They only have Nexus machines at YYZ. If you're going to be doing the canada/US thing often, sign up for nexus. It should be free with your GE membership.

Interesting that the last two times that I have come through IAD, one of the two kiosks was not functioning and the second time I could not get past the first screen on the "working" kiosk. While there is not a critical mass using the machines at this time, as they ramp up membership in the program, it's going to be important to have function machines at all locations. I will say that it is a real benefit when the kiosks are not working to not have to wait in line.

You quoted IAH but typed IAD. Which did you use?

Ciao,
FH

I had the exact same experience at ORD (xLHR) on the 28th. Late afternoon, lines everywhere, walked up to the kiosk, got my little receipt and sailed through. Handed the receipt to the customs person who barely looked at it. I had the impression that GE people are assumed to be pre-vetted and therefore OK to wave through. What a breeze. From door of plane (M2=long walk) to the T5 exit? 12 minutes. Why did I wait so long to do this!!

I applied through the Flux Alliance for both the US and Netherlands, but I was rejected by the US. I have no idea why and I guess they took my €100 application fee and stuffed it in their pockets. My only recourse is to write to the CBP...like that will get me anywhere. :rolleyes: :td:

Maybe TSAphobia?? That's what seems to have kept some from doing so!! :D :D

Dave

Nope, it still cost $50. I had already been approved for GE a month ago. With a trip planned to YYZ I thought I'd add NEXUS. The GOES system asked and used my credit card info.

People here have reported that if you get the NEXUS card first, then the GE is free.



Jim

I did NEXUS first, and the GE was free. I wonder if you were still charged $50 because you would still need to do the full interview with both US and Canadian CBP with NEXUS no matter what your GE status, whereas when transitioning from NEXUS to GE, there is only an abbreviated interview or no interview at all.

What does TSA have to do with it? This is CBP.

I KNOW that! ;) :D

I was simply giving you a possible "reason" for others NOT to do it. I think it's a great program. Plenty of folks on TS&S are opposed to all kind of "trusted traveller programs" for all types of reasons. :)

Dave

I started the process for GE in June and was approved in July.

The interview at LAX with CBP is better described as an interrogation.

The questions were designed to trip me up to find inconsistencies with what I had entered into the online application. E.g. name the countries I'd been to in the past several years. I named as many as I could remember, but told the CBP office that I was sure I was forgetting one (5 minutes after the interview, I realized which one it was, but fortunately it was an EU nation). Or, why had I not listed Canada and Mexico among the countries I had visited ("because the online application explicitly excludes Canada and Mexico ... there's no way to enter them even if you want to"). Or, why did I not list any address or employment history before 2004 ("because the online application only asks for 5 years of history").

The one question I was really surprised by: "Did someone pay me to apply for GE?". I realized later he was looking to see if I was going into business as paid contraband mule.

The officer was not willing to approve me at the time of the interview. He did give me a CBP sticker for my green card and told me to remove it if I was later notified of a denial. Later, after demonstrating the kiosk, he decided he'd better remove the sticker since I was still not approved.

Several weeks later, I got the online notice that I had been approved. However, there was no direction on how to obtain the CBP sticker, which I'd been told by the officer at LAX and on FT, might be handy if not necessary.

In July I had a long layover in ORD before heading overseas, so I went to the ORD Global Entry office, and explained I wanted the CBP sticker. The officer took my approval letter, passport, and green card, and disappeared for what seemed like a half hour. He then came back to ask again where I had my interview, why I didn't get my sticker then, etc. Finally he escorted me into the office, and gave me a refresher course on the procedures for GE, and also a refresher on the kiosk.

Curiously, the CBP officer gave me a sticker for my passport and not my green card. He said ORD had experienced problems with the CBP sticker messing up with the magnetic stripe on the green card. Note that this is contrary to LAX procedures, and I expect I'll get a hassle if/when I enter the US via LAX.

Last week I entered the USA via ORD with a bit of trepidation, as I was about $200 over the customs exemption and of course decided, as always, to be honest about it. On the GE kiosk, I entered indicated I was over the exemption, and I got the dreaded 'proceed to passport control receipt' (not sure why, as the customs agent would deal with duty). I stood off to the side of the next staffed CBP booth (which was processing diplomats), and as instructed by the CBP officer I got the sticker from, raised my passport with the CBP sticker and receipt facing the booth.

I was waved over before the next diplomat was processed. :cool:

The CBP officer was puzzled why I was sent to passport control, even after I pointed out I indicated I was over the exemption (I had filled out the landing card with details in anticipation of the issue.) He scanned all 10 fingers, and sent me to customs. The customs guy at the exit sent me to another line to pay duty. The customs officer saw I was about $200 over duty and said at $7 in duty she would not bother to collect.

Worth it? Yes. I spent 5-10 minutes getting processed. Last time I was at ORD, I spent 90 minutes in line.

Wow, I'm surprised they gave you such a hard time. I also did my interview at LAX, on the first day they had it operational last year, and it was unbelievably easy. It took about 20 minutes and most of the time was taken up with explaining the program to me and making sure the info on the computer was correct. There were no interrogation and no trick questions. The feeling I had was that the application was approved and they just needed to show me how to use the machine. I certainly didn't get the feeling that the approval depended on the interview. I guess there are advantages to being "early" to the program or to the office anyway. Too bad you had such a hard time.

I explored that a bit with the CBP officer in ORD ... asking him why DEN still allowed green card holders in the citizen line, and ORD did not (which is why I got GE ... most of my overseas trips are via ORD). He said Canadians (my nationality) and Mexicans complain the most about that and that the USA has the most problems with citizens of those countries, hence ORD has put them in the non-citizen processing lines (presumably the CBP officers in the non-citizen lines have different training designed to sniff out the big catch).

I decided that if I wanted to leave with my CBP sticker and GE status intact, I would be better off not pointing out to him that illegal Saudi immigrants have lately killed more U.S. citizens than illegal Canadians. :rolleyes:

As for my hard time, that's pretty much the lot in life green card holders get in the USA. My choice.

I, too, am quite sorry to hear of your bad interview experience. It really seems odd that CBP would do things so differently for green card/citizens. I had a very nice officer who was really just asking conversational questions, and it is a shame you had a different experience. :(
Dave

Sounds like a made up excuse. Denver probably has a higher percentage of Mexican Green Card holders then most other airports. Frontier has a lot of flights to Mexico and they don't have many flights to Europe compared to the ones to Canada or Mexico.

Also IAD still allows green card holders in the citizen lanes.