I received my full approval for GE on July 25, but have yet to receive the card in the mail. Does anyone know what the average timeline on receiving it is?

Q: As a Global Entry program member, or NEXUS or SENTRI member with the Global Entry benefit, can I extend my expedited benefit to my travel companion(s) (children, spouse, or co-traveler) who is/are not part of the Global Entry program?
A: Global Entry benefits are member specific and cannot be extended to others.

It is listed on the GLobal Entry FAQ page

I don't know about the average but we got our cards in about a week. Have you verified that the address in your GOES account is accurate?

Deleted

It seems to be correct in the GOES system. Surprised that it's been 3 weeks and there's still no sign of it...

Why would your "travel companion" not be traveling with you?

I don't know why you are insisting on making this so difficult. Under current rules only individuals that have global entry can go through - period.

They make and mail the cards directly from the GE center where you had your interview. I had my GE card, and then recently my new Nexus card, within 2 days of my appointment each time. My friend had his GE interview last Thursday at LAX and had his card in the mail on Saturday. If you don't have your card yet there is a problem and you should call the GE center where you had your interview.

If you want to be technical about it, the violation is actually your child's, for failing to go through immigration properly (not sure what that crime is called). As a parent, you presumably could be charged at least as an accessory to that crime, although your child likely would not be charged if they are particularly young. Having been implicated as an accessory, your GE privileges could be revoked.

I don't think there is anything on the GE website to suggest that bringing your child through with you is not a problem. True, as noted, others have reported some unofficial flexibility in the past with respect to minor children, but that's the extent of it.

If the benefit is member-specific, how can it apply to your non-member daughter?

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

I admit that I chuckled at this one. Do you honestly believe that this argument would hold up in an official inquiry?

The policy does not prohibit minors. It says that every person using a GE channel must be a GE member in good standing. That's what "member specific benefits" means.

Yes, I agree that it would be much more clear to state it this way.

You certainly are welcome to do so. I suspect it would be a pretty easy interview for the CBP officers, so it would not take too much time.

In fact, if you plan to travel overseas with your children frequently, I recommend that you sign them up for GE. As a bonus, if approved, they would be eligible for PreCheck (if over 12; under 12 qualifies automatically), so it could help to streamline your TSA experience as well.

One question you might ask the officers conducting the interview is how your 3-year-old is supposed to answer the kiosk questions when he/she is not able to read. (There must be some mechanism, given that I doubt GE membership could be denied on the grounds of illiteracy. And plenty of illiterate and blind people enter the USA every day through normal processing with the blue paper form.)

Nothing says you can't read the questions to your child.

That said, parents certainly are able to fill out a customs declaration on behalf of their children--why would GE be different in that regard?

It would not be different in that regard.

I brought it up beause the premise of the OP's argument surrounded his contention that he should be able to bring his minor children through the GE line without clearing them through passport control, on the grounds that when using normal processing, it is one paper declaration per family (kids are included without needing to complete any paperwork). GlobalEntry is different because EVERY PERSON, not every family, must answer the kiosk questions that relate to customs declaration issues.

Now, could a parent tick "yes" or "no" to the questions on behalf of his/her child? Of course. But it would have to be the child's passport and child's fingerprints on the scanner, not the parent's, at the time of clearing the child through GE procedures.

When a minor enters the USA using normal entry procedures, accompanied by a responsible family member, the child is not required to do anything except be present and hand over the passport. But if a minor becomes a GE member and wishes to use the kiosk, he or she must insert the passport into the kiosk, present fingerprints to the scanner, and answer the Customs questions on the kiosk as they relate to him or herself individually.

So, using GE kiosks potentially places a greater onus on a child, OR on the family member traveling with the child. Using the kiosk requires the child (or assisting adult) to differentiate Customs liabilities as they relate to him or herself, NOT for the whole family. (By contrast, when using regular processing, the adult can fill out a single paper form and it automatically covers all accompanying family members.)

Make sense?

GE card finally came yesterday, along with a convenient foil sleeve to stow it in when travelling. Apparently it's chipped, I was unaware of this initially.

It does make sense - I suppose the question is still out there, however, which is may the parent heavily assist the child at the GE kiosk (including inserting the passport, helping the child place the hand in the correct place, checking the questions, etc.), so long as (of course) the child's passport is inserted and hand used.