Seeking global travel status at SFO? Good luck
Global Entry is a federal program that speeds “trusted travelers” through U.S. immigration and airport security checkpoints, but some people trying to complete the final step — an inperson interview at an enrollment center — have been unable to book an appointment.
When you try to find a time slot at San Francisco International Airport, the only enrollment center in Northern California, the website simply says, “no appointments available at this location.”
In fact, when I checked several times Tuesday and Wednesday, there were no interview slots available at 25 of the 89 enrollment centers nationwide, including all three in Ohio and all five in Illinois. Six states with a single enrollment center had no appointments available. Ten states
have no enrollment centers.
On the flip side, there were appointments available this week at four of Minnesota’s five locations. All four in Michigan had slots open in the next two months and all four in Southern California had them between now and Jan. 30.
Global Entry and other “trusted traveler” identity-verification programs run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection “are experiencing an historic increase of new applications and renewals. These record numbers, combined with the partial government shutdown (in December and January) and the additional deployment of CBP personnel in response to the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis on our southern border, created a considerable backlog,” Nate Peeters, a spokesman for the agency, said in an email.
The enrollment center at Los Angeles International Airport was closed for about five months this year so staff could be sent to the border. The center partially reopened on Monday “and is currently conducting 150 daily interviews,” Peeters said. At full capacity, it can handle 250 interviews per day.
Frank Falcon, a spokesman for the customs and border agency in San Francisco, said via email that the lack of appointments at SFO “has nothing to do with the diversion of CBP officers to the border.”
Global Entry lets you take a shortcut through immigration when you return from abroad to major U.S. airports including San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland. It costs $100 for five years and includes a fiveyear membership in TSA PreCheck, a separate program that costs $85 by itself.
PreCheck lets passengers go through expedited security checkpoints at more than 200 domestic airports without having to put shoes, belts, light jackets, laptops and allowable liquids in a bin. It’s managed separately by the Transportation Security Administration.
Many credit card issuers reimburse customers for their Global Entry fee, which has likely increased demand. American Express and Chase declined to give any stats on how many cardholders they’ve reimbursed.
To enroll in Global Entry, you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and fill out an application. Once it has been conditionally approved, you will have one year to complete an interview. (Note: You might have to log back into the website periodically to see if you have been approved.) The interview itself generally takes about 10 minutes. You’ll be asked a few questions, fingerprinted and photographed.
PreCheck has a similar enrollment process, but its enrollment centers are staffed by outside contractors, and there are nine in the Bay Area (plus a few roving popups), so it’s relatively easy to get an interview appointment or be seen without one.
Global Entry centers are another story. Even in the best of times, it could take months to get an interview, but availability varies widely by center. Some aren’t booking appointments past March or April; others are booking them well into next year. Peeters explained that “enrollment centers manage appointment calendars locally.”
If you can’t book an appointment on the Global Entry website, there are several options.
One is to keep checking constantly to nab a cancellation. On Thursday morning, I saw one appointment for Dec. 29 at SFO, but when I checked back a minute later, it was gone and none were available. It’s not clear how far into the future the SFO center is booking; during that minute, I was able to look ahead on its schedule and saw no appointments through 2021.
You could also follow a Twitter bot that sends out alerts when an appointment opens up. There’s one for SFO called @GOESbot; it is unclear who runs it.
Another option is to simply show up at an enrollment center, and hope they can squeeze you in. You could be waiting for minutes or hours, or go home without being seen. Global Entry hours at SFO are from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., seven days per week. The office is in the international arrivals lobby, level 2, toward the G side garages.
If you’ve been conditionally approved, but can’t get an interview before you travel abroad, you could opt for “enrollment on arrival.” This program lets conditionally approved applicants complete their interviews when they arrive from a foreign trip at participating U.S. ports of entry, including San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland airports. You don’t need to schedule an interview; just follow the “enrollment on arrival” signs when you arrive.
These centers have limited hours, generally timed to coincide with international flight arrivals, but if your flight is late, there’s no guarantee it will be open.
Another way to skip the oftenlong lines at immigration, without enrolling in Global Entry, is by downloading the CBP Mobile Passport app from the Google or Apple app store onto a smartphone or tablet. You first enter passport information into the app. When you arrive at a participating U.S. airport (including San Francisco and San Jose but not Oakland), you select your arrival airport and airline, take a selfie and answer some questions. You will get a QR code on your phone that you take to a Mobile Passport Control express lane. Mobile Passport is free but doesn’t get you the benefits of TSA PreCheck.
Peeters said his agency is trying to reduce the backlog of applications and renewals. “We are currently processing between 100,000 and 200,000 applications per month. For new Global Entry applicants, about 65% of applications are processed within zero to 15 days, and about 3035% of applications require more than 90 days to process,” he said in an email.
In April, his agency extended the validity of Global Entry memberships from six months to one year beyond the expiration date, as long as the member submits a new application before his or her membership expires. “During the oneyear extension, Global Entry cards will remain valid for use,” he said.
Global Entry has another benefit that could be increasing demand. Starting Oct. 1, 2020, you can no longer board a domestic flight by showing only a regular stateissued driver’s license or identification card. Instead, you will need an enhanced “Real ID,” issued by your state or other another approved identity document such as a passport or Global Entry card. (TSA PreCheck does not qualify).