The airport.
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Were you travelling internationally? I thought the interview for those who had a conditional clearance when returning to the US through US immigration (i.e., CBP).
We have an upcoming domestic flight, and I might try that too if it works for domestic travel.
The Mobile Passport Control app looks promising:
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No. We were there for Thanksgiving week. This was last Nov so maybe things have changed? I didnât know about the appâŠit looks very helpful!
When you go online to make the appointment you can choose any airport to see availability. When my family did our GE originally (around 2015/2016) we all went in together at our appointment and it was a quick and efficientâŠbasically a photo and finger printing session. Most of my family renewed their GE during COVID so no appointment just online renewal with new cards received in the mail. Son missed that opportunity so an appointment was required. They just reconfirmed all his infoâŠ.quick and easy.
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If your flight arrived during late morning at SFO, that is when many large aircraft from across the Pacific ocean arrive and offload passengers into the immigration and customs queues.
It was on a Friday eveningâŠheartbreaking line.
It took two seconds in front of the officer, and he said âWelcome home.â
I truly appreciate what they do, but after an international flight, just when you think youâre home, and then you see the line at immigration, itâs dispiriting.
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Presuming you mean Mobile Passport Control (MPC) | U.S. Customs and Border Protection .
I used it once recently on a flight from Canada to the US. At the US preclearance before departing, those using the app got to go to a shorter queue (which had no one in line when I go there). The regular queues (where one had to first use the kiosks and then queue for the agents) had some people, but not huge numbers of people.
Basically, the app asks you to answer the questions that would otherwise be asked by the kiosk (or previously on the paper form) before getting to the immigration and customs.
We love Global Entry! Last time we flew international I just had to scan my passport (no line for us). The TSA agent waved me through and said âWelcome home (first name)â.
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SFO has interview on arrival though I did mine many years ago (before that was an option) at the airport (thereâs an office in the international terminal).
Warning. If you are flying out of Seatac - it is a CLUSTER!!! TSA lines are out of this world, precheck or not.
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I returned from Mexico (thru Austin) last Feb and although the customs line was only 10 minutes, I saw the signs about Global entry and that if you had conditional approval you could get final approval. There were dozens of kiosks for the Global entry people to use, and no one using them.
So I applied and I think got the conditional approval within days. It said if I left the US I could get the final approval when re-entering, but the next appointment locally was in Sept. (so Iâm waiting). I did leave the US in April but returned by car. Ironically, one of the appointments I could have had was in a small post office in Washington state, and we went through that town, but it was a sunday.
So unless I go somewhere fun and exciting in Aug, I will have my appoint in Sept, just over 6 months after I applied.
I donât think there is any way to do it after a domestic flight. The place to get the conditional approval converted to approval is in the customs area, so no way for domestic passengers to get there.
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I think the distinction is that no appointment is necessary if youâre using the Enrollment on Arrival.
And thatâs only available when arriving to the US from an international flight.
We made an appointment at the Orlando airport bc they happened to have an appointment much sooner than our local airport. But you need an appointment no walk-ins. If one flies often domestically it can work well.
Yes, @mynameiswhatever said they are traveling on a domestic flight and would âtryâ it. I donât think you can do it anywhere at an airport except in the customs area, so no way to do it when traveling domestically.
I was trying to check for earlier appointments but I couldnât figure out how to do that without cancelling my existing appointment, which I didnât want to do. Iâll just wait until September.
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DH & I applied for Global entry exactly at the same time early last year. I received my conditional approval within a week. When I received my C.A., we decided to wait for his before making the interview appointments. We nearly always travel together anyway.
When his didnât come for months, he contacted the department to see if there was a problem, but told no, some just take longer. So after about 4 months, I decided to make my appointment. Nothing available at any nearby airports. Had to travel about 3 hours to the nearest available interview.
I asked the interviewer, why DH conditional approval might take so long, but they had no clue. His travel record, and mine are nearly identical.
When DH finally received his C.A. and tried to make an appointment, there was nothing available within 750 miles! We kept checking daily, to find a cancellation, and finally found one about 250 miles away. The location and timing happened to coincide with a wedding we were attending nearby, so we felt fortunate!
Thankfully we had no foreign travel plans that year.
Sounds like they have made some improvements to the application process since we first did it years ago (pre-Covid). Although our renewal was straight forward.
Applied for Global Entry last year. Application process was straightforward, conditional approval came through almost right away.
Appointments were a mess though - I was looking at appointments at Logan airport or any other location near by. Booked out for months. I couldnât book any - kept checking for a couple of weeks. Was planning to try to get this done when I was returning from my next international trip (around thanksgiving). But suddenly, I found several appointments open in early October at Logan. Coincidentally, one of them was on a day when I was going to the airport anyway! So, got the appointment and got approval shortly after.
I still think MPC is much better. D and I returned from Belgium last month - she had MPC and I had Global Entry. MPC line is almost non-existent at Logan - she got through very very quickly. A lot of the crew have Global Entry - they ended up in the same line as I was and since they get priority, I was out later than D! And then of course, we had to wait for bags 
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H and I both have TSA precheck and have used mobile passport over the years with pretty good success.
Iâm not sure if itâs the same thing, but I did my final interview (fingerprints, etc) for Global Entry at at the Phoenix airport a couple years ago and the office was in the main terminal, before security. Anyone curious could probably check an airport map for the location.
On our two international trips since then, returning through Miami and Dallas, the Global Entry process at immigration wasnât any faster than the regular lines. But thatâs relative, lines were short and moving fast either way and took us less than 10 mins. D was with us on one trip and doesnât have GE so she went through the regular line and came through at the same we did.
Weâre happy to have it regardless though, as you never know when lines will be more disproportionate.
I think it depends on airport and travel class. In business you are off well before the crew (and with Global Entry donât end up at the back of a line with other flights that arrived a bit earlier). I mostly travel with carry-on luggage only and I walk fast, at SFO Iâm usually curbside less than 10 minutes after the plane doors open, sometimes in less than 5 minutes.
You bring up a great point, GE is a huge time saver as long as you donât have checked bags. D20 came home for Christmas break during study abroad carry-on only and was through Terminal 5 at ORD in less than 20 minutes from de-planing.
Upon coming home from study abroad at the end of her time - it was almost an hour before she cleared. Not because of GE, she was through those lines in less than 10 minutes from de-planing, but because she was waiting for her 2 checked bags. Took forever, even for business class bags.
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Or if your checked bags are out on the carousel first because of your status with the airline or if youâre a business- or first-class passenger.
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