8/3/17 noon update:

BNA = 15 Feb 2017 What's weird is that the calendar appears to only show the Center open 4 hours/day (noon - 4p).



BNA = March 23, 2017

Went out to Interview Center to try walk-in about 45 mins after open. Office was at end of hall, no lights on in hall. Waiting room was locked. Waited in hall for about 20 mins, not a peep. No one in, no one out.

Back to lurking the scheduling calendar.

If you have the ability to sit at a desk and refresh constantly - I mean every minute - you can get an earlier apt. When I got my conditional approval, I booked Boston in April 2017. I got September apts for both me and my husband. But I spent most of 3 weeks refreshing the screen. Once, an apt popped up for the next day, but due to my conflicts I couldn't take it.

<quoted post is now off topic; this post was moved from the Global Entry - processing time thread>

Cheers, now back to refreshing the appointments page for MSP to get in before January 2017...

Can you drive up the North Shore to interview at the Grand Portage border crossing? That GE interview center seems to keep long hours (IIRC something like 8 am to 8 pm every day of the week versus something like 9 am to 4-5 pm Monday through Friday only at MSP) and might have better availability.

There's yet another GE interview place (this one is also NEXUS) in MN at a border crossing in the north central part of the state, accessible only by secondary (and worse?) roads, that offers interviews during more limited hours, maybe only three days a week. You might want to look for an interview slot there too, if it's feasible for you.

Otherwise, there's MKE and ORD, both of which are rumored not to have much availability but at least are drivable, and IIRC someplace in the Dakotas which looks like a long drive at least from Minneapolis.

Beyond this, can you schedule an interview at some other airport you're flying through anyway? That seems to be what many people are doing to get their GE final approval.

Looks like there are three locations in northern Mn. Grand Portage, Intl Falls and Warroad. Grand Portage is open 8-8 and Mon-Sun so I might take a long weekend up there and get it done. Their availability appears to be immediate. I'd fly to Duluth but it's another 3 hours northeast.

Depending on the time of your appointment, you could drive to Duluth easily in the evening after rush hour, overnight there, and do the appointment the next day. Hotel availability might be limited (or very expensive) further north during the summer high season.

The drive along the shore is very nice, assuming that you can avoid busy summer weekend migration times. My recollection is that from Duluth to the border is about four hours driving time, not three, even if one only stops briefly once to stretch or get gas. Enjoy!

ADDED: AAA says the drive time is 2:43. YMMV, especially if you hit bad traffic along MN-62. Of course, one potentially saves a lot of time by taking the expressway to Two Harbors or whatever rather than the shore route, but the shore route is fun to do in at least one direction.

Just keep checking back, even 1-2x/day helps. No need to be obsessive about refreshing, or go so far as to run the script that checks for interview times, unless you really want to. Slots are always opening up as people cancel. I got conditional approval in early July and the soonest interview was October. Just checking in 1-2x/day, within a few days I had rescheduled it to September. A few days later, August. Then a few days later on a Saturday, a slot opened up for the following Monday. Total time from conditional approval to interview less than two weeks.

8/4/17 noon update:
BNA = 19 Jan 2017 - that's two months in two days, and the avails have always shown up around noon-ish (when the center opens). Makes me wonder if the person there is checking some sort of inbox and updating. But I would think that the online scheduling borg handled it automatically. In any case, I'm revising my lurk plan to focus more around the 11am - 1pm hours.

8/3/17 noon update:
BNA = 15 Feb 2017 What's weird is that the calendar appears to only show the Center open 4 hours/day (noon - 4p).


BNA = March 23, 2017
Went out to Interview Center to try walk-in about 45 mins after open. Office was at end of hall, no lights on in hall. Waiting room was locked. Waited in hall for about 20 mins, not a peep. No one in, no one out.

Back to lurking the scheduling calendar.

Online scheduling calendar is live, 24/7. There are still people not on the internet (unable or unwilling) and use telephone. That is why I suggest checking when your local office is open. Good luck in your search.

When using the refresh method to look for a sudden opening, is it enough to just refresh the page (e.g. F5)? I mean, when you first select a center, it takes you to the first day on which there is/are opening(s). If you refresh, are you just going to see that same day again, regardless of the first opening? In which case you have to click on "select another center" and then select the same one again?

Or will pressing refresh automatically take you to the first available opening, even if there is now an opening on an earlier day?

Is there any other better way to do this?

thanks! zc

Also, does anyone know if Long Beach seaport GOES interviews are operational? It shows no calendar and no availability. thanks! zc

If I remember it correctly, each time you do a new search, select a center.

There is another way by using a plug in/script if you are tech savvy.

You do not see any availability at Long Beach, probably there is no availability currently.

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-t...ers/california

Long Beach Seaport (LNB)
Address: 301 E. Ocean Blvd
Room 805
Long Beach, CA 90802
(Located on corner of Long Beach Blvd., entrance to the building is on Long Beach Blvd.)
Hours of Operation: 10:00AM - 6:00PM, Monday - Friday
Contact Information: (562) 366-3267

I don't have the patience to either check regularly or try walk-up.

I booked a Friday 6pm slot in JFK for end of September and will just take a weekend in NYC.

8/9/17 am update
BNA = 10 Nov - another 2-month leap forward. Lurking works. I'm not willing to burn points to fly to another airport to get my KTN before heading out to Berlin.

8/4/17 noon update:
BNA = 19 Jan 2017 - that's two months in two days, and the avails have always shown up around noon-ish (when the center opens). Makes me wonder if the person there is checking some sort of inbox and updating. But I would think that the online scheduling borg handled it automatically. In any case, I'm revising my lurk plan to focus more around the 11am - 1pm hours.

8/3/17 noon update:
BNA = 15 Feb 2017 What's weird is that the calendar appears to only show the Center open 4 hours/day (noon - 4p).


BNA = March 23, 2017
Went out to Interview Center to try walk-in about 45 mins after open. Office was at end of hall, no lights on in hall. Waiting room was locked. Waited in hall for about 20 mins, not a peep. No one in, no one out.

Back to lurking the scheduling calendar.

8/10 pm update

BNA = 27 September. Another 2 months forward. Might be able to pull this off in time for my Berlin trip in three weeks.

8/9/17 am update
BNA = 10 Nov - another 2-month leap forward. Lurking works. I'm not willing to burn points to fly to another airport to get my KTN before heading out to Berlin.

8/4/17 noon update:
BNA = 19 Jan 2017 - that's two months in two days, and the avails have always shown up around noon-ish (when the center opens). Makes me wonder if the person there is checking some sort of inbox and updating. But I would think that the online scheduling borg handled it automatically. In any case, I'm revising my lurk plan to focus more around the 11am - 1pm hours.

8/3/17 noon update:
BNA = 15 Feb 2017 What's weird is that the calendar appears to only show the Center open 4 hours/day (noon - 4p).


BNA = March 23, 2017
Went out to Interview Center to try walk-in about 45 mins after open. Office was at end of hall, no lights on in hall. Waiting room was locked. Waited in hall for about 20 mins, not a peep. No one in, no one out.

Back to lurking the scheduling calendar.

8/11 update

BNA = 12 Aug