It seems Indian citizens on visa can apply for global entry program to fast track entry at the US ports... any recent applicant out here who can share your experience? I was researching online and it seems an applicant have to visit passport office in India to complete background check formality. This formality seems very stupid considering large Indian population living in the US on work visas... Any suggestions if an application for global entry is worth the hassle while on H1B visa in the US?
I don't think it's worth the hassle if you go outside US only once a year. Moreover in my experience if I walk fast enough after getting of at Port of entry, I usually end up being 4-5th person to go through immigration. I applied last year in Oct and it is pending on India side. Someone explains it online how it goes through different branches of govt and why it is very slow.
Its closed because of govt shutdown
I have global entry being an Indian citizen. It can be useful at times but not a must have. TSA Pre depends on the airlines. Not all of them participate with TSA pre.
Don't you need to be a permanent resident to get it?
No, citizenship from certain countries which include India are eligible
I wonder why India needs to run another background check on applicant Indian citizens. Does India has dedicated PreCheck lines at any airports?
Because even 1 case of mistake that leads to a serious crime (eg terrorism) can shut down the whole program and damage India US relations. Basically a trade off between security and convenience which we see in many other places too.
Security is understandable. I guess assumption of coordination in security from two counties is too much of an ask? How forcing an applicant to get to India for fingerprints adds to security? Some of us are living in US for years. (A decade in my case) An applicant needs to do fingerprinting and background check with DHS any way. The process sounds to me more of bureaucratic incompetency. I was just looking up online and some Indian applicants reported having to wait for almost a year and some are still waiting and others are paying bribes to get around the slow speed. What a sham.
Its good if you are a frequent traveller alone. But if you travel with someone who doesnt have the membership then its not worth it.
I took it last year, have been enjoying TSA pre since then. But not been using it in immigration since my visa and 797 dates are different.
I got it last year. You have to be physically present in India and attend a interview at a passport office but after that you don't need to be there to complete all the background verification processes, which includes local police, CID, finance ministry and ministry of external affairs. After everything is completed which in my case took approx 6-7 months, you then would have your application status changed to conditionally approved which means you are now eligible to visit any global entry interview locations in US and next day it becomes effective.
Why do you consider it at all? Do you travel daily? Do you care if you waited for 15 minutes more? Is it a big deal?
It has TSA pre-check benefits. Should help skip security lines during domestic travel as well. I remember spending 3 hours in line during my last trip :(
You don't need to travel daily to benefit.