If you fly or go on cruises at least one or more times a year and hate waiting in lines as much as I do, then keep reading. This blog post is for you!
I first found out what “Global Entry” was from a doctor at work (If you’re new here, I’m an ER nurse!). If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that a while back I was supposed to visit a friend in Europe earlier this year that I hadn’t seen for a while, and discovered it was actually significantly cheaper to book two separate flights (St. Louis to Chicago and then Chicago to Germany) than it was to fly from St. Louis to Germany, especially when I would’ve had a layover in Chicago anyway. Obviously, this trip unfortunately did not happen due to the pandemic. But my biggest issue is that on the return flight, once I landed in Chicago, I had less than 2 hours to make it through customs, find my luggage, recheck my luggage for the next flight, potentially have to go through security again, AND find my gate.
If you’ve ever flown internationally before, you know that sometimes customs can take a LONG TIME. And sometimes it can be super-fast. You never know. One time coming through Atlanta after going to Bonaire, customs took up almost our entire 3-hour layover, leaving us enough time to grab a quick bite to eat and immediately board the next plane. Another time on our way back from Costa Rica, we made it through customs in less than ten minutes and I was kicking my own butt for choosing such a long layover and having to walk around and twiddle my thumbs waiting for the next flight.
I didn’t want to chance it. The past times I’ve been to Chicago airport (O’Hare), lines had moved at snail-speed. I was afraid of that happening again and me missing my flight, thus being stranded until the next available one. Sounds not fun, right? Especially since I was already nervous about traveling *alone* for the first time.
I was talking about these fears to one of our doctors who travels quite a bit, and he simply said, “Why don’t you apply for global entry?”
And I was like…what the heck is that?
He explained the process to me; basically, to sum it up for all of you, Global Entry is a program from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival back into the United States. So, when you enter customs, you’ll be directed into a much faster line, and proceed to a kiosk to verify fingerprints and passport. With Global Entry, you’ll also be granted TSA Pre-check, which means faster security lines prior to a flight with less restrictions. My favorite perk is…I don’t have to take my shoes off OR take electronics out of my bag!
Though the goal is to speed the process up, as always, you can be randomly checked for further inspection. Heck, I used my TSA pre-check for the first time during my trip to Maine and was actually selected! They drug tested a few of my items such as my phone and laptop, as well as waved one of those wand thingies around me. Don’t worry guys, I passed!
So, if this all sounds interesting to you and something you would like to do, let me explain the process!
After mentioning it to my parents, we decided all three of us should apply since we tend to travel together. I did a quick google search for “application for global entry”, and truthfully selected the first one I saw, which was globalentryprogram.com. I’m pretty sure this was a service with an agent that handled your application for you, but it was clearly legit considering I now have a Global Entry card. You could use this site or go directly to the cbp.gov website. It looks like it costs $100 there – I paid $169 for the agent service. If I could go back, do more research, and do it differently to save a bit of money I probably would, but I will say that I was approved in less than two weeks, whereas other people I’ve talked to said they had waited over 6 months to hear back. I’m not sure if using the agent made a difference or not, I just urge you to make sure you’re using a REAL service and not getting involved in a scam, because they need quite a bit of your personal information for the application.
After you’ve been approved, you’re not done yet. You still have to do an interview. These are done at nearly every international airport or customs centers in the country. However, don’t be surprised if you have to travel a way to find somewhere with an open interview. Prior to covid, we were looking at doing an interview in St. Louis, but when I checked in March of last year, the soonest available one they had was for November 2020! So, don’t be afraid to check other states, because some are more likely to have openings. I actually almost drove to Alabama for mine! Remember, my trip was in April, so I was in a bit of a time crunch! However, then the country shut down, including Global Entry interviews, soooo that didn’t happen…
Global Entry re-opened in May or June, and even though my trip had been postponed, we obviously still needed to do our interviews since you only have 12 months after being approved to complete it or else you have to start the process all over again. We managed to snag interviews in Chicago at O’Hare for late July, and even booked train tickets and a hotel to do some exploring while there…but then they closed them down AGAIN!
Obviously we were well aware that we are in the midst of a pandemic, but that doesn’t change the fact we were getting quite frustrated. We continued to be patient…
Finally, they opened them again in September. We didn’t hesitate to pick a day and I immediately booked all three of our interviews at the Customs Buildings in Downtown Chicago (other people must have had the same idea as me because O’Hare was almost completely booked up!). We didn’t get a chance to stay in Chicago since we went the day after I got back from South Carolina and I had to go back to work that weekend, but we still made the best of it!
Our train was cancelled due to a hurricane (it originated out of New Orleans) so we ended up having to drive. I will say, if you’re from Southern IL like us, try to take the train if possible! Not only is the drive horrendously boring, but parking in Chicago is insanely expensive. If you do have to drive, try your hardest to find street parking with a meter, because between the two parking garages we used for the day we spent about $80 on parking alone. The Customs Building is walking distance from Union Station, and everywhere else you can interview is a short Uber ride away.
We got there early enough to do a tiny bit of shopping as well as walk to The Bean (which is actually called Cloud Gate). Be aware that due to Covid, it was currently gated off, or at least was whenever we were there, so we weren’t able to get up close.
Though our interviews were at 1, 1:15, and 1:30, we showed up around 12:30/12:45 and they got all three of us in early and at the same time. If you’re doing them at the Customs Buildings, when entering you’ll go through a quick security checkpoint, then they’ll direct you to an elevator to go up for your interviews. You’ll sit in a room and wait for your name to be called, then be led back to a cubicle for your interview. I was quite nervous but it was actually surprisingly informal and not scary at all. They look through your background check, ask you a few questions about yourself, why you’re getting global entry, etc then you’ll be fingerprinted and they’ll give you your Known Traveler Number. You’ll get a card in the mail in a few weeks that you’ll need to activate, but keep track of your number because you’ll need to give it for plane tickets (if you’ve already booked a flight, you can go into your flight information and update it or you may be able to whenever you check in. I’ve not tried it for a cruise yet but I assume it’s the same process). Don’t forget to wear a mask!
I almost forgot to mention that you can actually do this interview at customs after getting off an international flight if you’ve already been approved, no appointment necessary (if they are open, obviously)! You could also try to schedule it during a layover if that airport has appointments. I also want to add that you don’t have to “dress fancy” for this interview. They understand people like to dress comfy when they are flying, so by all means, show up in leggings and a hoodie if you want!
Global Entry is good for five years after your next birthday, so if you apply shortly after, you’ll have almost six years before having to renew it. Since I’ve obviously not had to do that yet I don’t know much about that process, but I’ve heard that you may have to re-interview.
After the interview, we rewarded ourselves with our first Chicago deep-dish pizza experience at Giordano’s and then made the long drive home. I hope I’ve given some useful information! If you decide to apply, I would love it if you let me know how your process went. I have only gotten to use the TSA Pre-check four times so far and it was awesome, so I’m really hopeful things will start to open back up soon so I can use my flight credits from trips that have been cancelled and put my Global Entry to use!
When I go back to Chicago someday (believe it or not, although I live in Illinois, this was the only time I’ve gotten to really visit Chicago besides going to the airport!), I would really like to…Visit the Skydeck at the Willis Tower (used to be called Sears Tower)
Go on a First Lady Cruise
Visit Navy Pier
Go to the Shedd Aquarium
Visit their beaches
Go diving in Lake Michigan
Try out other deep-dish pizza places to see which one is the best (do you have a favorite?!)
Go to Garfield Park Conservatory
Check out a few of the museums
Paddle board or kayak the Chicago River
I hope you enjoyed this blog post! If you have any other must-do’s in the windy city, please let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to keep me updated on your Global Entry process! Thanks for reading!
ALSO, wanted to add this in here: I’ve gotten a surprising number of requests for outfit details, amazon finds, and travel must-haves. That’s definitely not something I ever expected! I’m flattered that you all think I have good style, haha! My goal is to try to post an extra blog post a month from here on out with FIVE of my favorite finds for the month, whether it be a cute swimsuit, luggage, earrings, dress, etc. I also plan to go back to some of my old posts and add in outfit details, so if there’s a trip I’ve been on and you wanted to know where I got something, go back and check! I never intended for this to become a “fashion” blog but I do looove to shop and would enjoy helping you all find some affordable options! I am still working on this, so stay tuned!
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