Global Entry is a program offered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and provides expedited U.S. Customs and Border Protection screening for international air travelers when entering the United States
From U.S. Customs & Border Protection: “At airports, program members proceed to the Global Entry lanes where processing technology will be used to expedite the members by capturing a photo to verify their membership. Once the photo has been captured, the member will receive on-screen instructions and proceed to a CBP officer who will confirm that you have successfully completed the process.”
Travelers must be pre-approved for the Global Entry program. All applicants undergo a rigorous background check and in-person interview before enrollment.”
Global Entry membership is good for five years. The Homeland Security website lists current wait times for processing applications for Trusted Traveler programs.
- CBP Trusted Traveler Programs application processing consists of two steps: application vetting and an in-person interview with the applicant.
- The application vetting process normally occurs within two weeks after submitting the application.
- If additional review of the application is needed after vetting, a manual review of the application is required and processing time for completion of the manual review is currently between 12-24 months, depending on the program. At that point, the applicant will receive either conditional approval or a denial.
However, renewals are a crap shoot. You can start the process during the last year of your previous enrollment. No worries, you will not lose time on your last membership as the five-year clock begins on the expiration date of your current membership.
At the end of 2022, we sent in the information to renew Sharon’s Global Entry, expecting a long wait. She emailed the application and payment on a Tuesday received a response that Thursday (in 2 days), with an approval that didn’t require an interview.
I wasn’t counting on that luck when renewing my Global Entry, so I applied months before the expiration date.
Renewing your Global Entry membership is relatively simple. Most of the information from your previous application is on file. However, you do have to go through every section of the application to make sure the information is current. For example, I needed to update my Driver’s License information and current employer.
The most time-consuming part of the application is listing all of the countries you’ve visited since your previous application. I’m glad I keep track of our travels with Tripit. The only places you don’t need to list are Canada, Mexico and anywhere you transited for less than 24 hours.
My list isn’t that bad considering there’s a period of time when we didn’t travel anywhere.
I paid the application fee with my AMEX Platinum to use the $100 Global Entry reimbursement. I submitted my application on Saturday evening. On Monday morning, I received an email saying my application had changed status.
I logged into my account, and my renewal application was approved. Just like Sharon, I didn’t need to go for an interview.
I know many people wait months for their Global Entry initial application and renewal requests to be approved. I count us extremely lucky that our renewals were processed within days of submitting them online.
I suggest sending your renewal application online with plenty of time to spare. You don’t lose any time on your previous membership and have time to plan if you need an interview. If your application is approved quickly, you have one less thing to worry about.
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7 comments
My husband and I were up for renewal last June via an email sent to us.. WE did so and I got approved and my new card came in a week., My husbands is still pending an interview ????
They also do zoom interviews now.
I got a zoom interview within a week and immediately got approved.
I applied for renewal in November and it is still pending.
I applied for a renewal towards the end of January & it’s still pending today
@Joe, Yeah, I definitely agree with all your points. Renew ASAP since the validity stays the same and the process is random. Between friends and family, renewals have run the gamut – some renewed within days of submitting, while others spent a year in pending status. Some needed to re-interview, while others didn’t.
My renewal last month took 2 days – submitted on a Friday and approved on a Sunday. No notice was sent that it was expiring and I didn’t know it expired while on a trip until I was returning to the US and border agent told me so in a less than friendly way. So watch you expiration dates.