TWA884

For indexing and future search purposes, recent posts about the Global Entry interview which were not about arrests or convictions were moved to the following thread:
TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator

htheprince

I had an interview today for Global Entry I did disclose on my application that I was arrested & convicted for wet & reckless back in Dec 1999. The officer asked me if I had any other arrests or convictions within Ten years. I told her I did not, she went ahead & took my finger prints, photo & said that I was going to be approved. The email confirmation came about an hour later.

It seems the biggest item for them is that you have at least Ten years of no arrests or crimes committed outside of your misdemeanor. I also have not expunged my wet & reckless record as of yet. That is something I will be doing in the in the very new future. Hope this information helps some of you.

Mike5055

Hello everyone,

A friend of mine is interviewing for Global Entry but has a past arrest for reckless driving. However, on the court documents, it states Nolle Prosequi, which from what I understand, means there was no conviction. Is that correct?

It was over 10 years ago. How should that be handled at a Global Entry interview?

Thanks!!!

LondonElite

Exactly as you have stated above. The question asks if he was arrested. Since he was, he should say so, and provide the court documents associated with the outcome.

Mike5055

Perfect! That's about what we thought.

Thank you!

Mike5055

Went in for our interviews. I was ready accepted. My friend hasn't gotten notification yet.

He said they finger printed him and everything. I realize that doesn't mean he's approved, but would they fingerprint you if they're going to reject you?

Thanks!

TWA884

The fingerprints are taken for a criminal background check as well as for use as ID confirmation at the GE kiosks.

hawkxp

My story. Was denied. I was arrested 50 years ago, pleaded no contest, no jail time. three months’ probation. The county did what the judge said they would and expunged the whole thing. Nothing, no DUI, no arrests since. Never any problems with customs. The arrest unfortunately went on my FBI record. With no conviction nothing shows on the FBI record except the arrest.
I forgot about the whole thing and the county destroys ALL records after 30 years. At the interview she said I have to PROVE the expungement. I said I had tried to get records, but they do not exist. Denied!!
I have passed professional security clearance, Precheck and Clear. The customs people seem a little heavy handed. I would sleep better if I even could find out their logic.

chipset

So, here's my story. I applied about 4 years ago. In fact, I will need to renew in the next 6 months.

I applied using the Amex Platinum credit. I have a misdemeanor conviction from 1994. I was charged with a felony but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. I was sentenced to 2 years probation and 200 hours of community service. I was worried the conviction would prevent me from getting GE. I went through the online application process and disclosed the conviction. I went through the interview. During the interview I was asked about the details of the crime. I was asked about recent out of the country travel. And funny enough, I had taken a cruise. I only got off the boat once, so I didn't think about the other county I went to. So I was surprised about it. He took my picture and fingerprints. Told me I would have to wait. I wasn't approved right away as I heard other people had.

I checked the site every day or two and sure enough, I was approved. The primary use was precheck. I do travel out of the country, but it is sporadic. My job changed and I wasn't traveling out of the country much, so most of my out of the country travel was cruises. And they haven't been doing GE for cruises I was on.

I received the approval but was X'd every time I entered the country. This week, I talked to the officer as I entered through Canada again. He asked how much time I had before my flight. There was someone there who could take care of the demotion.

I was sent back to secondary screening, my first ever. I was told to take a seat. The officer spoke to someone and a couple minutes later I was asked some questions. "What was it for?" "Where?" "Did you work for the government at the time?" "Have you been arrested since?" "What was your sentence?"

After 5 minutes or so, he said it was taken care of and sent me on my way. We shall see when I come back into the country again. I was supposed to next week, but that trip has been postponed.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has posted. I wasn't sure I'd be eligible, but tried it. I have been happily using PreCheck for the last 4 years. Now I am going for the renewal. Hopefully I don't have to do the interview again, but I won't be surprised if I am. Unfortunately, the company I used to work for has changed names, so I had to adjust my past to reflect this.

But to all those who've had an issue in their past, all hope is not lost when getting GE. I was able to and I'll update this thread when I get the status of my renewal.

Good luck all.

SDM44

Had my GE interview last week at the LAX location, but the agents behind the desk (3 of them) all were very confident that I would be denied since they said "GE does not recognize expungements, and any felony on your record will automatically disqualify you from the program." I figured worst case I would get denied, after reading this entire thread, but some posts had seemed a bit hopeful but I'm not holding my breath.

I was convicted of a non-violent crime in 2002, plead no contest and served 30 days house arrest and 3 years probation. Upon finishing my probation, I immediately filed for the expungement and had the "wobbler" offense reduced to a misdemeanor and then expunged off my record. Right after that I few internationally without any issues over the next few years, my voting rights were reinstated, and I could legally purchase firearms. No arrests, tickets, or anything else since for the past 15 years. I provided them with actual court documents of the case and the expungement during my interview.

My entire family did the GE interviews at the same time last week, and both kids and my wife were approved a few hours after the interview - which was to be expected. Originally I applied at the same time for all of us back in July, and both my kids and my wife were conditionally approved within 5 days. My conditional approval didn't come for exactly 2 months. Scheduling the interview was easy, but at this time I expect to see some type of official answer in the next month or so - at which time I'll update this thread with my results.

BTW, the LAX GE Enrollment center is moving on November 5 from LAX to an off-site location, which is actually much easier & faster to get to from the freeways. It'll be at 11099 S. La Cienega Blvd.

Often1

If you have an arrest, whether that resulted in a conviction or some other form of disposition or a conviction which was later expunged (or anything like that), before getting mixed up in a GE application, get your paperwork in order.

This means obtaining attested or certified copies from the relevant court of the paperwork showing the entire history of the case, including a final disposition. It is often known as a "docket sheet" but it may have many other names depending on the court. It is this last piece which is often missing from various databases.

People are sometimes put off by the cost of obtaining attested documents, but the problems people encounter with GE can occur in many other personal and professional situations. As others have found, even the best kept records are destroyed for lack of space, fire, flood and the like.

chipset

My renewal has been conditionally approved, again. Back to the appointment scheduling, about 2 weeks out. I applied August 31st, so that makes 1 month, 9 days for the process for my conditional approval.

Last time, I did not need to bring any paperwork in. We shall see this time. For the record, my issue was Federal. No expungements are possible. But it was a misdemeanor.

Chipset

ZenKat

Does anyone know on the GE program what the stipulations are today if you have been arrested years prior? I had a domestic dispute two times and was arrested. It was a misdemeanor charge that was expunged and then one time arrested and the charges were dismissed. I do not think I could get records because it’s so long ago, one was over 20 years ago. I’m a responsible professional with 20 plus years in management. These domestic dispute arrests seem to haunt you for life. Does anyone know how to be certain that you will pass? How do I get the NCIC BG check on myself?

TWA884

Hello @ZenKat,

Welcome to FlyerTalk!

I merged your question into the relevant thread.

TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator

notacriminalyo

I would like to say thank you for all those who shared their stories on this forum. Like most, I filled out my application and searched the web later for answers to find that I could have gotten myself into a worst situation. I got into some trouble back in the day which was not put on my record if I stayed lawful. Therefore I decided to answer NO. But, there is court information of the arrest and conviction. I realized I was playing with fire since I was "lying". It brought back memories and nightmares of the incident so I decided to not do my GE at all. 8 months later, my wife pushed me to do it since she was scheduling hers and said we can go in together. I decided to just go for it and bring the things I've learned from this forum over to the interview. I dressed well, looked clean, and printed out my court record. I was straight up and honest with the interviewer when he asked if there was anything I needed to tell him. At first he was going through and said things look good, but i knew right when he caught my court record and compared it to my application answer, his eyes lit up. So I told him I did have an incident over 15 years ago which was a misdemeanor that isn't on record and handed over my court records (even though he probably saw it on his screen). He told me that the offense was nothing to worry AND since it was over 7 years ago plus it was good that I was honest and came forward about it. After that he started talking to me how the GE works, and that's when I knew I was approved.

I'm sure results would have varied, since I got a fellow who have been in the force for some time and really cared for his job.

Thanks all!