On the 27th of June it was announced that Singapore was now part of the Global Entry program, which allows Singapore passport holders to use the specialย automated clearance kiosks when entering the USA. ย Being part of the Global Entry program also allows Singaporeans to enroll for TSA precheck, which may be useful for you if you travel frequently around the USA.
I travel to the US about 2-3 times a year and any opportunity to avoid encounters with surly immigration officials is much appreciated. So I sprung on the opportunity to apply. It cost US$100 and made me list down every single country I had ever visited, but I figured it was worth it. About a week after filling out the form, I received an email notification inviting me to log into the portal and check the status. I was conditionally approved, which meant I had to schedule an interview to finalise the application.
The interview is only scheduled to last 15 minutes. Great! And you can interview in Singapore. What could be better? Well-
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. As of 27 July 2016, the earliest slot you can schedule a Global Entry interview in Singapore is 25 October 2017.
I have no idea how many resources they devote to doing this (interviews are only held on Wednesdays) but a 1 year wait time? Wow. Just wow.
However, it is also possible to interview at any Global Entry enrolment center around the world. Since I’m going to be in the US in September, I thought I’d be clever and try to schedule something in Chicago, New York or Washington. No luck- the earliest slots available were in October 2016.
To be honest the need for Global Entry is not yet super pressing for me because of my APEC Business Travel card that lets me skip immigration queues in the USA, but misanthropes like me relish every opportunity to avoid human contact so this is far from ideal.
As of right now I am scheduled to do my 15 minute Global Entry interview in October 2017. So if you’re thinking of applying for Global Entry, don’t get your hopes up for fast approval.
Thanks Global Entry, I assume the question is rhetorical.
How long does it last you before you need to renew again? Can’t seem to locate it on that website.
Apparently I found it on another website – seems to be 5 years. http://petergreenberg.com/2013/08/20/global-entry-vs-tsa-pre-check-which-is-worth-it/
they just opened up the oct dates, when I tried to schedule my interview 2 weeks ago, only march 2017 dates are available
see my update- october 2016 might have something promising…
Yups…have rebooked myself to Nov ๐ . Do you know if a change of passport number would require a new applcation? Just realised my passport has only 1 year left on it
hey aaron, if you (touch wood) ever receive the infamous SSSSwedish Massage after you obtain TSA precheck, please do a review! ๐
oh believe me, if i get that there will be a lot of ahem wood touching.
If you WANT to get SSSS you should transit thru IST.
Bunch of people got SSSS after transiting in IST _AND_ using the same passport for flight going to US and/or within US.
I recently flew in to the States through DFW, and the customs clearance for those on ESTAs (like Singaporeans) was electronic. You go through a kiosk, enter your information and it gives you a slip which you can then give to someone at a counter. There was no queue. They had as many such kiosks at DFW as they had Global Entry kiosks
If they roll that out in other airports, Global Entry might become redundant.
yeah i know what you’re referring to- https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/automated-passport-control-apc
global entry would definitely be faster than this, but yeah you’re right that the marginal benefit is much smaller.
However, if your get the slip with a cross printed on it, then you still have to go through the long queue. I encountered it once and the reason for the cross was because apparently someone had a very similar name or something. The customs guy took one look it and more or less said the system was “wrong” in rejecting. So end up queue for nothing.
I travelled to the US this month with Global Entry and it was well worth having this. Entered the US at LAX and Global Entry line was somewhat faster than having APEC card, so you can save a few minutes here. The greatest benefit was traveling domestically and having TSA Precheck * (automatically part of Global Entry) where you can go through screening without having to remove shoes and laptops/tablets … generally going through much shorter lines and saving a lot of time and hassle. * When checking in, you need to inform your check-in agent of your known traveller… Read more »
Just applied for Global entry and got conditionally approved in <48 hours. First available appointment is on 1st July, with slots available every monday