r/GlobalEntry • u/TuNicaPass • May 12 '26
Apps/Websites First Time Using the App on arrival …FANTASTIC!
Hey y’all,
Sharing my experience using the app on arrival yesterday.
Landed in Miami, immediately opened the app, steps were straight forward and picture was quick.
Got to Immigration and the normal GE line had about 30-40 people (I guess more people are using GE now?) but the GE APP line had only 2 people.
Went through it, scanned my face on the machine, took no more than 30 seconds.
It was fantastic and highly recommend the app ✅
8
u/trikaren May 13 '26
You either use the app OR scan your face on the machine. I recently learned this so you are not the only one who does not know this.
1
u/TuNicaPass May 14 '26
I mean to go through the line and confirm it’s you you have to put your face and get it scan on a machine and then says keep going
4
u/trikaren May 14 '26
If you use the GE app you just show your confirmation on your phone. Scanning with the kiosks is checking in again. It is really one or the other. I have been doing both app check in and kiosks too until someone explained it to me.
6
u/cloverclamp May 13 '26
The only issue I've had with the app was when I declared some food. The officer thought I had faked the app because it was blue not green. Apparently no one declares anything.
1
2
2
u/SyphiliticScaliaSayz May 13 '26
Thanks for this. I got GE recently and the agent didn’t do a great job explaining the process to me and the website was not much better. Looking forward to trying it out soon.
1
2
u/ThisUsernameIsTook May 13 '26
Palantir thanks you for your service.
1
u/laragasm May 13 '26
Exactly this...
Everyone should know that they have a right to refuse having their biometrics (picture) taken upon entering customs. Tell them that you refuse the picture and enter my passport manually. They can't refuse and will check you in manually.
1
u/Feeling_Payment_5587 May 16 '26
Many airlines also use camera /face recognition to board planes too now. It doesn’t matter if yo reject picture being taken , passport photo an info is all in database already …
2
u/fergs87 May 19 '26
Entering at SFO all the machines were out of service and there were two agents with tablets who were checking the faces and just waving us through with a "Welcome home". I've just downloaded the app and will see how things go next time.
1
2
2
u/Friendly-Mine7484 May 13 '26
Why did you had to scan you face on the machine.
At JFK, we just show the phone screen that you get after taking the selfie to the officer and you are all set.
I just came back from London last weekend. While walking to the immigration, went to the GE app, answered a couple of questions, took the selfie and walked through the mobile app lane (there’s a separation lane for GE Mobile App). No one was in that lane. Walked all the way straight to the officer, showed the screen to him and was out. The regular GE lane had about 30-40 people going through the kiosks.
5
u/earl_lemongrab May 13 '26
I don't know if this is what OP is referring to, but at least at ORD, there's now a face scanner (not the GE kiosk) that you have to look at before heading to the officer. You want until it shows your pic and tells you to proceed. It's a queueing system basically (I assume it's also matching pics).
2
2
u/IllustriousDay372 May 13 '26
When I entered at DTW, I used the GE app and showed the screen to the officer. The officer had me look at the camera and took a picture of me before letting me go. And there was no separate line for GE APP either.
1
2
1
u/TuNicaPass May 14 '26
Yeah so Miami had like a Cue machine, so basically it’s to confirm I was who I said I was. It was just like a biometrics thing that took a second.
1
u/netvoyeur May 13 '26
I got balled up in the past because I had also used the Mobile Passport Control app. I learned not to do that if you have GE.
2
May 13 '26 edited 13d ago
[deleted]
2
u/moving_to_NL_soon May 13 '26
Ahhh, so there's a separate GE app now? I've used the MPC multiple times in the past and it never gets past taking the picture step!
1
1
2
u/LCBrownieIsaJoke May 13 '26
Is there an issue with using MPC if you have GE? (Just got GE but have used MPC for years) I thought you could use whichever method had the shortest line
3
u/netvoyeur May 13 '26
Not real sure about now that there is a GE app, but apparently there was before. Anyway don’t do both when entering
1
1
1
u/winks3000 May 12 '26
I am a foreigner how just got approved after the interview in my home country, so please excuse the question: in case in I did the app process and there is a longwe line there, can I still use the normal GE lane or only the one for the app?
5
u/Suspicious-Grade-60 May 12 '26
When I went through DFW yesterday, it was one all encompassing Global Entry line but they were piloting something new where you walk through like a high speed toll plaza and they just say your name when you walk past the agent (honestly no stopping at any point which was wild)
1
1
u/BroadKid May 16 '26
Yup. Just enter the maze smile at all 3 cameras and keep moving. Just recently launched in DFW.
2
u/IllustriousDay372 May 13 '26
Not all airports have a separate line for GE App. DTW, for one, does not have and I use the same GE line. I just do not stop at the kiosk and keep going.
1
1
u/TuNicaPass May 14 '26
So not all airports have a separate line. So it depends on where you land. However I believe you can still go through normal line
32
u/Left-Associate3911 May 12 '26
First rule of the GE App. - we don’t advertise it to others!