it best to just go for walk in interview in ORD? Should I schedule?
3. I already have conditional approval, which means I paid for the application already. Do I need to pay again for the walk in interview? Will they have my data already because I'm conditionally approved?
4. Do I need any fancy documents for the walk in interview?
5. For walk in interview, is it before or after immigration?

Thank you!

Hello, and welcome to FT! I'm going to flag this thread to ask the mods to move it to the Trusted Traveler forum, where you'll get more educated response. As to the questions I can answer:

1. How are out are you looking? Presumably every day they open up more slots at the end of the availability window.
2. I'd suggest scheduling an ORD interview.
3. You shouldn't have to pay again.
4. I had a scheduled interview and bought my passport and driver's license.
5. At ORD, the office is in T5 outside the sterile area.

Thank you for the replies!
I was going to ask in the trusted traveler forum but thought it might be safer to start here.

As for 'how far out' am I looking, I wasn't actually looking at any specific time. The system was just telling me that there are plain no appointment times available, which baffled me. It never said when is the earliest available time.

Maybe try at midnight local time (or as early as possible during the day) to see if additional slots are being added. But it does seem strange that _no_ appointments are available. I think ORD will be a much better bet.

If you are looking around December, slots will only open when other interviewees cancel their appointments (which can be pretty often, if you check say 2x daily).

Global Entry Interview Location question
 

There are dedicated threads to Global entry questions in the Travel Safety and Security Forum

To be specific, unlike ORD where I saw a calendar showing available dates, this is immediately what I'm presented by when i select CLT:

Appointments are Fully Booked

Currently there are no available appointments at this enrollment center. Please check later for openings or choose another enrollment center.


Not sure where to ask in Travel Safety/Security forum, so that's why I started here.

Global Entry Interview Location question
 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trusted-travelers/

Centres vary in size - both physically and in terms of the number of CBP Officers who work there. The number of interview slots will therefore vary per location.

The centres only load availability for a few months in advance - perhaps anything up to three months ahead - so what you're seeing at CLT is a relatively small centre with lots of people trying to get in. At some point, appointments further into the future will be loaded and you might get one of them.

As to things like the documents you'll need - actually, that's dependant on your nationality. The acceptance document you got should detail what you need to take, but if not the one you'll receive which confirms your appointment certainly will.

My sister couldn't get an appt in CLT. There were no openings for the entire month. She drove to Atlanta for her interview.

I recently had my interview for a reapplication at IAD. IAD does not accept walk ins at all, and they hold a fairly hard line on that.

Some others are relatively easier to do a walk in, as I did at ORD. But - I'd keep checking for a slot that might become available, as GE Zhang increased in size and a walk in is never a sure thing.

1) DO make a placeholder interview farther out; if you do not book an interview within 30 days, iirc, you will have to pay $100 and go through the entire process again.

2) The requirements for the interview include:And the Practical Travel Safety and Security Issues forum would definitely have been the place to post; there is a lot of helpful information there, and the denizens are pretty knowledgeable. You can request the moderators move this there.

Alright! Thank you for all the help.
I secured an interview slot in ORD. There's so many slots open while I guess CLT is hopeless right now. At least I can save a 2-hour drive.
I'll find a moderator to request a thread move.

I've walked in an hour early at ORD and had an interview within 15 minutes. There's generally a ton of availability.