Global Entry
 

On Friday night 3/18/11 at 7:15 PM I landed from Mexico city and went to the global entry kiosk to clear customs. Instead on being waived through the CBP agend stopped me (& 5 others) telling us to wait in line. He told me he had to check our passport name against the name on the receipt GOES printed at the kiosk. Knowing it was fruitless to argue with a customer agent I asked for his supervisor who informed me "we have had several problems with people at the next checkpoint with irregularities so we are verifying everyone". ...? I said (in a calm voice) so you ar punishing the people that enrolled and the kiosk verifys our identity because someone bypassed the entire screening process? He had no answer. I called CBP in Atlanta today and still have no response. Did anyone else have similar experiences?

First of all, there is no such thing as a GOES kiosk or receipt. You mean the GlobalEntry kiosk which generated the receipt. (GOES is simply the name of the web-based application system used for GlobalEntry and several other trusted traveler programs.)

Secondly, this process of checking passport against the kiosk receipt has been well documented over in the TS&S forum. It has been reported happening with increasing frequency at places such as DFW, ORD, and JFK. The explanation I received when I inquired was that some people were picking up discarded receipts off the floor upstairs and were trying to sneak through customs without being properly inspected. So, now they are checking every receipt against the passport to be sure it was issued to that particular individual.

Notice the posting were in March and May ...

When I was entering back in May, the officer just took my receipt did not check passport.

When I was entering back a couple of weeks ago, the officer was checking passport against receipt.

Both entries were JFK (different terminal).

Btw, does anyone know whether or not an interview is required for request the new GE card via GOES (I am an existing GE member)? Also, will requesting the new card in any way affect my normal use of the kiosk e.g. will they suspend my membership until they have processed the card request? The below message is posted in my GOES which prompted me to ask these questions:

Your application for the Trusted Traveler program is now pending review. PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVISIT OUR WEB SITE FOR YOUR APPLICATION STATUS UPDATES. Your application status and notification of when you may schedule an interview appointment will be posted to your online GOES account. CBP recommends you periodically login to your GOES account at https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov for account updates. If your application status is not updated within eight weeks, please contact the CBP Ombudsman at [email protected]

No you do not need an interview. When you are conditionally approved, do nothing, and the card will arrive at your house at some point, maybe 7-10 days. There is no need to bother scheduling an interview.

Thanks.

I guess the normal usage of kisok will not be affected, right?

If you are referring to the card, then yes, there is no effect of the kiosk. The card's only use is at land borders.

Also wondering ... I alsouse my right hand fingers for the scan, can you also use your left hand?

This statement, if read by someone new to the program, could be very problematic. Need to point out that it's only applying to someone who was already enrolled and is wondering about the new card....

Regarding the fingerprint thing -- when you registered and had your interview, only 1 hand's fingerprints were taken. How could you use the other hand at the kiosk? Your two hands are different.

I just interview for Nexus yesterday, which they also added Global Entry too now under the new program. They did fingerprint both hands

If I remember right, I have both hands fingerprinted.

I am sorry if it is ambiguous, but I would hope that any person reading this thread would see my whole post, which includes a quote of a prior post, asking specifically about a card for an existing member.

Did the officer who took your prints tell you which hand scanned more cleanly? My officer told me that most people leave superior prints from their right hand, leading to an increased chance of kiosk recognition. I would recommend using the right hand unless that is impossible.

apologies -- just was reading your response for the first time and saw that it could be confusing to someone looking quickly for a beginner's answer, just wanted to clarify!

A funny thing happened to a friend who went for their Nexus/GE interview last Friday - her fingerprints would not scan. They finally decided that her fingerprint "swirls" were so bad, & faint, that they put a fingerprint waiver in her file. I accused her of being CIA, NSA, or a hit lady (a la La Femme Nikita), except that she's a 65 year old retired elementary school teacher, about 5' 1", 120 lbs. and claims to have never shot a gun!

If true, that's an interesting factoid. I would have assumed most people had better prints on left hand because they use it less (90% are right handed).

Anyway, another reason to try to use the right hand is the machine is set up with the scanner for prints on the right, so it will be easier not to move over, or cross your hand over (with an awkward angle).

http://webegirls.com/wp-content/uplo...07/8447pos.jpg

Just a good cover.

While that idea came to mind first for me as well, I think the reason the right hand is better is because of the more refined muscles in the hand, leading to a cleaner, more level print.

Mine were too, and I specifically was told that either hand was OK. Since the kiosk indicates when good contact has been made, it's a moot point about which hand is "better". If your hands are dry after a long international flight the recommended procedure is to touch your forehead to pick up some skin oils which will enable to prints to be read more easily.

Having either hand scan is obviously optimal in that any injuries most likely are only on one hand, making the GE kiosk still usable.

Anyone actually use their left hand frequently or tried using left hand?

Ok, tried left hand scan, worked perfectly.

I went for my interview today and had the same thing happen to me. I was told that my prints would not scan and that I had to have a "fingerprint waiver" entered in my file. It will mean that I will have to see an officer each time I go through the Global Entry kiosk. I was told that I do not have to wait on the line but to just go up to the officer and tell him/her that I have a fingerprint waiver and they will scan my passport and be able to go on my way. Has anyone else had this experience and how did it play out when you went through immigration? I'm especially concerned with the Miami Airport.
Thanks.
terri

When is it worth it?
 

I do about 4-5 international trips per year. Is global entry worth it then? The immigration lines at SFO are really not that bad, and they move quite quickly. What perks does global entry really get you?

I think it's totally worth it, even for just one international trip a year. Just my opinion, but coming off a long international flight time is worth money to me.

Last Wednesday, I arrived at LAX from LHR. It took about 5 minutes to get through the GE kiosk, waiting behind four people. Glancing at the huge line I used to have to stand in, I went right into Baggage Claim. There were only about five suitcases on the belt, ONE OF WHICH WAS MINE!!! ^^^ I grabbed my bag and waited behind one person (a pilot) in the GE Customs exit line, instead of joining the line of about 10 people.

It took about 10 minutes to get through Immigration and Customs. It was absolutely wonderful.

I've had that same experience - I've been out the door at JFK while most of the pax on my flight are still waiting on line for customs. GE isn't that expensive and I think it's definitely worth it.

Hi, I also have a fingerprint waiver. Kind of embarrassing - did aliens abduct me at birth?
I landed twice at Washington Dulles and the first time was ugly.
I bypassed the kiosk and went up to the CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) officer as directed in my interview. The officer told me to go to the head of the line. A United Airlines pilot started to berate me in public because he felt that I had jumped in front of him. I then went back to the CBP officer and he told me to go back in front of the line. The same United Airlines pilot started giving me a hard time again. A CBP officer came over, told the CBP officer in the booth something and I was then motioned to go ahead. The CBP officer was great - he offered to have another officer intervene because of the inappropriate behavior of the United Airlines pilot. I did decline. In doing so, I did the United pilot a favor. Had an incident report been done, it would have been a matter of public record, the media may have reported the incident and the United pilot would probably have been terminated from Global Entry.
I did send an e-mail to the CEO of United Airlines reporting the abusive behavior of the pilot and I received a response from the CEO two days later.
2nd time at Washington Dulles: This time was much smoother - however, the CBP officer who I spoke with did not know that a fingerprint waiver existed.
Hope things go better for you.

I also think it's worth it. I've used it twice already at LAX and bypassed huge groups of people who landed on 3 other flights at Tom Bradley International Terminal. I got through customs quicker than the flight attendants and walked out in less than 5 minutes. I remember coming back home without Global Entry in late 2009 and it took me over 1 hour to get out of the terminal with my luggage because all 4 lines were crazy long (the lines were wrapping around the luggage ramps). :eek:

I have a question about the facial recognition camera. Do you have to look right into it, or can you be looking at the kiosk screen, with your head tilted slightly down, while the facial detection takes place? If you must look straight into it, how do you know when to stop looking and continue through the kiosk prompts?

If you are assuming the Global entry camera is a facial recognnition camera, it is not. It is just a camera taking your picture just like any general camera.

After the picture, the kiosk will give you further instructions. Most people are not ready for the picture and that is why their picture always has them looking down.

Why did CBP bother with installing a camera that doesn't perform facial recognition? I understand why facial recognition is impossible, since the quality and detail of the photo taken at the interview are so low, but I wonder why the camera was included in the kiosk.

The same reason they have facial cameras at ATM's that do not perform facial recognition. The point of the camera in both cases is to aid investigations after the fact, not identify you in real-time. If something goes wrong (eg, a criminal using stolen or forged credentials), the authorities can go back and pull the image later. There's just no need to install and operate an expensive face-recognition scheme. The existing technology is not sufficient and the cost is too high.