Global Entry
 

I have searched and couldn't find an area to ask questions about the Global Entry program. If there is an area please re-direct me.

Having a couple of oversea leisure trips coming up in the next few years, and having stood in line at Heathrow for hours a couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to go the Global Entry route and hope it helps. I wanted to do this 2 years ago before we went on our trip to Europe, but in order to get an appt for an in person interview for Global Entry we would have had to go to Austin (70 miles) and appointments were scarce to non existent - so I did TSA Pre-check instead (paid back from CC).

Now they have an office at the San Antonio airport and when I looked a few weeks ago it said appointments were readily available. I signed up and received new Chase United cards that arrived on Monday and I used them to pay for the applications I submitted on Monday (Chase will re-imburse the $120 for each of us). Both of us were "conditionally approved" yesterday and today I went to set up interviews. The main site said no appts available for 365 days, another said 66 days, and three said appts are available now. But when I go to select the location (Texas, then San Antonio International) I get a window that says appts are filled through 15 Feb. Period. No options to select a later date - all I can do is close the window and go back to where I selected the state. The instructions indicate once I select the location I should get a list of dates - regardless of how far out they may be - but that doesn't happen. I see a lot of options to sign u and have them alert me if appts become available (cancellations etc) but that seems extremely iffy.

So I guess what I'm asking is has anyone else dealt with this and what did you do - is there a work around I'm missing? I have plenty of time - our next trip to Europe is Aug 2027, but if appts are out 365 days and I can't even get one of those - maybe I don't have enough time :-)

Any guidance would be appreciated. I'm 80 and just figured out how to use our cell phone - so some of this stuff requires more guidance than the web site is giving :-)

Again - if this should be posted somewhere else please let me know.

Thanks in advance. Brian

You just have to keep on checking. There are bots/services that will do it for you. Otherwise you can take a chance and go and see if they'll take you as a walk in one day, or do it upon arrival (no appointment needed)

I got all excited this morning when we received emails from Trusted Travelers making sure we knew we could do that (I didn't know). So I quick checked and two locations we will be visiting )one on a cruise and the other on a returning airport) had tons of appts available!!! Then I re-checked and we would be at both locations on a weekend - neither is open on weekends :-) Back to the drawing board.

booked an appointment with the enrollment centre for my son for this week. Just checked his account and noticed that it has been cancelled earlier this year. The 'reason for cancellation' field in the cancellation summary was left blank. Anyone else experienced anything like this? The interview was the only reason behind our stopover visit to DOH unfortunately.

Will try to get in touch with them. Found a telephone number online but no email address unfortunately.

Follow up
 

Just to follow up on my application for Global Entry and the issue of trying to get appointments for my wife and I. I have been watching the San Antonio airport and as a back up the Austin airport. For the last month they both just show "Appts full through xxxxxx" with no option to do anything. I had been told, probably here, to check next week at 0900 since that is when they usually list new appts. So I was planning to do that, and if that didn't help I was going to try and call them and see what I could find out (previous calls weren't answered). My backup backup plan was to make appts at the airport in Houston which always seem to be available. We have good friends in the Houston area so we could go visit and do the interviews.

Tonight I read something online that made me decide to go check the TPS site - and sure enough when I checked Austin there were appts available over the next 2 weeks. I was about to grab one then go back in for my wife, when I decided I should at least check San Antonio - and they did in fact have a calendar of dates available through Mar 15th. Most were early morning with only 1 appt available and no others close to that time - but on the 15th they had one at 3pm that I grabbed then went back in my wife's account and grabbed the 3:10 appt!!!

A lot can happen in the next 2 weeks but for now I am happy and relieved!

GE Interviews are scheduled to take place in FRA on March 23-27: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/37624165-post219.html

Just to close the loop. Our Global Entry interviews were scheduled at the San Antonio airport today at 3 and 3:10. The last few days I had done everything I could to see if they were actually going to be there considering the govt shutdown. Nothing on the webpage, nothing on the phone numbers they provide that no one answers. Online the first search I had said "YES - they are doing interviews" BUT also reminded me to wear a mask. The rest were pretty negative as far as the possibilities go. So, having no choice we headed to the airport and got to the Global Entry office about 2:35 - saw all the signs, don't come in, sit in the designated waiting area until you're called etc. No indication that they were open or closed.

It concerned me that no one else was there if they had interviews scheduled every 10 minutes. At 2:45 no one had come or gone and there was no sign of life in the office. I wandered out into the terminal to see if there was anyone who could tell me if they were in fact open or not. No one knew and I was referred to the two information desks on opposite sides of the terminal - but no one was there.

So we sat, and wondered. At 2:50 three people came and sat down and said they had appts at 3:20 - but not for Global Entry and had not been able to find out if they were working or not.

Then at 2:55 a guy walked up with a young boy and as he was reading the sign on the door the door opened and the TSA guy asked if there were any Global Entry people - we said yes, but then the walk up guy had him cornered by the door. The best we could make out was he missed his appt yesterday and was getting advice on what to do. Then I was called in and the agent said if my wife wanted to join us he'd do us both. Took 10 minutes and we were on our way home!

So alls well that ends well. I was instantly approved and the agent said one of the two fingerprint places hadn't responded for my wife yet, but that everything else was good. He said he'd monitor it.

We've been married 54 years - do you suppose she has a secret life I wasn't aware of????