c2briggs1

Idk. Frustrating process for sure. I've contacted a lawyer and plan on going to to court. I'm waiting for my FOIA paperwork now.

Hopefully I can give an update in the next couple of months.

RandomBaritone

There's one big exception to this: if part of the reason you wanted GE was for PreCheck, by all means apply to that immediately. I and all others I'm aware of who were denied GE for no stated reason were swiftly approved for PreCheck. It makes sense if you think about it: PreCheck is concerned only with identifying the infinitesimal number of people who might pose an inflight security risk, while GE is trying to exclude all potential customs scofflaws.

Good luck! I started this thread in 2013 after a baffling denial for myself and my spouse. We never got to the bottom of why, and we stopped short of getting our congressman involved. We're at peace with it. And TBH, now that Mobile Passport is so prevalent, we don't miss GE for the 3-4 int'l trips we take per year.

JonNYC

Wow, that sure puts it in perspective!

A question, in your original posts on this subject you mentioned you were going to FOI your records in connection with this-- did you even get results back and were they illuminative at all?

RandomBaritone

We threw in the towel after several FOIA requests were rejected for reasons that hadn't been outlined prior to making them. It seemed as if the process was designed explicitly to deter applicants, and in our case it worked. All was not lost, though, since as I mentioned PreCheck was two-thirds of the reason we had applied.

Yoshi212

It's so convenient how government has made it look transparent yet made it difficult to question it. It's almost as if they planned it that way.

JonNYC

No doubt they sure do enjoy their petty torments and roadblocks . That said, I was very glad to have gone through the process and find out exactly what the issue was, and, in the case of those here who've gotten ominous and/or very curious-sounding answers in this process, I'm at *bit* surprised the curiosity doesn't get the better of them . YMMV, BIG time-- it's a long and frustrating process.

c2briggs1

quick Update:

OF COURSE, my first FOIA request was denied.... due to missing DOB. So I have resubmitted another and asked for all records pertaining to the decision making for the global entry.

I was going to apply for the TSA pre check but I'm not going to spend another $85.00 after basically wasting $100 for the global entry program... be different if that was refundable, of course....

So we will see.

RandomBaritone

That seems penny wise and pound foolish to me, but then again PreCheck has saved me countless hours and headaches in the past few years. In addition, many high-end credit cards reimburse either GE or PreCheck fees, so if you've already used, say, your AmEx Platinum to cover the now-wasted GE fee, you could still use a different card to cover the PreCheck fee.

seraphum

A colleague / friend applied for Global Entry and did the interview but was denied. At the interview, the first line of questioning led to him disclosing that he'd been brought to the US as a child (4 or 5 years old) on a tourist visa, and that he had remained in the US until marrying a citizen several years ago, becoming a permanent resident and ultimately naturalizing. My understanding is that the rest of the interview went smoothly.

The denial letter listed 'Visa Overstay' as the reason, but given that it happened as a child, it seems like an ungenerous interpretation. Does he have any hope of success in appealing to the ombudsman, emphasizing that he was a young child when brought, and that he did not knowingly overstay?

Loren Pechtel

I doubt he married before turning 18. Thus he was overstaying as an adult. The only defense would be if he didn't know he was here illegally.

RandomBaritone

This is such an unusual situation that no one here can say for sure. Certainly I feel for your friend, who must be disappointed in the insinuation that he is untrustworthy due to a visa overstay decision made by his parents. Having said that though, CBP denies GE for all sorts of reasons, fair and unfair. I myself was denied for no stated reason, which still rankles.

Setting aside your comment about the timing of his marriage, you bring up a good point about those brought here as children, those known as "DREAMers." As the US is the only home they've ever known, it seems odd to expect or insist that they return to the country of their birth upon their 18th birthday. But neither do they -- or anyone, for that matter -- have a right to GE. CBP is well within its rights to say their background is too muddy to allow GE approval.

Loren Pechtel

And it's exactly that group that I think should be allowed to stay--and in my mind it doesn't muddy them at all. Expecting someone to up and move to a country they don't know and don't speak the language is unreasonable in my book.

seraphum

Appreciate the replies. Setting aside the important questions of fairness regarding the situation of 'DREAMers' and holding someone responsible for persisting an unlawful status while lacking viable alternatives, I'm wondering if there is any practical approach for appeal that might yield a positive result.

I can see that CBP might consider a person with previous immigration violations and familial ties to other immigration policy violators to be too 'muddy' to grant trusted status, but is there any room for interpretation? Simply stated: does the ombudsman consider the nature / circumstances of violations, or are grounds for appealing a denial limited to strict inaccuracy of information on which the denial is based? In this case, in particular, it seems possible that the denial was based upon incomplete information (i.e. knowledge of a visa overstay but not full knowledge of how/when the overstay occurred). So is writing to the ombudsman the best strategy, or is there another avenue, or do extenuating circumstances no matter for this program?

(This question is somewhat self-serving because I travel with this associate internationally once or twice per year, so it'd be beneficial for both of us to be able to use GE.)

Often1

This seems to be drifting off into OMNI territory and a discussion of DACCA. This isn't even truly a typical DACCA situation because the individual was a "visa overstay" and thus entered the US legally.

The problem is not what the law ought to be, simply that the friend at some point was old enough to know that he was a visa overstay and did not take steps to fix that situation (although it was eventually dealt with upon marriage). GE is a "trusted traveler progam"

CBP's likely position is that it is fine that the friend stayed in the country under DACCA or something like DACCA, but it is hard to also let go of the fact that someone who apparently, as an adult, remained as a visa overstay when others who are visa overstays would not be GE-qualified.

All of that said, this is not as clear-cut as some might argue. While the Ombudsman process seems to take forever, some people have had good results when they have made clear & concise and factual presentations.

If the friend's facts are exactly as they related here, why not put them into an Ombudsman "appeal"? The friend is now "natrualizing" (I hope this means that he is a "naturalized" so no risk that this becomes a negative.)

If your friend can afford a lawyer, that might be helpful. Not because this is hard, but because it may be helpful to have someone who is not involved carefully read through this. If he can't afford one, consider finding someone who writes and thinks through problems really well and will look at this from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about the friend of the issue.

Don't be surprised if this comes back 9-12 months from now as a "no" but this is not the standard visa overstay case.

flywithme27

I just received green card last month. After about one month pending review, my case was denied. It seems most of denies happened after interview. I checked my information carefully, nothing was wrong. They did not give me exact reason. How can I appeal? Anyone has similar situation?
We regret to inform you that your membership in Global Entry has been disapproved for the following reason(s):
Other
You do not meet the program eligibility requirements.