How To Fly Through the Airport by Warren Bull
Getting to my recent cruise in
the Baltic Sea my wife and I breezed through the US airport. In Holland we
squeezed into a mob of people and then trudged along a serpentine path with
long line of travelers waiting to go through immigration. Back in the United
States we went back into a line. Fortunately the US Customs agents were great. It
reminded me about the programs designed for travelers who want to get through
airports in the United States without having to perform a partial striptease
and wait anxiously, like a character in a Hitchcock film, while the departure
time gets closer and closer as the seconds slip away.
Global
Entry: It’s the most expensive program, at $100 for
five years, but it comes with the best benefits, i.e. you can avoid the long lines
at passport control and customs when entering the United States. You can also
use TSA PreCheck, Nexus, and Sentri (all explained below). The process of
applying for Global Entry, which is administered by US Customs and Border
Protection, also tends to be faster than the other programs.
Who’s
eligible: US
citizens and permanent residents, and citizens of Germany, the Netherlands, Panama,
South Korea, and Mexico. But only Americans can get the PreCheck benefits.
TSA PreCheck: TSA stands for the Transportation Security
Administration, the people who screen you and your carry-on baggage. PreCheck
gives you access to a special TSA security line in most US airports on flights operated by most US airlines. (check the link given below for details.) That line is
generally shorter, faster, and you don’t have to remove your shoes or take
anything out of your bag. Be prepared to put your call phone in the carry on
luggage that gets scanned. It costs $85 for five years, slightly less than
Global Entry but without the other benefits. Applying for PreCheck also tends
to take longer.
Who’s
eligible: US
citizens and permanent residents.
Nexus: If you want to save money and aren’t in a rush
give this option serious consideration. It costs just $50 for five years and comes
with all the same benefits as Global Entry and PreCheck. On the down side, the
application process tends to take several months and can only be completed in a
few cities near the US-Canada border. Nexus is designed to expedite crossing
onto either side, with special lanes for cars and special kiosks at passport
control in both US and Canadian airports while Global Entry only works when you
cross into the United States.
Who’s
eligible: US and
Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Sentri: This program expedites
crossing from Mexico into the US. It’s similar to Nexus, including the Global
Entry, PreCheck, and Nexus benefits, but costs more (roughly $122.25 for five
years).
Who’s
eligible: US
citizens and permanent residents.
For
Global Entry you apply on the Global Online
Enrollment System. If you haven’t created a GOES account before—and you probably
haven’t—then that’s the first thing to do. Once you have an account, log in.
The process will take about one hour unless you type as badly as I do. You can apply for several of the
programs listed above. Make sure to select “Global Entry” when filling out your
application. The form is lengthy and should take you about a half hour to
complete. Most of the questions are straightforward, if you have your passport
and driver’s license on hand and a decent memory. The trickiest part requires
you to detail your employment and residency history for the past five years.
After completing the questions you will be asked for credit card
or bank account information to pay $100. There is no refund if you’re rejected.
But the fee covers you for five years, if you are approved. Some credit cards,
generally those designed for frequent fliers and corporate travelers, will
refund your Global Entry or PreCheck fee.
Speaking of rejection, the government says it will reject anyone
who has been convicted of a crime, has violated customs or immigration
regulations, or is under investigation by law enforcement. You will also be
rejected if you provide false information on your application, so spend some
time getting that right. Of course, customs and border control agents also have
discretion to reject anyone they declare isn’t a “low risk.”
The time it take for your application to be reviewed can
generally be measured in days and not weeks. You will receive an email when
your application is reviewed and have to log back into GOES to read the
message. If everything went well, it will say that you have been conditionally
approved, pending an in-person interview.
Then you schedule an interview at one of available offices. The
website give you the locations possible.
Wait times vary widely by location. Some locations will accept
walk-ins from people who were conditionally approved online. To save yourself a
needless trip, try searching online for people’s experience with that specific
enrollment center.
The interview is easy. You may be asked a few basic questions
about how you travel, your employment status, etc. But you wouldn’t have gotten
this far in the process if you weren’t already destined for a rubber stamp.
At the end of the interview, if you’re approved, the officer is
required to take your fingerprints. You cannot enroll without completing this
step.
At the end of the interview point, enjoy the benefits of
PreCheck. While waiting for the invention of the transporter or the magical
creation of floo powder, one of these options should help you avoid long lines.
I can remember when flying used to be fun!
ReplyDeleteArriving at the airport & going through the check-in procedures was part of the adventure. While customs was always a bit of a pain, it didn't used to be terrible.
I've cut back on my travel considerably, and a great deal of that can be traced to the difficulty of going through the government procedures. If there's another reasonable way to get there other than flying, I will go that way. And I have to really want or need to go someplace that requires flying.
I wonder how many people are like me, and have cut back from several flights a year to one every few years.
Thanks for the information, Warren. I might just have to look into the Global Entry -- although getting to one of the offices would be something of a hassle.
ReplyDelete~ Jim
Wow! Warren, this is terrific information. I had heard about Global Entry but was under the impression that it was $100 a year. We don't travel out of the country enough to pay yearly. But for five years--worth the cost of admission.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Interesting Warren. I haven't flown out of country for at least eight years now. I don't remember having any problems with those flights. I'll have to check into this the next time I go overseas.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I both have TSA pre-check, but we just flew for the first time since his recent knee replacement surgery. Even with TSA pre-check, he has to go through the twirly booth, so he had to remove shoes, belt, keys, jacket, etc. Cane also had to go through the machine, but they gave him a fluorescent green replacement cane to get through the booth. The green cane resulted in great hilarity, because it was a foot shorter than his own. Trying to use it, it bent him over so much that his head and his rear end could not both fit in the booth. Luckily, the cane was more for helping other people remember not to jostle him than for actual balance, and he was fine. It was a learning process.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it's our age or not, but we get TSA Precheck every time now. We didn't do anything, we just get it. It's very nice!
ReplyDeleteMary Feliz, we don't remove anything, just take stuff out of our pockets and go through the scanner because we both have fake knees, and I have other fake parts. They wand us afterward, which takes two seconds.
ReplyDelete