I did my interview at LAS, which was really great. The officer was quite friendly and just verified data from my application. There were no "trick" or "sneaky" questions. Just be honest on your application and you won't have any trouble remembering what you wrote down. :)

I'm fairly sure that by the time you get your "conditional approval" notice, the actual background check has already been completed and you've passed all the electronic/automatic database checks. So it's just a matter of them making sure you really are who you say you are, and making sure all the paperwork is in order. Then you get your orientation + sticker and you're done.

RJ

Hello rjh,

Thank you for letting me know because I have my interview this Tuesday and I am self-employed. I will bring a couple of years of tax returns with me.

Whew! I'm glad I know now.

David

Thanks for the info everyone. Sounds pretty painless actually. Just waiting on approval now :)

I applied last week and got the approval yesterday.. went to schedule the appointment and the soonest available is almost a month out... does anyone have experience with calling them and asking to squeeze in sooner than the posted appointment times? I'm heading out of the country again on Sept. 23 and would love to do it before then.

I got it sorted out.. for those of you who might have the same problem, keep checking the interview schedule calendar. An earlier time opened up and I snagged it.

Which airport were you looking at? I hope JFK isn't booked solid :eek:

anyone know if there are plentiful kiosks in Boston?
 

Hi,

Just wondering if there were GE kiosks in all the international arrivals areas in Boston? I've read a lot of this thread, but not all, so I apologize if this duplicates any previous posts.

DFW

Hi,

The second post in the thread would have led you to the answer ... but here it is again:

http://www.globalentry.gov/locations.html

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

Of course you'll need to look at the appointment schedule, but the schedule was wide open when I did my JFK interview in July 2010. I picked a saturday and there were no other people around the time of my appointment. In fact the agent commented that she just had ~3 appointments all day long.

The office is in the T4 terminal and is hidden behind a wall. Just ask the "info" desk if you can't find it easily.

After my interview was done, I celebrated by visiting the Oasis Club. :D

Big problem with Global Entry
 

I had my first experience with GE yesterday coming in from Europe. Less than 10 minutes from Plane to Curb. It was too quick. Because our flight was also 10 minutes early, I beat the driver not only to the lobby, but caught him pulling into the parking lot.

Now I know I either need to walk slower or notify the service in advance that I tend to clear early.:)

Funny story. A colleague of mine recently applied for Global Entry. He is a very respectable guy but was shot down hard at his interview because his wife had been arrested at the San Ysidro border crossing 3 years ago with a van load of illegal aliens. He was utterly clueless. She had concealed the entire incident from him. He was literally dumbfounded. Turns out it was true. They have family problems now and he will not be getting Global Entry.

Not sure I'd class that story as "funny", I'm surprised he found out the reason and even made it to the interview though (his wife probably was as well, if she'd been hiding the entire incident)

Thanks ^

Due to being a GE member, the following was possible yesterday:

1. NRT-DTW arrival @ 1330
2. Made an SDC connection to the 1410 DTW-BWI flight and got home hours before my originally scheduled 1730 flight (which was delayed until 1930)

Without GE, I would have been stuck in the SC for 5 hours.

Hello Fters,

I had my interview at SFO just a few days ago and it went smoothly.

I am self-employed, so I brought a couple of years of tax returns, plus my mortgage statements to establish residency. Didn't need them.

There's a letter you must bring to the interview. Didn't ask for that.

He asked me how many times in the past five years that I went to certain countries, vacation or work, how long each trip was.

Went smoothly and effortlessly.

Now I just need to book an international trip!

David

Hello FTers,

Rather than getting lost at SFO, I thought I'd let you know where the Global Entry office is.

INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL. Park in Short-term Lot G -- that farthest lot. When you take the garage walkway on level 3, you'll wind up on level 2 of the terminal. Head towards "Arrivals Lobby" and before you get to the Arrivals Lobby, you'll see a big banner that says, "Global Entry." You do not have to take any elevators, escalators, stairs... same level.

And there you are.

David