I got an email for change of status from "Pending" (application) to "Conditional Approval" but no email for change from "Conditional Approval" to "Approved." Perhaps they don't send the confirmation email out to everyone for the last step--it seems to be more of a reminder than a formal edict. The most important thing is actually logging into your GOES account to verify that you are showing as Approved in the database. Looks like you are good to go. Did you get the CBP sticker put into your passport at the time of the interview?

I have to say that's a bit perverse. GE is designed specifically for people with extensive foreign travel (although not exclusively). That really shouldn't create a major hangup (although apparently it does).

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, as mine was entirely different at ORD. :( The officer was courteous, friendly, thourough and quick. I was actually suprised, as I had forgotten a few visits on my application and wondered if that'd be a problem.
BTW: despite all the bad things one can say about TSA, one of them is NOT that they are running Global Entry badly, b/c they have nothing to do with it!! ;) :D

Dave

Is there any specia procedure for GE members at a non GE entry point?
I'm flying YYZ into MEM next week and MEM is not a GE point of entry.
Thanks

Actually you'll clear in YYZ, so your arrival would be like any domestic flight. No GE in canada

I had a question about GE (and Nexus for that matter):

I always am brutally honest with my customs declarations, and a lot of the times I will exceed my exemption, by a small amount. In general I am not charged any duty - my understanding is that for small overages CBP realizes the cost to process the paperwork exceeds the two bucks or whatever they would collect.

If I use GE/Nexus will the kiosk just calculate the extra duty and force me to pay it (machines tend to have a stricter interpretation of the rules)?

Honestly its not even the money that concerns me, but if I will lose as much time paying duty as I save by skipping the line....

Don't know about Nexus, but GE machines have no provision to collect duty. You will be honest and answer the question about your exemption truthfully, you will get an X on your receipt, and you will proceed to the nearest immigration booth where you will get head of line access. You'll then be processed by customs after baggage claim, where you may or, as is more likely, may not be charged duty. It adds in total 5 minutes.

I had my GE interview last Saturday at JFK. I was told by the CBP agent that you are supposed to go directly to the front of the line for customs if there is no GE line.

You are permitted to cut ahead of non-GE folks. I said to her that is IF you can get to the front of the line. Last trip the line was not really a line and basically filled the passageway.

Supposedly, that's what the little "CBP" sticker on your passport is for. Just wave it to the agents who direct people to the appropriate lines, and they should let you go to the front.

Arrived from NRT today at LAX TBIT, cleared GE entry and picked up my bag within 10 minutes. But the queues for for customs clearance each had at least 100 pax since we arrived just after several other Asia flights.

I got the attention of a CBP person who then opened up a rope section to let me through. It may even be possible that I was out on the street before the last PAX got off the plane, much less through passport control.

Global Entry ^^^^^

TMK, Canadian ports of entry to/from USA all use Nexus, not GE.

Well like you I decided to move ahead with an application; filled out the online app the evening of the 6/22, got the approval on 6/24 and set my interview for 6/29 here at IAH (good timing my wife is returning from Italy on a DL connection from ATL that night so killing two birds with one stone). I really have a ton of travel over the past 5 years; in fact had to get a new passport with 2 years remaining on my previous one due to it being full;after two page refills the passport agency wouldn't add any more. We'll see how it goes.

Still pending review m'self. Didn't travel quite that much; I filled one passport book almost completely, but did not need any extra pages.

Well I got to use my GE for the first time at IAD yesterday morning inbound from Dubai. Worked like a charm and I must have set a personal record for time from plane to in terminal ready for connection. With carry on only it was less than 5 minutes. Of course, the IAD UA mid-field customs is a big part of that but still really liked the GE deal.

One data point, and one question... Data point: I applied online on June 4, got the conditional approval notification today (June 28) so that's just more than a 3wk turnaround. I travel intl maybe 6-10x per year if that matters.

Question: is the interview the final step before you can use the system? Specifically: if I schedule the interview for the outbound leg of a two-day trip to europe, will I be able to use the system on my return? Or are there more steps after the interview that I need to be aware of?

Interview is pretty much it, they may take a day or two to update the system but you walk out with the sticker in your passport