ILovetheReds

Had 2 questions on criminal activity.

I got in a little bit of trouble back in 92 with the law. I was innocent of any criminal activity but was in the wrong place at the wrong time type situation and my lawyer recomended I not take the case to court and was able to work out a plea deal where I did weekly diversion classes for 6 or 8 weeks and was told as long as I had no dealings with the court in a certain time period the case would be sealed.

That courts records are online and when I entered my name that case doesn't appear at all just a speeding ticket I had back in 1990. Will this show up in an interview for GE? I want to just say no criminal record but am nervous this may show up somehow when they do my background check. This incident happened in college and has never shown up on a criminal background check for any job applications and I was able to get a couple professional licenses that require pretty extensive criminal background check.

Other question is someone else I know that is trying to get GE. He wants it just for precheck and I told him he should just wait until the GE light for precheck is rolled out and it will be less expensive and probably will be a less rigid application process but he is insisting on applying for GE. Back in 89 he got in trouble for telephone harrasment of his then roommates girlfriend which was a M-1. It was plea bargained down to disorderly conduct which is an M-4 offense and he basically just got a handslap and a small fine and hasn't been in any trouble since.

He did check this out on the website of the city it happened in and this is showing up on their website. Will this get him banned from GE since it was an M-4 and happened over 25 years ago or will he have a good chance of them letting it slide since he hasn't been in any trouble since then and it happened so many years ago?

BeatCal

From GE website


Q: Is criminal history a disqualifier for Global Entry?
A: Global Entry is a risk-based approach to facilitate the U.S. entry of pre-approved travelers. Applicants may not qualify for Global Entry participation if they:
Provide false or incomplete information on the application;
Have been convicted of any criminal offense or have pending criminal charges, including outstanding warrants;
Have been found in violation of any customs, immigration, or agriculture regulations or laws in any country;
Are subjects of an investigation by any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency;
Are inadmissible to the U.S. under immigration regulation, including applicants with approved waivers of inadmissibility or parole documentation; or if they
Cannot satisfy CBP of their low-risk status or meet other program requirements.

But if you get through to the interview, he/she may still clear you.

They use the FBI data base, if arrest expunged, you need to make sure local sends letter to FBI - or take copy of court record to interview

Dubai Stu

Note the use of the permissive "may" rather than the mandatory "shall" in the list. I was helping a friend out who had his i68 boater certification revoked. It is sort of a boater's Nexus in that it allows recreational boaters coming from Canada to call for permission to land a US and often not be inspected. He had a minor customs violation that resulted in a $75 and loss of the status.

For the first time I thought like a lawyer (which is odd since I am a lawyer) and went to the Code of Federal Regulations ("CFR") rather than the pamphlet in a rack some place or even the CBP's website. Sitting down and forcing my way through Title 8 was interesting. Google has scanned the entire code and you can download it as an eBook to the various Google Reader apps (including the ones for iOS)>

MedPhys

I had a really unusual interview and was afraid I'd be turned down, fortunately, I was approved. The agent was unfriendly and very accusatory during the interview.

The agent first asked a few innocent questions from the application and then jumped into what felt like an interrogation.

Agent: What's your wife's name?
Me: XXXXX YYY
Agent: Have you taken a restraining order out on anyone?
Me: No
Agent: Who is ZZZZZZ MyLastName?
Me: I don't know that person...
Agent: You've never heard of ZZZZZ Mylastname?
Me: No
Agent: Are you sure? Who has taken a restraining order out on you?
Me: Yes, I don't know that person. And no one.
Agent: Who is Terry Jo Bradley? (Not the real name)
Me: I don't know that person.
Agent: Have you been arrested?
Me: No
Agent: Are you certain you don't know ZZZZZ MyLastName and Terry Jo Bradley?
Me: Yes, I am.
Agent: Do you still live in TX?
Me: Yes.
Agent: Hmmmmmm

By this time I was afraid someone had stolen my identity. Those names were brought up again in the interview and the agent acted as though I should know them. Later, I asked the agent why he asked so many questions about those names, but all he would tell me is that they were associated with my last name (which is odd because it's a fairly common last name). I got an approval notice a few hours later, but I'm still confused and worried about why those people were associated with me on whatever background check they ran.

Has anyone had a similarly surreal interview?

flyingpolarbear

There are a number of stories where people had their Global Entry revoked for mysterious reasons and they will not give a specific reason. Perhaps it is because of these mistaken "associations." Then it makes one wonder, where are they coming up with these erroneous associations? What is their source of information?

MedPhys

I did some googling and found that the person named ZZZZZ MyLastName was born on the same day/year as me. Interesting and kind of scary that something like that may be enough to "associate" someone with an applicant.

pmaclell

Having just read through this entire thread, I am surprised that people got turned down for no apparent reason. I applied a few years ago for a Nexus card and thought I had no chance. Reason was I was one of 4 partners who imported a boat into Canada without paying any duty (until they caught up with us). Amazingly, I was approved.

So, take heart....apply and let the chips fall. I do feel sorry for those who were not approved and cannot find out why. That should never happen!!

flyingpolarbear

These agencies how to burn money. In the news recently a GAO study found that TSA behavior profiling is no better than chance, but the agency is fighting the recommendation to scrap the program. It would be interesting to see a real study applied to the Global Entry application and revocation process as well.

my83mlb

Still wondering if getting denied by GOES has had any effect on getting PreCheck. Anyone out there having luck with TSA?

zznoname

I was not asked, the question did not appear on the Global Entry application form "if ever arrested?" If ever convicted was asked. Has the form changed? Did I miss something? Thanks.

Often1

The TSA program has not yet started. It originally said "this Fall". Now the website says "soon". Will be interesting to see if GE denial leads to TSA-lite denial.

GUWonder

I haven't sought out a lot of data points about the following kind of situation, but at least one minor with an arrest and incarceration history was denied Global Entry and still ends up very frequently with PreCheck LLL as indicated when scanning the boarding passes.

pa3lsvt

No, didn't change. The form asks if you were "convicted" (to which I answered 'no'), but at the interview I was asked if I was ever "arrested" (answered 'yes').

Convictions are generally disqualifying, unless the charges were minor and long ago. IIRC, felonies or misdemeanors <10 years ago disqualify.

If you have been arrested (actually, fingerprinted and booked I think is the trigger), it will show up during the interview and you will be required to demonstrate the disposition of the arrest before being granted GE privileges.

Often1

CBP systems pull from many databases which include some which may show arrests where the individual wasn't booked or printed.

The key is that the CBP Officers tend to care less about the underlying matter than your honesty. Bear in mind that GE is about expedited processing on entry. Pre-check is simply a side benefit. People who lie to a CBP Officer to his face about a prior arrest will likely lie about something on entry, so they don't get GE.

The easiest way to deal with law enforcement is to be upfront. The chances that you have data about you that they don't have, is slim. Too cute can make you fee superior, except when you are stuck in a 2-hour line at a FIS somewhere.

PTahCha

Or creamy filling of a Twinkie.

Yes, but don't put the TT ID number in your reservation.

Long lost sibling?