I admit to having a somewhat irrational fear of government bureaucracy, especially now, during Trump 2.0, when people have been detained during seemingly routine bureaucratic visits and whisked away without due process. Granted I am a white, older, American-born, middle class woman so much less of a target in Trump’s America than an immigrant and/or person of color. I’ve also been wary of bureaucratic ineptitude, a perception stoked sadly by the Trump administration’s distain for government AND its decimation of government, with mass firings of federal workers.

So I was surprised that getting Global Entry – which will allow me to bypass long lines when re-entering the country after an international flight – was a piece of cake. Not that this is necessarily typical. I got lucky. My husband applied at the same time that I did and is still awaiting word that he’s jumped through the first hoop (“conditional approval.”) In my case, conditional approval arrived via email a day after I applied. I’m told this is the luck of the draw. Sometimes three members of a family will get conditional approval swiftly while a fourth member has to wait awhile.

Even the next step went well for me: a face-to-face appointment with immigration folks, either in downtown Chicago or at O’Hare. I picked O’Hare and today I made it to the airport and back in two hours, with a bonus: a surprise email received on the Blue Line train notifying me that my Global Entry was approved! It helped that everything went unexpectedly well with transportation – no horrific traffic jams on the drive to the Western stop of the Blue Line at 8:30 a.m.; the O’Hare El train came just as I arrived and took about 35 minutes; the 25 minute trek to the Global Entry office, a drab office tucked behind a baggage carousel (#12) in faraway Terminal 5 (international flights) was easy. I arrived 35 minutes before my 10:20 appointment and hunkered down in the sterile waiting room, but was called within five minutes.

Although I’d been warned that the immigration interviewer would be taciturn, mine couldn’t have been more pleasant. (Apparently my early arrival worked well for him.) He verified some application information and corrected one error that listed Chicago as my birthplace. (It’s Detroit). I piped up that I forgot to list one country (among others) that I visited during the past 5 years on my application. No problemo. He asked if I had a criminal record or immigration violations and then took my fingerprints (using a scanner to get images of my thumb and four fingers of each hand…my first experience fingerprinting). Then he patiently answered my questions (several about why my husband’s application process wasn’t as swift). And away I went after about 10 minutes. He told me I should hear back later today or on Sunday – after my fingerprints were screened by the FBI (or some such).

The Global Entry is good for five years and also includes TSA Precheck, so I can avoid the longer lines at security when arriving for a flight. I’ve rarely found the lines that awful but friends urged me to get global entry since we travel internationally a lot. But I probably won’t use mine until my husband’s goes through so hoping that happens soon! And now, if only, there was a way to avoid the sometimes long lines at customs/immigration when arriving at Heathrow and other international airports.

Here’s the official spiel: Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trusted Traveler Program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. The application fee is $120, and membership lasts for five years. All applicants must undergo a background check.
 

Available to use at land borders

Global Entry Benefits

Available at major U.S. Airports

Reduced wait times in expedited processing lines

TSA Precheck access