artemis

Earlier this month I had the delightful experience of having a nearly 3-hour layover at ORD shrink to 10 minutes. Same thing happened on my last big overseas trip this past fall (but for different reasons), and the gate agent hurriedly re-booked me on a totally different routing to avoid a misconnect with my international flight. I only have enough time at MIA if everything goes smoothly, which is why I decided to reschedule. If things DO go smoothly and I do in fact land on time, I can certainly try to hike over to Terminal J at MIA and see if they'll take me as a walk-in (just like I'll probably be doing at DFW earlier that day).

dustman81

TSA doesn't do the interview. CBP does. Precheck is an ancillary benefit.

dilbertsdaddy

I just got my approval and went to look for an interview slot and nothing is available at any of the airports I will travel through in the next few weeks.

I have to schedule something within 30 days....so I have three questions:

Once I schedule online, can it be changed if I then find something better?

I will be passing through 3 different airports with interview stations over the next month, what are my chances with a walk-in?

Does it matter where my appointment is scheduled and a walk-in? i.e., interview scheduled for PHL but try walk-in at PIT.

Thanks.....trying to avoid a full day driving for appointment.

LtKernelPanic

1. Yes you can. Just be sure to reschedule and not cancel the interview.
2. Depends on the airport. Some allow it, some don't.
3. Shouldn't be a problem.

dilbertsdaddy

So I found an appointment in IAH, but I had very little time. I decided to go for it. Had anything gone wrong or any delay, it would not have worked out.

I had to go from IAH Term A to E for the interview and then make it back to B for the next flight. I made it from gate to gate including the interview in exactly one hour. CBP agent was awesome, took me early, was quite nice, and very efficient.

I am not usually one to compliment the government, but I have to say this entire thing from application to approval worked exactly like it should, and better than I would have expected.

I was really freaked out about a possible decline in pre-check, so I have to tell you I am a happy camper.

mersk862

Was looking on the GE Location list today to see if NAS was added since I'm flying out of there today. Looks like the list has been updated and pretty much every major port of entry in the US has been included.

NAS has four kiosks on the left hand side; officer said they just got them a few weeks ago. Very nice improvement to have an updated list and seeing most of the Caribbean pre-clear stations having it now.

http://www.cbp.gov/global-entry/locations

Renee Gannaway

The appoint I schedule is at Houston IAH Terminal E, but it does not say where in Terminal E. Does anyone know where to go in Terminal E?
Thanks, appointment tomorrow.

FlyingHoustonian

There are two locations at IAH one post security at the beginning of the terminal E tunnel after the TSA checkpoint.

The other is before security downstairs in the international arrival hall of Terminal E to the right of the customs exit.

Appointments are scheduled at both, which did you pick?

(there is also a location in downtown Houston at city hall open some days during the week.)

carnivaltime

I was given an appointment for Global Entry interview but wanted to check if I can get a sooner date. If I click on reschedule interview, will that delete my old interview date or will it allow me to check if any closer dates are available?

CodeAdam10

The latter.

Kensterfly

Do you know if either IAH office will take drop ins?

tdowl5757

Arrived early for 12/15 Tuesday 1:00 pm interview, only one other person ahead of me, was interviewed and approved by a very friendly agent ~1:15 pm.

For those driving: Head for Hawaiian Airlines baggage claim and go past B & C, stay in right lane.

You'll make a left turn, before baggage claim D, look for small parking lot on your right, park there and door to CBP is on the right side of the building as you approach from parking lot.

Parking is free and there were plenty of spaces, it was a breeze!

GlobalMama

I have a story to share about the PHL Global Entry office, and it's not a good one. My husband and I were mistreated here and I would not recommend it to anyone. We were travelling to Venice, Italy via PHL and I thought I would utilize our 3.5 hour layover to complete our interviews. From what I had read online, they are generally pretty short, no more than 15 minutes, and they take some fingerprints.

We had a 1 year old girl at the time, we all had appointments, arrived on time, and were buzzed into the office with two other gentlemen who did not have appointments. We sat in a small waiting room where they were showing a video about the Global Entry process. I noticed some very tiny signs on the wall about no cell phones, and made a mental note not to call anyone. We kept looking at our watches, and pretty soon, 45 minutes had gone by and we had watched the looped video 6 times. We were tired after flying early from LA, my husband and I running on 2 and 4 hours of sleep, respectively. My baby was getting fussy. No one came to tell us anything. Finally, my husband fell asleep in his chair, and I was trying to keep the baby entertained. My husband's phone rang, and he jolted out of his nap, a little confused about where he was. He saw it was his mom, and answered because he was waiting to hear if she and her husband had made her connection in DC, as they were meeting us in Venice. I don't think he had noticed the No Cell Phone signs or was too tired to remember, and I was too busy with baby to think to remind him.

Within 20 seconds of his answering, a very intimidating border agent stormed into the room and yelled, "Sir, there is no cell phone use in here! Get off your phone!" My husband literally jumped in his chair, looking startled, and said to his mom, "Mother, I have to go, I'm being scolded." As he hung up, I turned to the agent and said, "I'm sorry, he didn't see the signs." But the guy gave us no opportunity to explain anything else, not that we were exhausted, that he had been asleep and confused, or that we had been waiting for 45 minutes past our appointment. He turned to the two people without appointments, and said "I'll take you two," turned back to us and said, in a very threatening tone, ”You two will have to wait.” We were shocked and utterly blind-sided by this aggressive overreaction and unreasonable person.

We were forced to wait another 20 minutes. Our baby had a poopy diaper, and I was very irritated at being made to wait. The agent came back, and without giving us another second to explain ourselves, said to my husband, “We are not going to see you today. You will have to come back another time.” My husband leaped up, saying, “What?!” I jumped up and tried to defend him, saying, “Sir, he didn’t know about the no cell phone rule, and I should have reminded him but-“ The agent cut me off saying, “Are you with him?” “Yes,” I said. He replied, “Then I’m not going to see you either.” My husband and I then demanded to know why, and to explain our side, but he wouldn’t listen. He made us leave the waiting room, and my husband was very upset (he hates to be disrespected), and demanded to have this man’s name so he could report him to a manager, and the guy said, “I could give you this business card, but if I do, I will put a note making sure you NEVER get Global Entry.” I said, “Then we don’t want your card,” and I pushed back at him, but he wouldn’t take it back. My husband was fuming, I was almost hysterical, and our baby was fussy. The man went back into the office, and I burst into tears in front of several employees. One kind woman listened as we told her our story, and a male employee told us how mean the agents can be. He said one airport employee was fired because he failed to show his badge to an agent fast enough. We said that we are never coming back and will report this as soon as we could. As if that wasn’t bad enough, we had to go back through security, where, in my emotional state, I misplaced my passport and had to run around in a panic before our flight trying to find it. It turns out I had hastily put it in my backpack instead of around my waist. So we started our trip in a state of shock and tears. Fortunately, the rest of the trip was fantastic and helped us forget about this temporarily.
A few weeks ago, however, we decided to try to get Global Entry again at LAX, seeing as we had already spent $300, non-refundable. We got there super early, ready to explain what happened if they asked about the prior “issue at airport,” as it said on our GOES website profile. There was no need. They took all three of us early, no waiting room, no questions about PHL, and we were done in 5 minutes!! The agents were super nice, too. We couldn’t believe the difference between our treatment there and our treatment in Philidelphia. We are now happily in possession of our Global Entry cards. I’m not sure if I will be able to, as we have since lost the card that the mean agent wouldn’t let me give back, but if it is possible, I will be reporting this incident to the Customs and Border Agency in PHL. Some guy on a power trip should not be able to bully and intimidate good, law-abiding people. I hope anyone else who goes there gets lucky and has an uneventful experience, but be aware … and avoid Phili if you can.

TonyBurr

I also worked mine through PHL and although there are some very, very nice agents, I will agree that most are power hungry. I am glad LAX went well. I have seen some terrible attitudes in PHL. Welcome to the "City of Brotherly love and Sisterly affection."

621mango

this is really interesting information. I just scheduled a interview at the PHL and hope it goes smooth. Thanks for sharing all this!
Mango