Global Entry Revocations [merged threads]
 

I’m British born, now a very happy US citizen, and have been using the Global Entry entry system having successfully applied for it last year. Im in china right now on a long work trip, then Australia, and I just received an e-mail stating my Global Entry had been revoked.

I have done nothing, had only personal change in my life, having a new employer, everything else is as it was when I applied and I applied with all my accurate details, nothing left out. Any advice appreciated, i.e. is this common? Should I have notified of my new employer? Are there random changes to the program? Are they tightening the qualification.

It’s a little worrying being abroad with work and having this happen, as I’m sure folks here would understand. Now I’m worried my passport will be revoked or I will have entry issues...

The e-mail just stated the following:

RE: Your Global Entry Program Membership 982xxxxxxx

We regret to inform you that your membership in Global Entry has been revoked for the following reason:

Does not meet program strict standards for membership.

I believe I have no recourse until I make another site visit to their office at Dallas airport to try and clear this up, but any insight appreciated, especially if there are any CBP officers kicking around this forum.

How long have you had it?

Did you make a mistake on your initial application that might have been discovered recently? (Like a criminal record, having paid a fine in Customs before, etc).

Where has your travel pattern been like lately?

interesting column from Christopher Elliott
 

Your proposed course of action is best. When you return, make a site visit. Ask what happened. Do not start making suppositions until you have heard them out. Answer in a neutral and non-confrontational manner, no matter what is said.

This could be nothing and it could be something. The worst mistakes are made by people who try to refute something which turns out not to be an issue. Until you learn what the issue is, don't second-guess. And, on return, do not use the kiosk.

You probably just forgot to disclose something on your application, and somehow it popped up on CBP's radar screen, flagging your profile.

Stop by the nearest CBP office when you return Stateside and see what can be done about it. The officer might not be able to give you the specifics of the denial because of security concerns, but you could offer to reapply from scratch, perhaps.

Another possibility is that if you have a common name, somebody with your same name (or very close to it) might have been arrested, found in violation of customs/immigration laws somewhere in the world, etc. In that case, CBP might have decided to block everyone with that name (or variations of it) until everything gets sorted out.

Remember, GE is a trusted traveler program. If you give CBP the slightest reason not to trust you, GE membership can be terminated.

no mistakes were made on initial entry. Ive had it about a year.

Travel patterns have been excessive, covered many european countries last month, now china/australia.

Im probably going to have to wait until i get home, was more interested if anyone else had had a similar experience and if it could be something minor. I truly dont think there are any errors, not even the smallest on my approved application.

Just job change in the last 6 weeks

"Does not meet program strict standards for membership" is not even grammatically correct.

Are you sure this e-mail isn't a prank or a phishing attempt?

yes, this is from the official notice when i logged into the website. I have an inside contact, should know more after cob monday --- i know im clean, what they know, who knows...

Very interesting; thanks for sharing.

This is very interesting. I wonder if frequent travel patterns to certain countries can cause the reversal of Global Entry access. Did you try contacting the Ombudsman? Were you able to continue using TSA Pre-Check (assuming you are elite) after GE was revoked?

What is the normal turnaround time for contacting the Ombudsman via mail?

Could you travel profile make them think/suspect that you are not currently a U.S. resident?

Have you tried logging onto your GE account? Do you see any messages or termination notices there?
[There are all sorts of pranksters and scammers on the internet--many of the messages they send look authentic, but aren't.]

Did you see you are replying to something that's a year old?

I was wondering the same thing-- this is over a year old.

I saw the OP and some recent posts, but was remiss in not checking the date this thread started.:o
However, it would be nice to know what the is OP's current status re GE.

Follow-up is always a nice thing from an OP.

GE Revoked - contact ombudsman or?
 

I received an X on the slip after returning from my father's funeral in Europe. LAX Customs/DHS officials took my card, told me I'm no longer eligible for the Global Entry program, and send me through secondary where they x-rayed my bags and let me go.

Now I am frustrated since they will not tell me why. I want to write to the Ombudsman, but I have no idea what facts to present because I didn't do anything to violate any regulation whatsoever. In fact I have a government security clearance that requires a background check every 5 years which is much more thorough than the background checks for Global Entry.

Does anyone have any luck with the Ombudsman revealing the reason, when initially they won't tell? I feel this has been unjust and troubling because I have a spotless record and compliance with regulations.

Strange.. Have you tried to login to your GOES account to see if it says anything?

Very odd. A tangential question though - why did you even have your GE card to surrender to DHS since it is useless when flying?

GOES online says it's revoked, 3 days after landing. Only reason it states is that I'm not eligible. I searched Google and apparently the same thing happened to a bunch of other people - revoked for mysterious reasons and they won't reveal why.

Does anyone have experience writing the Ombudsman when the reason is not revealed? This whole process would make more sense if they could lay out the (erroneous) info they have come across, and I could correct them.

It would seem a reasonable guess that if the reason for the ineligibility is deemed sensitive, they don't disclose that reason in their records easily available to all employees, i.e., the staff at the interview station may honestly have no way of finding out.

My work is right nearby LAX so I already stopped by there again, and a nice officer was trying to be helpful but after I asked him for half an hour "could it be this? could it be that?" he honestly didn't seem to know. I am interested to hear anyone's experience in writing to the Ombudsman in clarifying their mysterious reasons.

I am concerned that your job might be the secret behind the X ;)

My first thought as well. I was talking to a guy a few years ago having some drinks (I had just met him, I was a professional colleague of his girlfriend) and in a discussion of travel hassles he mentioned he always gets full secondary screening. I asked if he knew why and he said it was because he had a pilots license. I processed this and then remembered that he had said earlier that he learned to fly while flying fighters for the US Navy. I asked if I was mistaken about the fact that US Navy fighter pilots undergo incredibly rigorous background and psychological testing prior to being put alone in the cockpit of an incredibly advanced and enormously dangerous weapons system. He laughed.

Hmm, I went to Europe twice in one month, purchasing my airline tickets just a few days ahead of time. The first time because my father was critically ill and wanted to see me one more time. The second time to attend his funeral. Is it possible that personal travel twice to Europe on short notice in one month could be flagged as suspicious travel? Or I am stretching too far to think of possible reasons?

You might wish to contact Christopher Elliot who has had positive results with GE in the past. But you have to make that choice for yourself.

You mention your father lived in Europe. Is or was he a citizen of a country that is still unfriendly or was unfriendly to the U.S. at any time? The "sins of the father" is one possible avenue?

If I am not mistaken, nowadays all European countries are close friends or allies to the US with the exception of RUSSIA ;)

It's not so much sins of the father as the fear of the use of family connections to apply pressure.

But that would apply much more so with the security clearance than it ever would for Global Entry.

I would suspect some kind of name confusion - or an outright error by Customs.

Russia, as in the country that tried to warn the US about the (now-deceased) at least half-Chechen Boston Marathon bomber even after the country had been on the receiving end of Chechen terrorists who had US training and other material support from the US?

Family connections in the US can be used as pressure points too, with pressure even applied from, by or on behalf of foreigners and/or foreign governments.

If family connections abroad is such a big fear -- and it is for some -- then perhaps the country should be in the business of holding a family member hostage and/or only employing orphans or those alienated completely from healthy family connections?

The "sins of the father" is used by the government against free US persons, and that is in part why I oppose DHS "trusted traveler" nonsense and why I instead prefer that such "trusted traveler" type facilities be a default right for all free US persons.

Why speculate? Write to the Ombudsman. By OP's own admission, his account says that his GOES was revoked for "ineligibility." Running around asking others isn't going to yield a result. Going to the Ombudsman might not, but is OP's best chance.

My recommendation: stop posting, do not send emails and do not discuss with others. Deal with the Ombudsman. Period.

Haven't you heard about the FT get enough votes for you GE exception?

In reality, the above post/poster is the best advice. All you will get on FT is sympathy from some quarters and, frankly, a dose of suspicion from the rest that you've really done some vile and reprehensible act that justifies your GE de-frocking.

The OP should certainly contact the Ombudsman . . . and then check his mailbox for a response in 3-6 months. I hear there is one Ombudsman (singular) and that he is backed up-- and that was before PreCheck which I'm sure is no help.

OP isn't asking FT to solve his problem, but to provide advice and to share similar experiences. He's obviously received some advice, but he clearly also wants to know if anyone has been in a similar situation and received a response from the ombudsman with an explanation. He CAN do both at the same time, you know...

Thank you for expressing exactly what I was thinking.

Indeed, but some apologists for government/travel industry suppliers/who-knows-what may not want the proverbial "dirty laundry" ways of their favorites exposed and would prefer to "whitewash" reality in attempted defense of their favorites.

The exposure of the "dirty laundry" provides practical knowledge of relevance to those passengers who find themselves in such situations.

Out of curiosity, do you have a "common" last name? There is a possibility that your rejection is linked with someone else.
I doubt that contacting the Ombudsman could hurt your case--so certainly do that. You might try to directly contact CBP. [There is a thread here on FT where a GE applicant was demeaned by the CBP agent during his interview--and was initially rejected. He contacted CBP (possibly with the aid of his Senator or Cong. Rep.) and after his new interview WAS accepted.]
Have you (now) tried to access your account on GE: (1)can you log in? (2)perhaps some pertinent info is listed there.

Presuming that part is true... Report the incident to your security office. Technically, you should have done so already. Have them track it down.

No longer eligible could mean that the eligibility criteria for GE have now changed. Have you carefully reviewed the current rules?

Since you say that father lived in Europe, are you a USA citizen? Could you have dual citizenship and could this cause a problem?