Welcome View of TSA Administrator on Security for Rail Passengers

[jis]

First application.

I guessed so. Because the last time I renewed it took me around a week to have the entire thing processed and do a walk in interview at MCO.

 

[jebr]

I probably should have done a better job articulating my situation. I already have Global Entry so that part is understood well enough. My main motivation for purchasing Nexus would be easy access to Canada while maintaining trusted traveler status (and PreCheck) for half the cost when GE expires, assuming it's not a major pain. My main reason for purchasing GE status was the absurd clusterfork regular travelers faced at IAH. These days I don't travel as much as I used to, rarely fly through Houston (bye bye UA), and I've noticed the non-expedited reentry process is fast enough for my needs with or without status.

It requires going to specific enrollment centers, mainly in Canada or along the US/Canada border. Sometimes they'll have a registration event at a Canadian embassy or consulate, but those seem to be pretty random and not very predictable.

There was an email a couple years ago looking to raise the price to $85, but I haven't heard of any updates (and it still seems to be $50 for now.)

 

[Anderson]

Nexus, IIRC, covers only entry from Canada and costs $50 to apply. Global Entry covers entry from any country, costs $100 to apply. Here's a link to the Homeland Security page with info on the various programs--all of which are valid for 5 years.

Global Entry requires an in-person interview, following "pre-clearance." It can take months for the pre-clearance to come through, and then another wait for an interview appointment, (days, weeks, or months depending on where you are aiming to do the interview). Unless you're flying home from another country anyway in which case you can do the interview without an appointment at many US international airports.

Nexus covers Global Entry and has reciprocal privileges when entering Canada (since you have to get the GE vetting). I've been able to use the relevant lines when coming back from Europe, for example.

 

[zephyr17]

Nexus, IIRC, covers only entry from Canada and costs $50 to apply. Global Entry covers entry from any country, costs $100 to apply. Here's a link to the Homeland Security page with info on the various programs--all of which are valid for 5 years.

Global Entry requires an in-person interview, following "pre-clearance." It can take months for the pre-clearance to come through, and then another wait for an interview appointment, (days, weeks, or months depending on where you are aiming to do the interview). Unless you're flying home from another country anyway in which case you can do the interview without an appointment at many US international airports.

NEXUS includes both TSA Precheck AND Global Entry privileges. You get interviewed by both US Customs and Border Protection agents AND Canada Border Services Agency agents in order to get it. Basically you get the Global Entry background check and plus a Canadian background check.

It is by far the most inclusive and the best deal. The big drawback is the only NEXUS interview locations are at US/Canada border stations and a few large cities close to the Canadian border, such as Seattle, whereas there are Global Entry interview locations around the country.

This is because the NEXUS interview locations must be staffed with both US and Canadian officers.

I am a NEXUS member and have used the Global Entry privileges it confers.

 

[jis]

If one has the time and inclination to go to Canada for an interview then NEXUS is the way to go. Since I seldom go to Canada Global Entry works better for me.Of course you also need to be a US or Canada citizen or permanent resident, or a Mexican citizen who is a member of the Mexican trusted traveler program. Global Entry allows citizens of many other countries to become members and confers to them TSA Pre privileges when they are traveling in the US.

I was really surprised to find that there is a Global Entry registration office in Abu Dhabi and that even Indian Citizens who travel to the US on a non immigrant visa (e.g. F1, H1 or J1) are eligible to get Global Entry. Abu Dhabi has US pre-clearance. Who knows? If the oft rumored US pre-clearance comes to pass in Delhi there might appear a GE registration office in Delhi too! [emoji57] I am not holding my breath on that though since permitting officers of another country to be stationed on Indian soil is politically incendiary given India’s colonial history.

I had used all of those visa types before I got my GC, though I never actually entered the US using H1. Just had the status for a short time. It would have been really nice to have had GE back then.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

NEXUS includes both TSA Precheck AND Global Entry privileges.

I believe this is only true if you're an American citizen or permanent resident.

It requires going to specific enrollment centers, mainly in Canada or along the US/Canada border. Sometimes they'll have a registration event at a Canadian embassy or consulate, but those seem to be pretty random and not very predictable. There was an email a couple years ago looking to raise the price to $85, but I haven't heard of any updates (and it still seems to be $50 for now.)

Any comments on ease of scheduling, average wait and duration, depth of questioning, approval guidelines, etc? I'll never forget the first Canadian agent who reveled in the opportunity to accuse me of looking for a job, health care, and/or wife. The irony being that I'd been gainfully employed and insured since before she was born and would sooner shoot myself in the face than risk marrying someone like her.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I believe this is only true if you're an American citizen or permanent resident.


Any comments on ease of scheduling, average wait and duration, depth of questioning, approval guidelines, etc? I'll never forget the first Canadian agent who reveled in the opportunity to accuse me of looking for a job, health care, and/or wife. The irony being that I'd been gainfully employed and insured since before she was born and would sooner shoot myself in the face than risk marrying someone like her.

 

[railiner]

If one has the time and inclination to go to Canada for an interview then NEXUS is the way to go. Since I seldom go to Canada Global Entry works better for me

I was really surprised to find that there is a Global Entry registration office in Abu Dhabi has US pre-clearance. Who knows? If the oft rumored US pre-clearance comes to pass in Delhi there might appear a GE registration office in Delhi too!

I am not holding my breath on that though since permitting officers of another country to be stationed on Indian soil is politically incendiary given India’s colonial history.

Abu Dhabi has US pre-clearance. Who knows? If the oft rumored US pre-clearance comes to pass in Delhi there might appear a GE registration office in Delhi too! [emoji57] I am not holding my breath on that though since permitting officers of another country to be stationed on Indian soil is politically incendiary given India’s colonial history.

In that case, couldn’t they set it up at the US embassy, which is considered “US soil”?

 

[jis]

In that case, couldn’t they set it up at the US embassy, which is considered “US soil”?

The issue is the pre-clearance center at the Airport. It would be pointless to set that up at the US Embassy, since it is where the processing of passenger departing to the US and their baggage would typically be carried out by the USCBP. There has been discussions in India about this issue already and generally an area effectively in control of another sovereign on Indian soil (other than Consular operations) is considered unacceptable, so US pre-clearance is unlikely. Considering that there are only 3 or 4 non stop flights to the US a day at Delhi, it also make little sense given that all airports in India are operating near capacity and have gate and space shortages anyway.

For Indians coming to the US it would be far more useful to have pre-clearance at Dubai and Abu Dhabi (already there) than in Delhi or Mumbai anyway.

 

[jebr]

IAny comments on ease of scheduling, average wait and duration, depth of questioning, approval guidelines, etc? I'll never forget the first Canadian agent who reveled in the opportunity to accuse me of looking for a job, health care, and/or wife. The irony being that I'd been gainfully employed and insured since before she was born and would sooner shoot myself in the face than risk marrying someone like her.

Ease of scheduling varies wildly by enrollment center. Popular ones can be scheduled months out. However, less popular ones can have next-day availability. Both my spouse and I interviewed (during different seasons, since we applied at different times) at Warroad, MN, and scheduling was pretty much wide-open within their open hours. The interview took about 10-15 minutes on the US side, and 5-10 minutes on the Canadian side (since it's only reasonably accessible by car, they have you drive from the US checkpoint to the Canadian checkpoint to do the Canadian interview.)

Questioning was pretty much entirely on the US side with the US officer; the Canadian process was surprisingly low-key compared to the US interview (which seemed pretty equivalent to what I'd expect a Global Entry interview to be.) For me, I don't recall if there was any direct questioning on the Canadian side; it was almost entirely just reviewing the rules and guidelines of using NEXUS. My spouse had some questioning, but nothing that sticks out as problematic, and overall milder than even the routine US questioning. It was basically making sure that we understood the rules and responsibilities - it seemed as though the border interview was mainly a formality, and that the paperwork and background check done before conditional approval (all online) was where the decision was essentially made. That said, I don't know if it made a difference that my spouse was with when I interviewed, and vice versa when she was interviewed, though we weren't married at the time of either interview.

 

[jis]

Global Entry interviews, specially the first one, can vary widely from something similar to what jebr describes for NEXUS, to some really weird questioning asking for details dating back to the Naturalization process (for Naturalized citizens), and early Social Security Tax collection etc. These are mostly an attempt to trip up the applicant, specially if he or she is a Naturalized citizen. It is possible that these days they question birth certificates from border areas etc. too.

The officer (at EWR) who interviewed me claimed that Social Security tax was paid into my Social Security account before I was a citizen. I responded that of course it was, since Social Security is supposed to be paid when in H1 status. Then we went over the dates of those and he was happy. I don't know what he would have done if I was clueless about the laws and /or I had bad memory. So just a heads up, most likely it will be nothing, but if you have had significant interaction with the US Government on matters of immigration and citizenship, it is a good idea to remember the details. For the renewal the interview was in MCO. It was an unscheduled walk in and the officer just reminded me of a few terms of use, and reminded me to update my new Passport number and any new address information in their records when those change. That was it.

 

[jebr]

Good point, @jis. My interview experience is based on having US citizenship via birth in the US (and not in a border area,) having a very light travel history (only a couple of trips to Canada at the time, and no other international trips,) and before much of the recent strictness with CBP. I've read of that being more variable and stricter for those with more extensive travel history or other variables which the CBP may decide are worth asking about.

The couple of crossings I had before NEXUS were sent to secondary on the Canadian side, and those were not brought up during my interview (on either the US or Canadian side.) It didn't seem like that was an issue in getting NEXUS.

 

[jis]

Although not brought up at the GOES interview, CBP officer at EWR once called me back after stamping my Passport (pre-GE days) and observed that I traveled a lot abroad. I responded that I represented a Fortune 50 Company at several international standards consortia who tend to hold their meeting at many places that are not in the USA. So it is part of my job. He was happy to learn that I suppose, since he did not pursue the matter further.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

My own interview involved open ended security questions but also questions about the applicant who went before me (that I didn't know) and a request for paperwork I didn't have. Figuring out precisely what they wanted and where to find it was a tedious and time consuming process. It also involved wasting money on a third government agency that didn't have what I needed but also wouldn't tell me that until I paid them a fee to look. Eventually I found where to purchase my own paperwork a second time and the final approval was processed.

 

[jis]

Just FYI on the current state of the renewal process for Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check, I applied for Global Entry renewal on Friday. I got Conditional Approval today (Monday) with 365 days in which to complete the interview. I got an appointment in MCO in April. The earliest available was mid March. My current GE remains active until early 2021 or until renewal whichever happens earlier, given the one year grace period that they have thrown in to cover for their workload related delays. Of course TSA Pre-Check associated with the same PassId remains active for the duration too.

BTW, the documents they listed to bring to the interview are the scheduled interview acknowledgement letter, Passport, Driver's License (or any other acceptable document - a list is provided) establishing residency and optionally the current Global Entry Card. The last one is not necessary