I believe you can do interview on reentry. DD got conditional approval within 24 hours. Her international trip is scheduled for August. I believe you do not need to schedule an appointment since they have designated line for those with conditional approval. Just schedule your arrival during business hours that is until 10:30pm at the airport she will be arriving.
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Co-worker just came back from Morocco on vacation - Covid
Co-worker currently stuck in Switzerland on business trip - Covid
We applied for Global entry about one month ago and got our conditional approval within a week. We are having to drive about 6 hours to get our interview for both of us on the same day. Atlanta is only 4 hours away but we could not get two slots within a week of each other so easier to drive to DC…
We just downsized and purchased a townhome…now redoing floors/painting the townhome and getting ready to list our old house. If we sell it we plan to head to Argentina/Chile for a month or more in December…Fingers crossed.
We travelled quite a bit during Covid and it was never too onerous to get the test but I do feel it was for show only. Several times we were stuck in passport control in a small room with hundreds of others…
But I assume DH cannot get an interview on re-entry until he is conditionally approved, right? He has yet to receive the first step approval that allows you to schedule the interview step.
Take a video slot.
In 2021 my Global Entry was due to be renewed. I received conditional approval and there were no available slots. I waited a bit and rechecked - not slots in my area or within a reasonable drive. Video interviews were available. I set an appointment.
Appointment day, from logging on to completion took less than 5 minutes.
I am not sure if video slots are only for renewal, but if available, I highly recommend.
Pretty sure video is renewal only.
Not necessarily global entry - but I’ve found that the mobile passport app gets you out of the immigration area equally as fast. Not too many people are using this as far as I can tell.
Last month, H and I flew back from Spain - he went through Global Entry while I used the mobile passport app. We were both our roughly the same time. Of course, we then had to wait for bags 
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I’ve yet to apply for the Global Entry, sheer laziness here, but in the pass when I travelled using business class tickets, I never had to wait in line, they just waved me through. That’s one benefit of paying higher price, in my case I used points.
I like getting TSA Precheck due to having Global Entry. Not really needed here in Maine, but great in places like Austin.
Also, it counts as ID at the airport so I won’t have to go through the Real ID hassle until I feel like it. I’ve been using my GE card just to make sure that’s the case, and it is.
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Our first three flights to Europe post-retirement were overnight flights, so the TSA lines were quite short in early evening.
Our next flight is at 10:45 AM, so we are fully expecting TSA lines for as far as the eye can see.
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Your passport can be used as ID too.
I’ve had Real ID licenses in three states. Not a hassle to get at all. Passport is all I needed. I think the states that haven’t implemented just haven’t updated the technology. Hassle for the state, not for the drivers.
Denver airport has three big TSA areas. One is a bridge you walk to the gates, the other two take you down to the trains (so the biggest number of people). One of those is now TSA-precheck (or CLEAR, or Global) only. Not sure if the other area still has one lane of Pre-check only too. Probably.
Correct. He needs conditional approval
D could not get a Real license ID at age 25 with her birth certificate, passport and proof of residence. She needed to have two proofs of residence - which she does not have because she shares an apt and only one utility is in her name. This was Ohio.
My D had the same problem. IL finally allowed a bank statement mailed to the house and her bursar bill to count as proof of residency. She tried three times before finally being successful. Last time she waited for 6 hours. It was ridiculous.
I ran into the same thing. The bills are in my husband’s name. Fortunately I had a piece of junk mail and the letter they had just sent me telling me I needed the real ID.
Tip for those who are struggling to obtain real ID: we have found that most (every?) state will provide online a list of acceptable documents with instructions. Our kids have obtained real ID in the states of IL, OH and MN so here are those examples:
https://publicsafety.ohio.gov/static/bmv2430.pdf https://realid.ilsos.gov/publications/pdf_publications/ex83.pdf
REAL ID - Required Documents
For those who rent, a renter’s insurance policy with the name and address of the renter usually suffices for one proof of residence, but check your state’s list of documents to be sure. In MN (not sure about the other states), a recent lease agreement in the renter’s name works as well.
Don’t forget to provide proof of social security number either via a recent pay stub or, even better, your social security card.
Our driver’s license expired in 2020. At the end of February, I had a hair appointment that was next door to the Secretary of State where you get your DL. Even though my license wasn’t to expire for months, for some reason I decided to go in and get my real ID.
It was probably one of the last things I did before everything shut down. The SoS was shut down the rest of the year, my husband had to renew his on line.
Not a big deal, he can use his passport when we fly. But it’s one of my last memories of normal life.
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I know I could use a passport, but the Global Entry card is small, the same size as my driver’s license.
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In PA they recommend you send yourself a letter for the (additional) residency proof.
I’m not rushing to get a real ID license. It’s a PITA at our DMV. My family all have passports, passport cards and global entry cards which work for airline ID purposes.
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