US Global Entry Program for Australian citizens [from 2025]

[desafinado74]

Hi everyone,
As part of the background checks, do they require you to disclose traffic offences?
I asked since i recently got a fine and loss of 3 demerit points for beating a red traffic light (Actually it was my dad who committed the offence, but the car is under my name)
Would this affect my success of getting Global Entry?

 

[DC3]

… i recently got a fine and loss of 3 demerit points …
Would this affect my success in getting Global Entry?

 

[Princess Fiona]

Hi everyone,
As part of the background checks, do they require you to disclose traffic offences?
I asked since i recently got a fine and loss of 3 demerit points for beating a red traffic light (Actually it was my dad who committed the offence, but the car is under my name)
Would this affect my success of getting Global Entry?

Traffic fines/ demerits don’t generally cause any issues for ESTA/ GE etc.

OT but it’s an offense to take a speeding fine / demerits if you were not the driver.

 

[desafinado74]

Traffic fines/ demerits don’t generally cause any issues for ESTA/ GE etc.

OT but it’s an offense to take a speeding fine / demerits if you were not the driver.

Thank you for replying. That's good to know.

Haha yeah, I think I will dob in my dad to the Fines Dept

 

[cbowron]

Hello all! Question for the forum! I received conditional approval in phase one and completed my interview on arrival at LAX. I have now waited more than 2 days for the formal approval. Anyone else have a longer than expected wait from interview to formal approval? Just hoping for info or context! Thanks in advance

 

[justinbrett]

Used my Global Entry for the first time a few days ago (after the interview from my previous trip).

I don’t think SAN was a good example of it working. I used the mobile app and took a photo, was directed to use a kiosk which took another photo, and then when speaking to the officer he took a third photo.

That said, no questions from the officer other than “do you have anything to declare”, and it was all very quick.

However absolutely loving TSA PRE. Game changer.

 

[Spacetravel]

I want to do my EOA at JFK, my flight is scheduled to land at 10:30PM.
The website says:
Terminal Four West Wing, Area A
Terminal Four East Wing, Area G
24 Hour Operation

Is it really 24 hour operation, they will conduct the interview at 11:30PM?
This would be ideal to do it as the rest of my travels in/around/out of the USA are on a tight schedule so I won't have the time to do it after this for a while.

 

[justinbrett]

I want to do my EOA at JFK, my flight is scheduled to land at 10:30PM.
The website says:
Terminal Four West Wing, Area A
Terminal Four East Wing, Area G
24 Hour Operation

Is it really 24 hour operation, they will conduct the interview at 11:30PM?
This would be ideal to do it as the rest of my travels in/around/out of the USA are on a tight schedule so I won't have the time to do it after this for a while.

The people that do the interviews are just standard CBP officers, and not all airports do it in back rooms. I did mine at SFO and it was done at an ordinary booth. Really no reason they couldn’t do EOAs 24/7 if there are flights arriving.

“Interview” is a strong word. First I saw an agent to do my ESTA arrival, and then I saw a different officer 2 booths down for the “interview” which is really just taking fingerprints and photos and a generic question about why you want Global Entry. They’re not making any decisions.

 

[sansnom]

I feel you. My wife's AU check was done last night, but hasn't got conditional approval from CBP yet, despite being born in a friendly nation. Her whole maiden name is only 4 letters long, and I'm sure there are lots of false matches. Let's hope we'll get through the process soon!

My wife's global entry is finally approved, here's the timeline:
Jan 31 - Applied through TTP, received AusCheck invitation, submitted background check info
Feb 05 - Notification of AusCheck started
Feb 06 - Notification of AusCheck cleared
Jun 24 - Conditionally approved
Jun 25 - Interview at an enrollment center near the land border
Jun 27 - Approved

She was told that she won't receive a GE card, so she cannot use the SENTRI or NEXUS lanes at the land border. It seems there's no way for her to apply for SENTRI without forfeiting Global Entry (GE), which is really a bummer for us. We don’t want to give up GE since it includes TSA Pre, but we cross the land border pretty often.

Feels like foreigners (other than Canadian or Mexican) are stuck in this weird edge case where you can only pick one or the other. GE provides expedited processing at airports, and SENTRI offers the same at land borders. Sadly, one can’t have both.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

She was told that she won't receive a GE card, so she cannot use the SENTRI or NEXUS lanes at the land border. It seems there's no way for her to apply for SENTRI without forfeiting Global Entry (GE), which is really a bummer for us. We don’t want to give up GE since it includes TSA Pre, but we cross the land border pretty often.

That seems very, very odd. Now look I’ve got Nexus so cannot comment on how Global Entry works for non-US residents but I would be surprised if a Brit or a German applying for Global Entry doesn’t get that physical card. For one thing it’s invaluable for WHTI travel. All I have to do is flash my Nexus card and I can board a flight to Canada (from the U.S.) or versa vice. Maybe this is an Australia only limitation. It could also be how you did the interview since land border is generally not the preferred way of getting these cards. Indeed, when I first applied for Nexus back in 2016 I did my interview at Pearson Airport rather than at the Buffalo border crossing because I was warned of degraded experience.

Feels like foreigners (other than Canadian or Mexican) are stuck in this weird edge case where you can only pick one or the other. GE provides expedited processing at airports, and SENTRI offers the same at land borders. Sadly, one can’t have both.

For clarity, someone with a Nexus card not only has access to expedited lanes for crossing land borders, but they also get TSA pre-check and global entry too. Indeed, until quite recently it was the cheapest way to get all of this (only costs $50 CAD every 5 years).

-RooFlyer88

 

[BrianQQ]

but I would be surprised if a Brit or a German applying for Global Entry doesn’t get that physical card. For one thing it’s invaluable for WHTI travel.

All foreigners who apply for Global Entry do not have get a GE card.

Only U.S. Citizens, U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents, and Mexican nationals are issued Global Entry cards.

 

[sansnom]

It could also be how you did the interview since land border is generally not the preferred way of getting these cards. Indeed, when I first applied for Nexus back in 2016 I did my interview at Pearson Airport rather than at the Buffalo border crossing because I was warned of degraded experience.

Honestly, we didn’t think about the difference between land border and airport enrollment centers at all. My wife chose the land border one purely for convenience, we live near the US-Mexico border, and they had same-day appointments available. The nearest airport one was booked solid until late August. Plus I had my first NEXUS interview back in 2010 at Niagara Falls and had a good experience, so we didn’t really give it a second thought.

We’re not flying internationally probably until November when we visit her parents in Australia, so enrollment on arrival isn’t an option right now. She didn’t want to wait because we’re flying domestically to Buffalo next week.

I grew up in a Canadian town closer to Buffalo airport than Toronto Pearson, and my parents are still there. We usually fly into Buffalo and drive across the land border. It’s way more convenient and much cheaper. The kids and I all have NEXUS, so my wife is the only one left out. I guess she’s in a rare rare edge case that a non-US/Canadian/Mexican citizen who crosses the land border often.

Anyway, the officer at the GE/SENTRI enrollment center seems super knowledgeable. She told my wife that, as an Australian citizen without US LPR, she has two options:

• Global Entry: includes TSA Pre, but doesn’t work at land borders [1]
• SENTRI: works at land borders, but doesn’t include TSA Pre [2]

Not ideal, but even if we’d known, we’d still go with GE. TSA Pre is way more useful for us since we fly domestically way more often than we cross the land border. Actually, she applied for SENTRI in Jan 2024, before Australians were eligible for GE. It stuck "in processing" forever, so she withdrew it and applied for GE instead as soon as she could.

[1] GE card is required to use SENTRI/NEXUS lane at the land border, but "Only U.S. Citizens, U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents, and Mexican nationals are issued Global Entry cards."
[2] SENTRI is available to all nationalities, but only US citizens and US LPR are given access to TSA Pre and GE lane at the airport.