YadiMolina

I have a non-US citizen, non-US resident family member with Global Entry who always got an X, the officers blaming one thing or another. Long story short: I recommend you try a Global Entry at Arrival kiosk next time to see if they can resolve your issues.

(We had visited at least 2 other enrollment centers to get the issues straightened out, without success. The "on arrival" kiosk officer at IAH was very helpful and uncovered several errors or inconsistencies in the system that the other enrollment centers failed to fix.)

MorganB

Thanks for this tip! I have reached to to GE support as you suggested. I have battled with the black X since 2016. I managed to get it cleared once by a global entry agent at DFW but after I renewed my membership the permanent black X returned. Hoping they can correct the issue!

televisor

Look, in odd situations you're going to have to accept that the GE system can't admit you. It's true for all the Visas requiring SEVIS checks (F-1, J-1), and seemingly for the odd Visa extension cases too. It could probably be - partly - solved with better software, but given there aren't many GE users in such situations I can understand why they don't want to take that risk (and for F-1/J-1 there's no software that can take care of the job of verifying a handwritten date and signature on a specific form).

Like anyone else in one of those situations, just have your paperwork ready, and take consolation in the fact that you're still crossing the border a lot faster than without Global Entry. You are still skipping effectively all the queues, except for having to briefly speak to a border agent for the actual admission. (And certainly don't go getting aggressive towards them unless you'd like to have your Global Entry revoked...)

jbonne

I'm not quite sure what to do but I've had nexus/global entry for 10+ years now and never got pulled in once. Starting in November, I'm in secondary every single time. I don't get the SSSS on my board pass, instead when I go through the machine it puts a big X on my name and sends me to secondary. No criminal history, no unpaid parking tickets, just secondary every time. The agents can't see why and I got to know a few of them well since I had one guy 3 out of 5 last times. I have a very very unique name, no chance someone else out there has it

I filed a FOIA request and about to apply for a redress number. Anybody know why this might be happening?

Majuki

A redress number won't help with the X on GE. The reason for the X matters. Next time you get the X, look for the two letter code. If it's something like BF, it means that your fingerprints didn't read properly.

jbonne

I get pulled over for secondary at the land border as well (no fingerprints)...

747FC

Wife and I just returned from trip to Japan. Using GE lane on arrival, I answered the food question "Yes," as I have cookies, etc. Both bags were under my name, so wife said "No" (Which, when I learned about it, I thought was the wrong answer since she is traveling with me, even though the bags were checked under my name.)

I got an "X," where every other time in the last five years, I've gotten an "O." Wife got a statement printed on her slip that said something like: "Check with Agent."

We both go to the CPB agent, present our slips. I tell him that I answered the food item because I have cookies, etc. I offer to show him a list of items. He declines, stares at screen for a prolonged time, pushes a few buttons, and then after about 5-10 minutes (at least it seemed like that), asked if we have been to China, which I replied "No."

Can't figure out why I would have gotten an X. We did have separate tickets on different carriers/alliances to/from Japan. Wife did check bag going, but as I mentioned earlier, both bags were under my name returning.

Does that X and prolonged wait make any sense?

Thanks for your insights.

scryer999

One thing to check - name matching. A helpful CBP officer clued me in on this one -- apparently the US Govt has been gradually tightening up the name match requirements between ID and boarding pass/airline record. I have a space-in-name issue that used to not be a problem but has now flagged my last 4 international entries. They've passed me through after reviewing the records and seeing the issue, but it is a pain to not clear Global Entry automatically. Just got off phone with US Passport Center who walked me through how to fix it (after lengthy reference to 2nd level desk). In my case I'll need to file a DS82 and accompanying DS5504 to fix the name and reissue. YMMV.

Pickles

Reconcile me this: Mrs Pickles always gets the dreaded X, but not once has she been sent to secondary. We're talking a dozen or so international arrivals over the last 8 years or so. All she does is take the printout to the X and her passport to the counter on the way out, they check a couple of things and she's on her merry way.

The additional data points of possible interest is that she has very weak fingerprints (it's genetic, her mother has a similar issue) and she's tiny so she has to look up at the camera and her head shot always makes her look like Kermit the Frog looking up at Miss Piggy.

Majuki

Have Mrs. Pickles check the code next time. A BF means that there wasn't a good read on the fingerprints. I've had it a few times myself since I also have weak fingerprints. As a best practice, an officer once told me to press my fingers on my forehead and make sure there is no space when doing the fingerprint read. (Don't spread your fingers.) Ever since that pointer I've not had a problem with the fingerprints.

Pickles

Good advice, I'll tell her to try that next time.

747FC

Re the space-in-name issue, are referring to FirstMiddle vs First-space-Middle?

GUWonder

My GE-using travel party members getting X receipts seems to have little or nothing to do with whether or not we left out middle names on the ticket/PNR or we added/removed spaces/hyphens between letters/names from a given name field that shows on passports. For what it’s worth, I see less X receipt frequency when the ticketed PNRs omit the secondary/secondary+ names and spaces from the passport given name field than when those additional names/spaces are included in the ticketed PNRs.

scryer999

@747FC: In my case it was a Gaelic Mc / Mac issue; I've had the First-space-Middle issue in the past and got my records straightened out on that one with the airlines. The Mc-space thing unfortunately is on the US Dept of State side so need to file the US firms for amended passport.

Voldoo

Thank you in advance for any advice provided.

I just had a very upsetting encounter with the U.S. Customs and Border patrol at SFO airport where I was threatened with removal of my global entry privileges along with other threats regarding my fiancé’s K-1 visa application and was hoping to get help on how to proceed.

For some background, I am a U.S. citizen (with global entry) and have traveled outside the U.S. about 50 times over the past three years, always without issue. I currently have a non-U.S. citizen fiancé and we just received news last month that our K-1 visa application (filed in March) has been approved and is awaiting processing at the National Visa Center (more on this later).

The incident I’m referring to occurred 11/22/2020 from 4:30-5:30 pm at SFO airport. I was arriving on flight UA 59 from Frankfurt (connecting from Istanbul). I left the U.S. on July 24th and spent a total of 8 weeks in turkey and the rest of the time in the Republic of Moldova where my fiancé lives. When arriving at SFO and going through global entry, my passport was flagged with an “X” and I was directed to a backroom where I was passed off to a CBP officer. He proceeded to ask me several questions including which countries I had visited, the purpose of my trip, how much money I was carrying, etc. I answered all questions truthfully and without hesitation at first. The line of questioning eventually took a turn to information I did not feel at all was relevant; since the primary purpose of my travel was to spend time with my fiancé, the officer started pressing with other questions including what her name was, how we met, how long I had known her, etc. I started to become slightly agitated at this point and asked what the purposed of the detainment was. All the questions were asked multiple times to me.

The officer responded that it was because I was traveling to countries that “did not like the U.S.” to which I pointed out the fact that there are 5 weekly direct flights from SFO to Istanbul and I found it unlikely they made every American citizen go through similar line of questioning. He said he could make things difficult for my fiancé’s visa (in addition to her entering the country in December when she is planning to visit for Christmas) and threatened to revoke my global entry privileges. He started asking questions about my employer which I declined to answer. No other officers were present for any of the questioning.

And that point he proceeded to do a thorough search of all my carry-on belongings and escorted me to the baggage claim where we searched through all my checked in luggage as well. When finished, I asked if/how I could obtain a copy of the report of the incident and he stated it was not possible. I asked him to provide me with his badge number and he said he didn’t have one. I did note his name on his ID. While I was re-packing my bags, he left and then one of his colleagues approached me asking why I didn’t feel like answering questions? I explained what had happened and that there was only a single question I did not answer which related to my employment (I did say I would answer if they explained to me the relevance of the inquiry). He said that as long as I wasn’t a “problem” they wouldn’t have to revoke my global entry privileges.

I fully understand the need for border security and can even appreciate my being out of the country for months might raise flags, but I have zero criminal history and have never experienced a problem entering the U.S. before. Our interview started as polite but as soon as I started making inquiries on what the purpose of the detainment was, that’s when things started to go downhill.

So here are my questions:

• Is it possible to obtain a copy of the report and file a complaint against the officer? I felt his questioning and specific threats to my fiancé’s visa situation were especially troublesome. I plan on calling the CBP number for more information in the morning.
• What is the likelihood that my global entry is taken from me and would I have any recourse if this were to happen? Obviously, this is not hugely important but I still enjoy the privilege of global entry when I travel.
• What (if anything) can the effect of this incident have on my fiancé’s ability to get her K-1 visa or to enter the country next month on her B visa during the holidays?