Lost

Mine was about 10 min waiting (I got there early) and 10 min for the interview at TUS. I would say if you want to schedule it before a flight, plan it for about 45 min before you would normally arrive at the airport just in case there's any delays. As long as you were honest on the application and are honest in the interview, it should be a very dull interview. The officer was very cordial and professional. Half of it is about how the program works and the dos and don'ts of using GE.

Speaking of which, I just used my GE for the first time last week at SFO Terminal A. ^^^ If I didn't have to wait 25 min for my checked bag to come out on the carousel, I would have been from plane to parking lot in literally 5 minutes. They only had one person working customs and at the time I didn't know I could cut the line. I had to declare at the kiosk (yes to food), so the officer passed me over to another agent who personally escorted me to the customs screening area, asked what food I had, then "have a nice day".

chucko

It's been about 4 years, but my GE interview was pretty quick, about 15-20 minutes. Took my fingerprints and explained how the kiosk works. No questions related to the application (my answers were pretty dull). I had to go back after a passport renewal, but you can just drop in to the office without an appointment (have to wait for an officer to become available).

It works really well for me -- if I have hand baggage only, my record from the crew cracking the door on arrival to me cracking my front door is 30 minutes, and it's about 20 minutes from the airport to home. With checked baggage, the wait for my bag to come off the conveyor is the great leveler.

cxfan1960

IIRC, they do not ask for "food" at the kiosk, but more specific items like fruit, meat, etc..

Lost

No, I remember the question specifically after seeing questions about it on here a while back: it definitely asked about all food.

But when I get to the customs screening area, the conversation was:

Officer: What kind of food do you have?
Me: Chocolate, beer, candy... (he cuts me off)
Officer: Any fruit?
Me: No
Officer: Have a nice day

nrr

At JFK T8 (AA), once you've gotten your GE slip (and picked up checked luggage--if any), you head for the customs agents, there is a "mini" bypass lane for GEers.
My one experience with ORD was that everything was geared to get GE's out as fast as possible*--provided you could negotiate the signs. [When I got off my plane, right after you ended your trek through the passageways a set of GE terminals. Later on you encounter signs for GE (another set of terminals), presumably the GE exit is beyond these--NO, you've already passed it.]
In another thread here on FT, in DETROIT they collect your GE slip before you get to customs, so GE pax are now on an equal level with the "others"--hopefully this has changed.
*For reasons I can't figure out, my picture on the GE slip generally only shows the top of my head; at JFK the ask to see my pp--at ORD they just waved me through.^

dave1013

Wife and I are traveling to Mexico next month.

Upon return to the US, can we do a joint customs declaration at the GE kiosk? Or must they be done separately?

Thanks in advance.

Yoshi212

Individual. Both passports have to be scanned into the system.

IWannaGoWhereItsWarm.

Hey there. I just wanted to share my application experience, as there are some differences from what I have read;

I got a conditional approval in 2 weeks time. I scheduled the interview for the next day at the airport inside security (all the others had several months wait). My appointment was at 10am, but he took me at 0940.

O: Your name?

J: Jane Doe

O: Is your address 30 Rockefeller Center?

J: yes

O: Put you 4 finders on the scanner. Ok. Put you other 4 fingers on the scanner. Ok, now your 2 thumbs together. Here is your assigned global number. You'll get an email in 48 hours. (hands me an index card w/the #) Any questions?

J: No, sir.

O. NEXT!

I was out @ 0945.

I had an email for approval at 0951. And there was NO video.

I was worried as I did disclose something that I thought he may ask me about, but he asked me nothing. I said nothing. I was worried as there was no back room, so I was sitting in front of a bunch of people waiting for their appointment literally at arms length and I desperately did not want to rehash the event in front of an audience.

I must say that the guy who went in front of me had a cough and this really put the officer in a foul mood. He nearly kicked him out and sternly yelled (while pointing to the door), "are you sick?!". Passenger said no. Officer asked for his confirmation paper and he didn't have it. Officer was visibly irritated and when the passenger didn't speak fluent English I thought he was gonna lose his sh*t. haha.


All in all, for the people that were prepared, it went smoothly.

hydrogen

Since GE is passport-based, do you need to carry you GE/NEXUS/SENTRI card to use the GE kiosk?

Starman

No, your card is just useful as a bookmark, unless you are driving across a land border into the US.

MADPhil

Or arriving by sea. It would be particularly useful if you were swimming as it should withstand immersion.

Randyk47

Interesting you mentioned by sea. Recently, like in the past month or so, more and more cruise ship passengers arriving in Ft Lauderdale are reporting they've been able to use their GE cards. It apparently isn't universal in that it seems to be hit or miss as some are reporting it while others say they didn't have it or didn't see it. There aren't kiosks set up but just a faster separate line. We'll be coming back from a cruise in late March so we'll make sure we have ours ready just in case.

MADPhil

It is explicitly mentioned on the web site but, as with airline lounge access, that is no guarantee! I should look into whether it works for entry returning from the USVI where requirements are a bit slacker than elsewhere, though I routinely carry my passport when travelling anyway.

Randyk47

For whatever reason, authorized or not, CBP has not been providing GE lanes/lines at cruise terminals in Ft Lauderdaleon a regular basis. In fact it's often more the case they have too few personnel to handle the disembarking passengers. Maybe the cruise industry and the port authority have put pressure on them to put more personnel in the cruise terminals especially in light of the mega ships now calling Ft Lauderdale their home port.

EqualOpp

Yay! Just got my Global Entry card. Thanks Chase IHG card!

Now...I wish I had Nexus - then I could easily drive across the border to Canada. Last time I was stuck in line for an hour or something like that, maybe worse. Maybe someday I will pony up the $50 and time to do that. Don't go often enough to Canada to do that yet. At least I can get back in the USA fast - though last time there was no line.

Actually...I had the precursor to GE in the late 1990s.....forget the name of that program.