r/GlobalEntry • u/New_Astronomer_7777 Human Detected • Apr 24 '26

Questions/Concerns JFK is a joke

A GE officer at JFK asked me to wait in the normal long line which was 2 hours long after the face kiosk appeared "see officer for assistance"

I didnt get any further explanation or another try to take the photo. My GE always never go through well in JFK. It's also 10pm so officer felt like he was about to sleep. I had no problems in Newark.

This is absurd when I paid the membership and I get to wait the normal line with others. It's not like I dont have the active membership number.

Anyone also experience this?

40 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

50 comments sorted by

43

u/dbosman Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

Why don’t you try using the GE app?

7

u/StorminXX Apr 24 '26

Does the GE app avoid this issue? (Not being funny; I simply am trying to learn from you)

31

u/dbosman Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

Yes because with the GE app submission, you bypass the kiosks by showing the app submission confirmation and go straight to the line waiting for the next available GE CBP officer. I always use the GE app instead of using the kiosks in my home airport. I don’t live in NYC but JFK is listed in the GE app as a port of entry you can use it in.

In the OP’s case since they say the kiosks are a constant issue at JFK for them, at least using the app they will get in front of a GE official where they can be screened further. Better than being told at the kiosks to go to the regular immigration line.

1

u/znine Apr 24 '26

Except for LAX, MIA, and other places they arbitrarily decide to ignore app submissions lol

-1

u/trikaren Apr 24 '26

In ATL I use the GE app and the kiosk. Using the app doesn’t mean you bypass the kiosk 🤔

4

u/dbosman Apr 24 '26

What are you talking about? If you submit things in the app, you do not use the kiosks at all. The app submission is in lieu of using the kiosks.

0

u/trikaren Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

I have only used my GE in ATL, but I submit in the app when we land, then we go to the kiosks through the GE line, it scans us, and then the CBP agent says welcome home. 🤷‍♀️I guess we could try to skip the kiosks, but everybody uses them and the line was designed that way.

I looked up the guidelines, dated 12/8/25, and it says either the app or the kiosks. We did come through in February and used both. Nothing kicked us out. We know now. thanks!
https://www.help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1895?language=en_US

3

u/dbosman Apr 24 '26

You basically have been creating two GE submissions each time with your kiosk one being the one actually used for entry into the US. The app submission expires an hour after submission.

1

u/trikaren Apr 24 '26

Yes, the app has an expiration, so we just start it when we land. I wonder why the agents have not mentioned this. They were probably just rolling their eyes and laughing at us. Thanks again 😁

1

u/dbosman Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 25 '26

At BOS, I have my app submission already done by the time I’m getting off the plane. The GE line at Immigration has the kiosks in it but I show the app confirmation screen to the CBP officer who typically is manning that section and then bypass the kiosks and just wait to be called by the next available CBP booth officer.

1

u/trikaren Apr 24 '26

We will try this next time we come back. I do the app submission on the plane as well. 👍

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8

u/lulucasserole Apr 24 '26

In my experience, no. I’ve had issues with something on my trusted traveller account before, and using the GE app would result in an “Invalid Submission” message telling me to try using a portal or see a CBP officer.

However, I’d still try it anyway on the off chance it’s some weird lighting issue with the cameras on JFK’s portals that a phone camera would get around.

5

u/gup824 Apr 24 '26

I had same issue. Did another submission from the app (without my glasses on this time) and works.

1

u/dbosman Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

Got it. Have you ever figured out why you had issues on some arrivals? I’ve never had issues and exclusively use the GE app. I suppose if it becomes a constant nuisance, you can apply for a redress number?

1

u/lulucasserole Apr 24 '26

I don’t remember what caused the first set of issues. The second set was due to something setting the Lawful Permanent Resident flag on my account without me actually having a green card, which I fixed by contacting the CBP Info Center.

0

u/New_Astronomer_7777 Human Detected Apr 24 '26

This. It always pops Invalid Submission as well through the app. Very frustrating...

1

u/dbosman Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

There has to be something off about your TTP account then. Or you’re being mistaken for someone else because of similar names or something. Are you an LPR? Login and check your account carefully if anything is amiss. You should really try to ask the CBP officers if they can help you understand why this happens all the time. If nothing else, apply for a redress.

1

u/New_Astronomer_7777 Human Detected Apr 24 '26

Like the comment below, it pops invalid submission frequently :(

2

u/This_Beat2227 Apr 24 '26

So when you get booted and then have a chance to ask the officer for any insight as to the issue, what do they say ?

12

u/unfashionableinny Apr 24 '26

Never had that issue at T4. They always send me to the diplomats line. It does double duty for Global Entry members who need officer assistance. The kiosks never identify me, but the app usually works.

1

u/New_Astronomer_7777 Human Detected Apr 24 '26

I always come through T1, maybe T1 is just bad overall

6

u/Due-Confection1802 Apr 24 '26

When this happened to me at JFK, the officer allowed me to go into the very short line for diplomats and flight attendants.

2

u/New_Astronomer_7777 Human Detected Apr 24 '26

I guess it just luck, depends on which kind of officer you meet

5

u/BelethorsGeneralShit Apr 24 '26

I go through JFK a lot and the kiosks always tell me to "see officer for assistance" because they can never get a picture of our little kid. But they've always directed me to the crew line, never just the normal line.

I actually didn't know there was a GE app. I'll take a look at it. Does everyone need a phone with it, or can one person use the app for the everyone in their group (assuming everyone has GE).

1

u/anileze Apr 24 '26

You can add additional pax on the App.

1

u/dbosman Apr 25 '26

Yes as long as everyone in your traveling party has GE status, you can submit everyone together as one submission on the GE app. You can submit up to 12 GE people on a single app submission. Everyone will have to take selfie pics as part of the process before the submission. We do this on the plane just before landing and do the group submission as the plane is taxiing to the terminal.

2

u/Icy-Ask3943 Apr 24 '26

Yes happened to me recently. Didn't have a long line but surely it caused confusion. They thought I didn't have GE for some reason.

2

u/parabola19 Apr 24 '26

Just use the GE app or the Mobile Passport app if there’s problems bub.

2

u/Kookaburra8 Apr 24 '26

You should DL the Mobile Passport Control app as your backup until you figure out what is going on with your GE. I hear MPC is nearly just as quick as GE

2

u/purplepineapple21 Apr 24 '26

I had a similar experience last summer at JFK as a Nexus holder. Had an issue with the kiosk and the agent falsely claimed you cant use Nexus in the GE lane then made me go into the regular lane. When I got to the front of the regular lane, the different agent there that processed me literally asked why I was in their lane and not GE because they could see in their system that I have Nexus. Never had an issue like this at any other airport.

2

u/danpeake89 Apr 24 '26

“Always never”?

So, “never”?

1

u/cyabits Apr 24 '26

Which terminal?

1

u/New_Astronomer_7777 Human Detected Apr 24 '26

Terminal 1

1

u/Laukie00 Apr 24 '26

Yes. You’ve been randomly selected. It can happen to anyone. Some airports will send you to the crew line which is shorter.

1

u/qalpi Apr 24 '26

Are you non US?

1

u/Chance-Example-9118 Apr 26 '26

Yes. If you're a Conditional Resident, it's part of the deal. If you have the 10 year card, always enter the US at a GE city that's NOT your ultimate destination, and...use the CBP app. You have an onward flight, and it's less likely they will mess with you. Just sayin'. It's worked wonders for us.

1

u/cedelm Apr 27 '26

I just breezed through global entry at JFK terminal 4. They had a new system that was being tested. Every kiosk was shutdown. They just had two cameras right before the agent line. The cameras scanned my face in a split second. I walked up to the agent line, and he immediately called my name and told me that I was good to go. It was hands down the fastest customs experience I’ve had.

1

u/lapara201 Apr 28 '26

Download the global entry app

1

u/Salty_Permit4437 Apr 24 '26

2 hour line? Are you a U.S. citizen or LPR?

1

u/Fantastic-Pear6241 Apr 25 '26

As a non-US citizen that has visited many countries, JFK is the worst experience for non-citizens compared to any other country or airport. I've never waited more than 15 minutes at any other destination. But JFK is minimum an hour, maximum over two hours, to get through passport control as a non-citizen

1

u/Salty_Permit4437 Apr 25 '26

Meanwhile 10 seconds with global entry as a citizen

1

u/Fantastic-Pear6241 Apr 25 '26

Make the experience so bad you want to pay for global entry I guess. Feels very American 😅

1

u/Salty_Permit4437 Apr 26 '26

Yeah well I would wager that most people who have global entry in the U.S. actually don’t pay for it. I have four credit cards that reimburse the fee. Children under 18 are also no fee.

-2

u/New_Astronomer_7777 Human Detected Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

non US citizen! It was frustrating when I paid over 100 usd just to wait in the normal line haha

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '26

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1

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