We have our conditional approval, now we need to schedule our interviews.
I have 2 options.
One) go to a border crossing, they have interviews on Mondays and Fridays. It’s 3.5 hours away. Not that big of a deal, we can drive there easily enough.
Two)we have an international trip in June and will be coming back into the country in Miami on a Monday.
I have precheck, my husband does not and had a lovely pat down the last time we went through TSA.
Would you chance that we would be able to get our interviews on our return to the US or drive to the border crossing before the trip?
My DD was planning to do interview on arrival to SFO but they didn’t have agents available and she was arriving mid day. She ended up scheduling an appointment at our large airport and making a trip just for this appointment. It was not 3.5 hours drive but with our traffic was really close.
We did our return interview in Miami and it was easy! You go through the normal passport control, turn left and the room is just down the hall. We waited about 15 minutes. The only question I was asked was were was my hometown as the agent was from a big city in our state and had never heard of it. He didn’t ask my husband anything.
Similar scenario for us - interview options 3.5 hrs away. We only fly internationally 1-2 times per year. Line using MPC (mobile passport control) app on phone was just as fast as Global Entry line last year. Even though MPC is not available everywhere, we have had only fairly short waits at regular entry. Decided the difference in time spent in regular/ MPC lines (over several years for us) is far less than the drive time for Global Entry interview. We do have TSA pre check and feel that is worth it - we had nearby interview options and fly more within US.
Global entry is only helpful for entry if you have TSA. If you have applied for Global Entry and have not had your interview, you can go to the Global Entry desk upon return and they will let you through. They often don’t have time for an interview, especially if your flight arrives after business hours, but you still get the Global Entry benefits of not waiting in line. Your husband will still have to go through the regular security line on your outgoing flight.
My family just showed up at the interview location (Nashville) and they interviewed them without an appointment. I noticed that they weren’t very busy when I was interviewed and told them to try it. The officers grumbled a little, but it worked!
The interviews are done at the enrollment centers, which are listed here: Global Entry Enrollment Centers | U.S. Customs and Border Protection If you will be flying through one of the listed airports, you can dig in further and figure out which terminals, etc. My son did his on a long layover flying back from Japan, and it was easy.