Didn't see anyone answer this, but if it comes up in the future, tell the person scanning BPs as you go into the pre-clearance area that you have GE, you will be directed to the right to the crew/VIP line. You can bypass the throngs of people to get through the security lines, and get through the scanner (or Nude-o-Scope) and then you will have access to the GE kiosk. Take your receipt, present it to the hopefully friendy CBP agent at the rightmost line, and you should be on your way. BTW use GE to go through, not Nexus. No Iris scan (and I don't seem to scan 100% of the time), and no entry form required.

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 6_1_3 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/536.26 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/10B329 Safari/8536.25)

I just arrived at JFK. From aircraft open to out of customs 7 minutes. And there was a short line at the kiosks. It's just great.

Global Entry just saved me crossing over the mexico border from Tijuana by foot. It was only me and one other person in the SENTRI lane. I walked by a giant line in the general entry lane. When i made it on the train these three gals sat next to me. They told me they hopped a shuttle across the border which took 2 hours, They were telling me the walking lane was 4 hours long. I'm glad my coworker wasn't able to make it to go to Mexico with me or both of would be in trouble

Yeah it should especially with all the talking about budget cuts at CBP and FAA @:-)

Help me decide :)
 

Is the following worth $400 for GE?

I will be travelling international (family of 4, 2 adults 2 kids) at least once every year in the next 5 years (optimistically!) on vacations.

My this year travel is PHX-YYC (20 hour layover/going out and back in for) YYC-FRA-BOM/Vacation/BOM-EWR-PHX. Also have other domestic travel planned later in the year.

Given those airports, does it make sense to get GE? Also, if consensus is to do it, how early we have to go to get it if doing it just prior to the first flight from PHX-YYC? I know there is an office in PHX.

Thanks in advance!

At LAX's notorious TBIT today, with afternoon arrivals...

- 3 minutes to walk from aircraft door to passport control;
- 1 minute to use kiosk (including first-timer's inefficiency)
- 20 minutes waiting on bags
- 30 seconds to walk through customs

Every passport line was at least 10-15 people deep, and the customs inspection lines snaked around at least twice.

How much is that worth to you?

You're paying $20/person not to wait at EWR each year. That seems like a decent deal in itself, especially with the kids running of fumes after a 16 hour flight and having to wait in a long line.

Plus, you and your wife will get PreCheck for all the domestic flights, although your kids (if under 12) get it anyway essentially.

I would apply as soon as you decide to. You can always schedule the interview months later . . . or just take an extra trip to the airport.

Kids 5 & 12 - Would they need GE too if travelling with 2 parents who have GE?
 

Digging through the thread could not find a definite answer. Some say for parents get their passes at kiosks and take kids to the front of the line with them and get manually processed thus avoiding long lines? True? Please enlighten. Thanks!

Any posts suggesting kids can go along are outdated. GE program was extended to people of all ages, so there are no exceptions for kids any more (at least there shouldn't be -- perhaps you could bring an infant).

Yes, drewguy is absolutely correct - it used to be possible, when under 16s weren't eligible. but not anymore. (I was one of those upthread who did get permission to bring my kids through in the pre-16 era; I've just put a note in the post to reflect the new info.) We signed up for GE for our 6 and 9 yo as soon as we could, and it has ABSOLUTELY been worth the money. Their enrollment interviews were pretty funny.

Now, an unrelated question for GE experts out there: In a little over 1 month, we are driving to Canada, flying to Europe, flying back to Canada from Europe, and then driving back to the US (it's complicated). All 4 of us in the family have a plain vanilla GE membership.

1) In the car going into Canada, we have no special entry, right?
2) On the flight returning to Canada from Europe, we again have no special entry?
3) In the car leaving Canada (by Niagara Falls) going to the US, I can use a special lane? But only if all four of us have the GE cards? (The kids have the cards, and I could order them for Mr. mechteach and myself for $15 apiece, but would need to do so soon.)

Any help would be much appreciated! I've tried the FAQ and google, but without a lot of luck. Thanks!

Correct on all three. For #1 and #2 you would need NEXUS. For #3 (and #1), here is the FAQ you're looking for:

http://www.globalentry.gov/faq.html#g3

Any humorous anecdotes to share? :)

I'm sure more than a $100 per each entry ;)

Validation
 

Just came back through ORD. Kiosk worked great, as always (knock wood).However new thing, everyone had to stop at officer to "validate" the entry. Looked at passport and ticket and screen, then let me through. Is this new everywhere. It's not a problem, but it does slow things down, a little. I can see how there would be a big backup if there were a lot of crew and more GE members.

Same in Seattle.

I had this at IAH this past December.