swag

My GF and I both have GE, so on a recent trip to Canada, driving back through the Detroit Windsor tunnel, we decided to use the Nexus lanes.

The agent said that I was fine, but my GF had never activated her GE card. She got it 3 years ago and has successfully used GE at airports, but this was our first land crossing. Anyway, that resulted in a visit inside the office to discuss with the agents there. Meanwhile, the car was searched - they didn't open luggage, but did pop the hood and open at least one panel in the trunk. We had nothing of interest, but it's a bit uncomfortable to have a rental car searched, since you never know what a previous renter may have hidden and left behind. Anyway, everyone was polite about it - the first agent was even apologetic - and the whole thing added maybe 15 minutes to the crossing.

TL/DR - don't forget to activate your GE card when you get it.

ryandelmundo

Crossed the border at TJ today, GE got me to the head of the insanely long line but had trouble w the agents as according to them my card was not active. They could not understand how i could have gone thru the airports as Ive done in the past few years.

Got pulled out, sent to some office, heavy inspection, and GE card confiscated.

Had no idea any activation was required.....now I am worried I will lose the GE for violating rules. What a bunch of crap, how is anyone supposed to know this?

TWA884

The instructions that come with the card are quite clear that it needs to be activated.

SPN Lifer

Thank you for sharing your embarrassing oversight so those of us who have never had Global Entry (GE) are less likely to make this same mistake.

zephyr17

I have a NEXUS card, which requires you to show the physical card for NEXUS specific privileges, like using NEXUS lanes or crossing the US-Canada border without a passport. In other respects, the program is administered by the same Trusted Traveler folks at DHS that administer GE (and include GE privileges in addition to NEXUS only ones), the instructions posted by TWA884 look the same as for NEXUS, the cards themselves look the same except for the title on top. I would not have dreamed of crossing into Canada or back into the US with an unactivated card. I guess because GE mostly works with passport use and you don't show the card to get the primary GE privileges, the card could just be considered a kind of swag and something to flash to get head of line privileges. Well, at border crossings to get head of line privileges you have to show the card which will be used as your ID, not your passport, just like NEXUS. That you ran into trouble when CBP ran an unactivated card is completely unsurprising to me.

The DHS Trusted Traveler programs are famously sticklers for rules and it is likely your GE status is endangered. The fact that the card was confiscated indicates your GE privileges were likely suspended right then and will probably remain so until you take some action to get them restored.

kennycrudup

I hate to pile on "O"P, but they do make it pretty clear at several steps the card has to be activated; I'm not sure how that was missed.

jimquan

Tried to check / activate my GE card at the CBP website but no joy. The activate button is not there when logged in.

Cannot recall if I activated it when I renewed in 2021.

From the comments better not to try and present it at border crossings if activation status is unclear.

Jim

TWA884

According to the US CBP Global Entry Frequently Asked Questions (scroll down to Global Entry Cards), you have to activate your card within 30 days of receipt; otherwise, you will not be able to use the card at NEXUS and SENTRI lanes when coming in to the US.

ryandelmundo

Happy ending....so far...to the story. Was hoping they would just mail the card home, but my guess is they just threw it out.

Ordered a new card, it arrived last week and I activated it for land border use.

Flew in from Colombia 2 weeks ago and used GE without issue. Thankfully as well, as l flew in to FLL and they have the worst immigration line i have ever seen.

So far anyway, no issues with GE for not having the card active at the border. Guess I will see what happens when i am up for renewal in a few years. Would be stupid to let me use it for 3 more years, then deny me on renewal as a risk, but stupider things have happened. Will keep my PreCheck as a backup just in case.

friedablass

Yes, but how can you verify if you activated the card if you don't remember if you did so or not? I'd like to be able to re-enter the US from Canada using my card (and those of the rest of my family, as we all have Global Entry) but I have no recollection if I activated them or not back in 2020 when we got them.

js1993

I renewed in 2019 and have no recollection of activating the renewal card, which I've never used.

I renewed again last week and was approved (no interview) within 48 hours. There's still no "activate card" button in my account; I assume that pops up after the card has been mailed?

Supposedly, there's a 30-day deadline for activating the card, but I'll soon be out of the country for two months. Do you need the card in order to activate it, or is the activation a simple "I received the card" type of checkbox? (I'll know via USPS Informed Delivery if it has arrived in my mail.)

30 days seems like an absurdly short amount of time to give people who presumably want G.E. precisely because they travel a lot.

TWA884

It is not "supposedly".You will need the security code from the back of the card in order to activate it.

js1993

Thanks. What happens after 30 days? Does the card get canceled or can it still be activated?

TWA884

The card gets cancelled and you will need to order a replacement if you want one.

The card is not required when arriving in the US by air; generally, it is only needed for priority processing when entering the US at land borders and to access the Canadian equivalent of TSA PreCheck lanes.

Please refer to the following thread for additional information:

js1993

Renewal was approved a week ago but there's still no "activate card" button in my account. How soon have people been receiving their cards? Thanks.