Points Scrounger

I brought the wrong letter somehow. However, the interviewer said that wasn't a problem as my application could be accessed via the appointment roster.

OxfordBlue

Totally painless! At London - once I got through embassy security (by far the slowest part), I was seen within a few minutes, asked a couple of questions about previous non-US travel and purpose of travel to US, photo, fingerprint, quick run through the rules and done!

Email received and status updated in GOES less than an hour later.

Easy.

elluke

Anybody know if you MUST have your passport with you during the GOES interview?
Mine is currently out for renewal and likely not back within 30 days, which is inconvenient as GOES just tentatively approved me and says interview must happen within 30 days.

1KChinito

Yes.

As long as you schedule an appointment online, you are fine. At many locations, first available appointment is several months from now.

tehspecs

As said by the other person, yes you need it for sure. However I got my renewal back a lot quicker than I thought I would. Maybe a couple of weeks? Who knows that may be abnormal but it can happen for sure.

TWA884

GOES is the acronym for the Global Online Enrollment System and the website which is used to enroll in and update or edit information for all the Trusted Traveler Programs: Global Entry, Flux, NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST.

To avoid confusion, please use "GE" as the abbreviation for Global Entry.

Thank you,

TWA884
Co-moderator, Travel Safety/Security

cheltzel

You have to schedule your interview in 30 days. You could pick a date well into the future, if that works out better for you.

I always had my passport with me (for my initial interview and my renewal interview) so I do not know if it is absolutely required or not.

TWA884

This is worth a repeat:

Need

I forgot to print out the Letter and the interviewer said "Well we will need to reschedule you...." and then a few seconds later.. "just messing with you... it is okay I got the info on the computer. I know how long you guys have to wait to get an interview." Whew. :P Nice guy.

piitaahh

What documents are required:
- definitely passport
- letter of confirmation
- proof of residence

I THOUGHT I brought the required documents. My license, unfortunately, is an out of state / Texas license. And the utilities are under my boyfriend's name. So I brought in my renter's insurance and my work pay stub (I work remote for a Texas company, but my address is current, so I DO pay state taxes in IL) which are both listing my Chicago address. He accused me of not reading directions and said I needed either an IL license or a utility bill. The documents I provided just prove that I get my mail here, but not that I actually live there (uhh.... seriously?).

I tried calmly explaining to him that the list of evidence are examples and there's an etc, so I honestly thought that the two documents I brought were adequate. And that I did read the instructions because that's how I knew to bring my passport. It's due for a renewal but I held on to it to bring to an interview (expires later this year).

He said I can scan and email him either of the two (ID or utilities) within 30 days. So JUST IN CASE you get an officer who is condescending and disrespectful towards you about your documents, it's best to bring one of the two. I'm envious of the people who had officers who were nice and like to crack jokes. Mine wasn't.

televisor

I believe most states required you to update driving licences within 30 days of taking up residency (although IL seems to be 90), so the officer is well within his right to question why you claim IL residency with a TX licence. Still slightly over the top behaviour form the officer, but you're really not helping yourself by not turning up with exactly the required documentation (especially if you aren't complying with state licence requirements, which isn't clear from your post) - it's a trusted traveller program after all, your acceptance into GE is entirely up to CBP's discretion.

piitaahh

You are right about that, but it was just one of the listed examples, so I honestly thought other documents proving I live here were acceptable. I did tell him why I live in IL instead of Texas - my boyfriend moved here to go to grad school, so we moved up here together. I didn't bring my car, nor care to drive here, so I just wasn't going to update my license unless absolutely necessary. However, I did register to vote and they accepted the same documents I brought to my GE interview as proof of residence. I'm also paying state income tax, etc etc.

I guess I was just taken aback by the attitude he gave me. I completely agree that he was well within his rights to question it. And knowing this is all about trusted traveller program, I was nothing but honest in my interview.

But thank you for your response. And helping me to better understand his side of things.

piitaahh

AAANd, now I'm reading up on changing my license etc. So thanks for that tidbit of info too.

BSBD

FYI, I was involved in a court case back in the 1990s in which a Virginia Circuit Court judge ruled that if you have or had a driver license, you have a continuing duty to inform the DMV of your current address, regardless of whether you drive.

I think you'll find that legal systems in all 50 states will take the same position. So, you need to update your address with Illinois DMV.

televisor

Can't speak for other states, but CA has a 10 day notice period (which is also the same grace period you get when moving into CA).

(I wonder how that gets applied to e.g. foreign students who are "resident" enough to get a CA License, but otherwise non-resident. What do you do when you leave?)