The Basic Proposition

Global Entry is a CBP program that expedites your reentry processing into the U.S. after international travel. Instead of queuing up with everyone else to get your passport stamped, you go directly to a dedicated kiosk — or now, use a mobile app — scan your passport and fingerprints, stand still for a few seconds while the facial recognition system does its thing, and you're done. The whole process takes under a minute. Then you go get your luggage like a normal person.

If you travel internationally more than once every few years, Global Entry is worth it. The current fee is $120 for five years — the first increase since the program launched in 2008, which tells you something about the value. That's $24 a year, or roughly the cost of a mediocre airport sandwich. There's also a meaningful bonus: Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck, which means expedited screening on domestic departures as well. You're not just buying faster arrivals — you're buying a smoother trip in both directions. If you already have TSA PreCheck, your new Global Entry number becomes the known traveler number for both programs — your old number and membership get retired. And when you renew your Global Entry membership, it automatically renews your TSA PreCheck membership as well.

Applying: Easier Than It Sounds

The application is a three-step process, and the first two steps are only marginally more invasive than applying for a credit card. Go to the CBP Global Entry website, create a Trusted Traveler account (or log into one you already have from a TSA PreCheck application), and fill out the application form. It asks for basic identity and employment information, your passport details, five years of travel history, and any criminal records. It took me about fifteen minutes.

Once you submit and pay, CBP runs a background check to make sure you're not on any watch lists. If you're clear, you get a conditional approval — at which point you can proceed to the final step, the in-person interview. When I applied, the conditional approval came back in a few days. Current processing times have improved considerably over the backlog years — most applicants now see conditional approval within a couple of weeks, sometimes faster.

The Scheduling Problem

Here's where Global Entry used to be genuinely frustrating. After conditional approval, you have to complete an in-person interview at a CBP enrollment center — and for a while, the wait for an appointment slot was measured in months. When I applied, the closest facility (Baltimore) was eight months out. I found a slot in Newark in three months and put it on my calendar while Janet quietly researched a better option.

Appointment availability has improved significantly since then — the fee increase has helped CBP hire additional staff, and the backlog has worked down. But "improved" doesn't mean "immediate," and scheduling an interview at a dedicated enrollment center is still the slowest path through the process. There are better options.

Enrollment on Arrival: The Smart Move

Once you have conditional approval, you don't have to schedule an enrollment center interview at all. If you have international travel coming up, you can complete the interview when you land back in the U.S. through a program called Enrollment on Arrival. It's handled right there at the immigration checkpoint — you go through the usual process, complete the Global Entry interview at the same time, and walk out with your enrollment finalized.

This is how Janet and I handled it. We had a trip to Barbados with flights through Dulles, and Dulles participates in the program. When we landed, we followed the signs to the Enrollment on Arrival line, waited our turn, went through the interview, and that was it. No appointment, no separate trip to an enrollment center, no drive to Newark.

Enrollment on Departure: The Newer Option

CBP has since added a third path: Enrollment on Departure, which allows conditionally approved applicants to complete their interview before they board an outbound international flight, rather than waiting until they return. Dulles was the first airport in the country to offer this, and it's now also available at Miami International. If you have an upcoming international departure from either airport and you're sitting on a conditional approval, you can knock out the interview on your way out of the country — no arrival line, no separate trip.

At Dulles, the Enrollment on Departure office is at Gate B41 in Terminal B, staffed daily from noon to 8 p.m. Bring your passport and a proof of residency document — a driver's license with your current address works fine. Give yourself extra time before your flight.

What It Actually Looks Like

Our first chance to use the newly minted Global Entry status came on the return from a European river cruise. Our flight was the only arrival at the time, every CBP station was staffed — not exactly the scenario that makes Global Entry feel essential. But I had a skip-the-line pass and I was determined to use it.

While our fellow travelers queued up, I walked to a Global Entry kiosk, scanned my passport, put my fingers on the scanner, stood for the facial recognition check, and that was it. Less than a minute. At Dulles there's still a brief stop at a CBP agent after the kiosk, but it's a dedicated Global Entry line, it moves fast, and the agent essentially just waves you through. I barely broke stride.

I still had to wait for my luggage. By the time it arrived, everyone else from our flight had already cleared through immigration. Global Entry didn't actually save me any time that particular trip — but I've decided that if I'm going to wait for anything, I'd rather it be my bags than a passport stamp.

Traveling with Kids

Every member of your family needs their own Global Entry enrollment to use the expedited lanes — you cannot bring unenrolled family members through the kiosk with you. The good news: as of October 2024, children under 18 are exempt from the application fee when a parent is already enrolled or applying at the same time. If you're applying for yourself and bringing the kids along, you pay $120 total, not $120 per person. That's a meaningful change for families that was long overdue.

Renewal

Global Entry is valid for five years. You can renew online up to a year before your expiration date, and once you submit the renewal application, your status is automatically extended for 24 months — which matters if your renewal requires a new interview. Not all renewals do, but if yours does, the Enrollment on Arrival and Enrollment on Departure options are available for renewals as well as first-time applicants.

The Federal Government Being Efficient

One thing that comes up: if you have privacy concerns about providing biometric data to CBP, worth noting that the federal government already has nearly everything Global Entry collects — your passport application covers most of it. The reason you have to provide it again is that passports are processed by the State Department and Global Entry is a DHS/CBP program. Did you expect the federal government to share a database?

I didn't let it stop me, and I'd make the same call again.