I will always have a completed form as a backup. GE works well but when it fails its good to be prepared.

Thanks for the info!

Yesterday 2 out of 4 GE machines were working at SFO. Cleared immigration in 2 minutes. GE still worth it since I was arriving on an LH packed A380 ^

Just did my interview today: scheduled for 1pm, started at 1:05 or so, finished at 1:17, got an email on the way home at like 1:30. He asked me if someone told me to apply for them and paid me money to do it. Scary implications if you think it could happen. Drug mules. But i got my sticker so I'm happy.

Yep, I also follow this. Been useful a couple of times when the GE system was down.

Especially for people like me, who, when they get the X or GE is down, still need to fill out an I-94 as a result .....

GenevaFlyer

Likewise. I usually have lots of time on my hands on an international flight anyway.

If someone did that, would they admit it?

No, but I'm sure it provides for additional penalties for making false statements if that were the case.

When they asked me that question, I replied that American Express was paying for it as part of me having the Platinum Card. Figured I'd be safe than sorry since I technically was not paying the fee.

Officer said that he had been hearing that a lot of late when I interviewed (about a year ago) and said it was a good perk to the card.

MissKok is GE, she landed in ORD recently and she used the kiosk. It printed the form with her pic, which she presented to the agent near the kiosks. He asked her the same questions she would get asked if she had not used the kiosk (where are you coming from, what countries did you go to, how long have you been gone, etc.) I'm wondering if this is an anomaly or this is the way things are going. To me, if they are planning to do this each time, it defeats a benefit of GE (fast and easy entry)

Was this agent seated at a computer or standing by the kiosks?

I would agree it defeats the purpose. Never seen an agent by the kiosks in the couple of times I've used it so far (IAH and SFO) and there was no one to present it to that I recall. Just walked from the kiosks to baggage claim and then on to Customs

First of all, it does not defeat the purpose. They always have the right to pull ANYONE aside and ask additional questions, especially if the passenger is coming from a country that is a major source of drug trafficking or terrorism. But the questions take all of 30 seconds or less. Waiting in a long line at CBP can take 30 minutes or longer.

Second, usually I walk right from the kiosk to baggage claim (always at IAD), but I have had the picture on my kiosk printout checked visually against my person at two airports prior to entering baggage claim (at SFO and DTW). In neither case, was I asked any questions - I was just greeted with a smile and "welcome home."

Not sure when you used IAH but the set up has changed over the years.
Now they have 15 kiosks in a row in a seperate section that you walk by first when coming in from E (you walk past the visitors section to get to them from D). At the end of the row of 15 there is an agent at a booth though no computer that I could see (it is not the normal processing booth set up).

picture of it here http://www.fly2houston.com/0/3526110/0/0/ but you can't see the agent, they would be to the left in the photo

as an aside here is a recent article on GE growth at IAH with numbers:


"During fiscal year 2011, 11,532 people were approved at IAH to participate in the Global Entry program. During fiscal year 2012, that number jumped to 19,983. During the same time periods, the number of kiosk users increased from 94,318 to 161,426. Kiosk users as a percentage of total internationally arriving passengers also increased, from 2.4 percent to 4.1 percent. "

About a month ago I used GE and 12 of the 15 kiosks at IAH were in use, one was marked out of order and I still had no wait getting to #13.

"From July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012, an increase of more than 70 percent was recorded in both the number of passengers approved to participate in the program and the number of people using the self serve kiosks, which are located in the Federal Inspection Services (FIS) facility at IAH. "

Some older articles noted IAH was tops in enrollment and use this seems to note someone else is tops in enrollment now:
“We’ve been a leader in enrollment in the past and these numbers indicate that the buzz surrounding Global Entry is still growing.”