Global entry, Nexus, Sentri, Fast trusted traveler program

[QuarterMillionMan]

Weird that both of California's enrollment centers at Calexico and San Diego "no appts available." The nearest center is in San Luis, Arizona about 5 hours drive. And the next available appt is mid-March. Looks like a road trip with a 1-night hotel stay in Arizona.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

So weird note, DH and I got approved for renewal for our Nexus without interviews. DH came in 2 weeks, mine took weirdly like 8 weeks (i'm not canadian). But both our kids have to have interviews and because of different birthdays i renewed DK1 first and she's got an appointment made in December 2021 in march 2022. And DK2 can't get an appointment since they shut down. DK1 had pre-approval for nexus renewal in January 2021, then appointments opened and I grabbed one in december for March. DK2 well sorry to say was not pre-approved until later in december and no appointments thanks to covid again. UGH>

[QuarterMillionMan]

LAL that is wonderful getting approved for your renewals for both of you for Nexus without interviews. I was wondering if renewals needs to reinterview and from you post I see renewals need to interview but in your case you got so lucky.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Persistence pays off in my case and I got an appointment for May. San Diego which is my closest location didn't have any time slots unitil 2023. I was contemplating driving 8 hours to Arizona which had time slots beginning in June 2022. But I kept at it checking weekly or sometimes daily checking the San Diego location and I guess someone cancelled in May and jumped on it and secured it. I'm happy to get an appointment is San Diego. They could still deny me after my interview but I still have hope of getting Sentri which is all I can ask for (lol).

[QuarterMillionMan]

Yesterday I went for my Sentri inteview in San Diego and today it got approved, I'm happy. The agent was more interested in my previous record than rather than my interest in the program. Disneysteve was correct and I followed his advice saying that I am applying for Sentri to avoid the long lines. The agent instead wanted to know more about the undercover cop that arrested me asking if she was pretty, how it happened, how she was, etc. I just played along and answered his questions. He said they allow 2 misdemeanors but a felony automatically disqualifies applicants, if anyone cares to know.

[james.hendrickson]

Well, I guess thats some good news.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Ha-ha yes James, I am happy.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Hope this helps someone else but it's too late for me with a benefit of being approved for Sentri. I have the passport card (about $40), passport book ($130), and now Sentri $125. The passport card is good for land or sea (no air travel). The passport book is good for air, land, & sea. The Sentri is good for all as well. Now I realized that I didn't need to get a passport book since I have Sentri. As for Real ID, it'll be another 4 years before I get it as well but with Sentri I won't need to renew a passport book which I just received but saving me $130 for the renewal in 10 years (i wish I knew this ahead of time) but maybe someone might benefit from my mistake.

[Drake3287]

My wife and I have had Global entry ever since it came out. Great for airport Pre-check and passing the through the US Customs line faster.

[QuarterMillionMan]

California bill would block CLEAR which is seen as an "equity issue of the haves vs have nots." I have Sentri and often when the pedestrian line to return to the USA from Tijuana is 2 or 3 hours long and with Sentri I can walk to the front of the line I sort of feel guilty but I had to go through a criminal history background check in addition to paying the $125 fee which is good for 5 years. Not sure if CLEAR has a background check or just a fee which could be why California wants to ban it but if someone has CLEAR it may not be accept in California.

Bill would ban Clear from California airports' general security lines (usatoday.com)

[kork13]

California bill would block CLEAR which is seen as an "equity issue of the haves vs have nots." I have Sentri and often when the pedestrian line to return to the USA from Tijuana is 2 or 3 hours long and with Sentri I can walk to the front of the line I sort of feel guilty but I had to go through a criminal history background check in addition to paying the $125 fee which is good for 5 years. Not sure if CLEAR has a background check or just a fee which could be why California wants to ban it but if someone has CLEAR it may not be accept in California.

Bill would ban Clear from California airports' general security lines (usatoday.com)

I have Clear, and while it's nice .... I admittedly don't much see the point. It's basically just a remake of TSA pre-check (which is great & worth every cent ... just not having to take my shoes off & pull stuff out of my bag is worth it, let alone the shorter line). Yes, getting handwalked through security with typically zero line is great & extremely useful sometimes. But as Clear enrollment grows, it'll have longer lines as well & become effectively the same as Pre-Check.

That said .... what supremely high horse did Cali ride in on to cry "haves & have-nots" over a $190/yr luxury subscription service & start demanding a ban on it?? Too much contradiction & hypocrisy to bother listing it out. I mean honestly.... What's next? Fiber internet vs. cable? Amazon Prime? You've gotta be kidding me.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Ha-ha sorry kork I'm just the messenger so don't blame me, lol. But $190 a year, yikes. And yes I've seen the CLEAR staff at the security check points personally walk its customers through the security check points with no line and I would think to myself it would be nice to have CLEAR but $190 a year is a hefty price to pay but it sounds worth it for yourself. Myself probably not worth it since I might fly once or twice a year.

[Like2Plan]

California bill would block CLEAR which is seen as an "equity issue of the haves vs have nots." I have Sentri and often when the pedestrian line to return to the USA from Tijuana is 2 or 3 hours long and with Sentri I can walk to the front of the line I sort of feel guilty but I had to go through a criminal history background check in addition to paying the $125 fee which is good for 5 years. Not sure if CLEAR has a background check or just a fee which could be why California wants to ban it but if someone has CLEAR it may not be accept in California.

Bill would ban Clear from California airports' general security lines (usatoday.com)

It doesn't sound like they want to outlaw it, but rather just get CLEAR to provide their own security line: "Newman's bill, SB-1372, would require third-party vendors like Clear to get their own dedicated security lane, separate from the one used by general travelers."
That would most likely increase the cost of CLEAR. The article said it is currently $189.00 per year. They had some sort of security cur-fluff-al a couple of years ago.

Here's one incident: "But CLEAR also received some bad news. In July, the story broke that in 2022 a man had bypassed CLEAR’s verification system using a false identity (he was subsequently caught by TSA trying to bring live ammunition into Washington’s Reagan National Airport). A probe by TSA uncovered two other instances of failed identity checks at CLEAR facilities."
link to the Dec 5, 2023 article: https://slate.com/business/2023/12/c...-congress.html

Another article: "That’s the incident that started the TSA’s investigation into CLEAR’s practices. Based on the investigation, the TSA flagged almost 49,000 CLEAR customers who were enrolled despite facial recognition software flagging them as non-matches, representing roughly 1% of users.
This caused the TSA to conclude that these methods were inherently inferior to how the TSA checks the IDs of travelers."
link to article published July 28, 2023: https://onemileatatime.com/news/tsa-...rity-concerns/

The article linked above also stated; "For the time being, the TSA has increased the random ID checks for CLEAR travelers. While the initial plan was for all CLEAR travelers to have their IDs checked starting in late July, the timeline for that has reportedly been pushed back."

So if CLEAR members have to get their ID checked by TSA anyway, I'm not sure what value added CLEAR is providing beyond what pre-check provides.

Speaking of Pre-check... I have noticed that due to the popularity of the pre-check program, the Pre-check lines are sometimes longer than the regular lines.. Normally, that evens out because it takes less time to get your stuff through the scanning equipment at precheck (and you don't have to remove your shoes, etc).

[QuarterMillionMan]

Finally USA will make Mexico stop dumping its raw sewage into the storm drain which goes raw into the ocean in Mexico and San Diego gets it too. It is so stink in Mexico where I'll be there today and can be smelled in USA as well.

[ua_guy]

You should really watch something other than false and misleading news.

There are ongoing efforts to address the problem including $400 million granted last year to rebuild the IBWC treatment plant to keep up with demand. So while it's neat that the current EPA installation is kicking and screaming about the problem and making threats, there are smart people and money already committed to addressing the issue in a meaningful way.