TWA884

Actually, there is an existing thread discussing the Global Entry processing time for UK based applicants.

I've merged your question with that thread and moved over some relevant posts from the encyclopaedic thread.

TWA884
Co-moderator, Travel Safety/Security

televisor

Conditional approval times seem to vary hugely: it took 1 week for me to get conditional approval in December, back then the next free slot in Orlando was 1-2 weeks away (I was visiting Orlando when I got conditional approval, but ultimately interviewed elsewhere).

I've seen conditional approval times varying from 2 days to multiple weeks on here recently. Given that we're foreign (i.e. there's probably little data on us from the USA for CBP to investigate), and given that we got pre-vetted by the home office I suspect it shouldn't take too long to get conditional approval, but I also wouldn't count on it since their procedures aren't public.

It seems appointment wait times are also longer now than they were in December, but if you are willing to refresh the schedule often enough you should be able to find an appointment within a week or two in Orlando. Other airports have much longer wait times (3 months fro SFO back in December, I believe it's closer to 5 or 6 months now), but there are plenty of reports of people snagging earlier appointments with enough refreshing of the schedule.

cgtechuk

Small Update.

Got my conditional approval through now just need to schedule an appointment now which is not easy as its all so full for weeks.

08/05/2016 - UKBF Application Sent
10/05/2016 - UK Part completed and code created
10/05/2016 - GOES Application completed online with the UK Code
18/05/2016 - Conditional Approval - Need to now book interview

Lewis42

I am a bit confused.

I don't live in the US but I travel there quite frequently for both business and pleasure.

I am a UK citizen..passport, driving license...I live in the UK.

Can I get Global Entry and then TSA Precheck?

I only just started looking into this as I stumbled upon it's possibility by accident but I am a bit lost.

Ta!

bruceba

The short answer is yes.

Lewis42

Thank you

andrelux

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum and please feel free to boot into the correct one if it isn’t.

As a UK citizen, for the past few years my regular travel to the US has been UK-US-Nicaragua and return – so twice a year. As retirement looms, this may well double. Transit is through MIA

With just an ESTA, and when transiting through the US in the past few years (last was August 2015) I’ve had the magical ‘TSA Precheck’ printed on my onward boarding pass from the US, unbidden, which makes going through security a throwback to the 1990s. Going through the ESTA immigration gates has also been a doddle.

Now I see that UK citizens are now offered the opportunity to apply for global entry to the US. With my ESTA up for renewal, I hope someone can answer:

(1) Does that mean that ESTA entry has been ‘enhanced’ or that I will no longer see the magic words ‘TSA Precheck’ on my boarding pass unless I have global entry?

(2) reading through the process, it states I need to pay £42 and another USD 100 to attend an interview, but only in the US. Have I misread the details?

(3) I see that the interviews could be carried out at Miami airport, among other places. With enough notice, and say a 5 hour layover in Miami, would it be feasible to go through the process for my wife and me?

(4) how long does the whole process take, end to end. I read months here, months there, six months elsewhere, but what are people’s experiences?

(5) Do you think it is worth our while? In some cases, throwing c £120 at the problem for five years may be worth it, if it provides significant improvement (or at least, the status quo and no degradation, but only without major hassle. I’m guessing that renewals after 5 years would be more straightforward, although I suppose no-one has got to that stage yet.

KARFA

Lots of information here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/usa/1...d-threads.html

1) you still need an esta with GE, although you would be able to use the GE machines at immigration which are a lot quicker than queuing for a CBP officer. You also get a trusted traveller number and tsa precheck - I am actually unsure why you get tsa pre-check already

2) no you are right. Last stage is an interview at a GE office and they are currently all in the US with I think one in Singapore?

3) yes

4) took me about week to get to pre approval, hard part was booking an interview for a date and place when I would be in the US

5) yes I do, but if you are happy where you are without GE then decide where it is worth the money and effort for you

MPH1980

Not entirely true - there are also locations in Canada and some others dotted around the world.

Occasionally locations pop up in the UK (e.g. Google's HQ) and it has been reported as possible to use it as a member of the public (although at your own risk of course).

My timing was that I was done in 2-3 weeks with 3 months to try and get an interview before I magically picked up a cancellation nearer in.

wrp96

You having gotten TSA Pre in the past had nothing to do with your ESTA. A certain percentage of travelers get it randomly on your boarding pass, which is probably how you've gotten it in the past.

andrelux

Thanks for the answers. As to why I have had TSA Precheck, it's also a mystery to me. Most handy though. First time it happened, I had it and the missus didn't. Thought nothing about it (indeed I was wondering whether they considered me to be a dodgy individual). At Miami,on the onward leg to MGA, the TSA agent looking through our details said:' you know you are entitled to join this other line?'. I thought briefly about love, solidarity and so on, saw the complete absence of queue in one area and the interminable snaking line leading to normal security, and chose the middle path. 'Look, I'll go through and order you a drink, shall I?'. Twenty minutes later, she arrived, looking flustered. By then I was ready for my second. Well, I tried.

It's been systematic since then, for reasons I don't understand (and, fortunately for our marriage), for her too since that first time. Of course, last time at MGA the TSA PRECHK was printed on the MGA-MIA leg boarding pass rather than the MIA-LHR one, which of course was as much use as a one-legged man at an a**e-kicking contest.

Anyway, I'm guessing it's because, pre-GE, we'd been fingered as suitable candidates. Remains to be seen whether we'll get the magic words on our BP this summer.

Thanks for the info though, which basically answers my questions.

Often1

In theory Pre-Check without a membership in one of the Trusted Traveler Programs (Global Entry for OP's purposes) is being phased out and OP should not see it much if at all going forward.

The program has two clear advantages: a much shorter and less intrusive experience at the security checkpoint and a much shorter experience at the immigration aspect of immigration with the likelihood of less at Customs (if applicable for an I-T-I passenger).

For someone clearing CBP 4x year (2 trips, clearing MIA in both directions), across 5 years, this works out to a cost of approximately US$7.50 per encounter. I view that as a bargain. Whether another person does, is a matter of personal experience. But, I do note that on an international connection, anything which shortens the CBP time and largely eliminates the risk of misconnect, makes for a better trip.

armouredant

I managed to arrange my GE interview during a shorter layover than yours, but at JFK. I nearly missed it thanks to a broken hold door delaying baggage at the carousel, but made it in the end.

The interview itself was surprisingly perfunctory. In my case it involved turning up, saying 'yes' a few times, then leaving. Done in less than five minutes.

HilFly

Am I correct in thinking that you don't get TSA pre-check before BA flights?

andrelux

That's what I read, but it's been systematic since then.

Bit like Jury service, maybe. Supposed to be totally random, most people never get called up, but once you've been fingered once, surprising how often it recurs. Was once on a panel of 12, only two of whom were doing it for the first time. For three of us, it was our third time and for one guy, his fourth. Once they've got your number...