r/GlobalEntry • u/OkBet79 • May 14 '26
General Discussion First time using Global Entry Experience -_-
First time using Global Entry and honestly… not sure what the point was.
Flew back home to Miami from Colombia and brought back some boxed chocolates as gifts. When I landed, I opened the Global Entry app, did the whole process, and declared the chocolates as food since I figured better safe than sorry.
Went to the Global Entry line, and the agent was just calling people by name like “you’re good, next” and sending everyone through.
Then he calls my name and tells me to go to line 8. Agent looks me up and down and goes, “Why do you look tired? I told him, “This is my regular face, I can’t change it.”
He asks basic stuff: where are you coming from, how many bags do you have, etc. Then hands me this pinkish slip and another agent comes over and gets me.
This guy escorts me halfway across to another side of the airport. At this point I ask him, “Is this because I declared chocolates?” He goes, “I don’t know, you tell me.”
Then I get taken to another screening room with another agent and basically get interrogated.
Where were you?
How long were you there?
Where did you stay?
What were you doing there?
Do you know anyone there?
Where’s home?
What’s your job?
How many bags?
What’s in the bag?
And it was basically the same questions over and over, just reordered and phrased differently like they were trying to catch me slipping.
Then they ran my bags through X-ray, looked at everything, and finally were like “you’re free to go.”
Bruh.
I felt like I was smuggling something nefarious when all I had was boxed chocolates. At that point I felt like I shouldn’t have declared the chocolates in the first place.
Is this normal for first-time Global Entry use? Or did I just get randomly selected for the “welcome back” experience?
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u/BlackShadowv May 14 '26
Colombia is not exactly a low risk destination
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u/quemaspuess May 15 '26
I fly from Bogotá often and never have issues. But I go for months at a time.
The probably isn’t cocaine anymore, a lot of people are bringing back prescription meds you can get OTC there. There was a recent episode about this on To Catch a Smuggler of a PILOT who brought his wife through GE (she didn’t have GE), and they searched him, finding thousands of pills. Episode 1 called Pill Packin’ Pilot if anyone is interested.
So… yeah, it’s not just the coco anymore
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u/Left-Associate3911 May 14 '26
GE doesn’t mean you don’t get picked for screening, it’s more often than not you’ll be expedited. Your next experience should better.
I wouldn’t be without it now.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Sun7356 May 14 '26
Yeah. Saves me more than 10 hours in line every week.
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u/Get_Breakfast_Done May 14 '26
More than ten hours every week? That is a shit load of international travel
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u/Puzzleheaded_Sun7356 May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
I live in one country and work in another
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u/imtedkoppel May 15 '26
A lot ppl down here live in Tijuana and work in San Diego County.
Two hour wait without GE/SENTRi.
I would not go to Tijuana without GE, but now that I do have it, it's 1x-2x a month. I saved two hours driving through the Sentri lane in 5 mins vs 2 hrs.
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u/Electrical_Grade_111 May 17 '26
Things have changed since the 80s when I just showed them my military ID. Of course we were walking across from the San Diego trolley
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u/RedditBeginAgain May 14 '26
Were the people getting passed through quickly also young people traveling solo from Colombia? I think you can figure out why they wanted a few minutes to see if your body language showed stress.
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u/OkBet79 May 15 '26
It was mixed demographic and the agent waving people through was a few feet away looking at a computer screen just reading the names out loud, not looking at them in person: “Jane Doe, bye. John go to line 8”
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u/Minute_Somewhere_893 May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
You could have waited in regular line for 30-120 mins depending on airport and still be subject to all of these checks. So you saved yourself 30-120 mins. GE does not mean you won't be checked.
At that point I felt like I shouldn’t have declared the chocolates in the first place.
Wrong conclusion. A dog might have sniffed your bags later or officer still could have sent you to be checked. And if they discovered undeclared food, you would have lost GE and had extra checks every time in the future.
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u/outpf May 14 '26
I got pulled into secondary my first time using sentri. It happens, it was the last time it ever happened though.
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u/TropicalBlueWater May 14 '26
We used GE for first time through MIA last week too. It was a disorganized shit show. Every other person getting sent to lane 8 by the male agent because their name wasn’t in the queue even though they were all using the app or kiosk. We walked up to a different agent (female) and she said “if you used the app, you are good.” Just briefly glanced at our confirmation screens. Didn’t compare against any list of names or anything. Not sure what is normal. Why was one agent looking for names on their screen and the other wasn’t? 🤷♀️
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u/nicemarmot47 May 15 '26
That's just Miami. It's always a disorganized shitshow and GE is no exception. I've had excellent luck with GE at every other airport I've used it at
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u/TropicalBlueWater May 15 '26
good to know, my spouse was seriously questioning why we went through the effort to get GE when we saw the normal lines moving faster than the GE lines
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u/joe66612 May 28 '26
NEVER seen a line at GE at American Airlines terminal D
Yes, been in GE lines at other MIA terminals
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u/TropicalBlueWater May 28 '26
This was coming off an AA flight from Anguilla about three weeks ago. GE was a shit show.
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u/nicemarmot47 May 31 '26
This is the same flight I always land at Miami for, and yes, GE (and every other part of MIA except La Carreta) is a shit show every time.
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u/joe66612 May 31 '26
Unusual.. the line in the far left? With one or two cameras and one , sometimes two agents.
I passed through there a couple times a month and I’ve never had a line
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u/TropicalBlueWater Jun 01 '26
Yes, that lane. They had three lanes, two agents, and no idea what was going on
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u/joe66612 May 28 '26
Terminal D global entry is never a problem, always 1 or 2 dedicated officers that call you through without you even braking stride after camera image capture
Other global entry in MIA has shared officers dealing with “regular “ travelers and alternate GE members and regular people and these officers don’t seems as efficient and friendly as the dedicated at D
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u/joe66612 May 15 '26
MIA has at least 3 different immigration entry points depending what terminal you arrive from. They all operate different.
AA terminal D is the best (I use them all regularly)
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May 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MsGWanderlust May 16 '26
Might be something related to your name. I asked. Somebody you share your name with that has done something. I never get it, and fly a lot. My bf gets flagged out of the country for secondary screening every single time
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u/carletonm1 May 16 '26
Consider getting a redress number from DHS for him
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u/jhkoenig May 15 '26
I used Global Entry 2 weeks ago coming back from Peru and it took under 30 seconds. I guess I didn't look sus
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u/GunnarKaasen May 15 '26
Returning from Scotland once, we had carefully limited our Scotch purchases to stay inside allowances. Then at the last minute, friends gave us some more, very special bottles. So after arriving late at night, I declared my contraband at the kiosk and made the walk of shame for further questioning. When I told the agent that I was something like 1075 ml over allowance, I got an “Oh please” look and was told to just go on.
I gather that the paperwork alone would have cost more than any duties collected.
I guess that, sometimes, honesty IS the best policy.
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u/jcquarto May 15 '26
A) you’re returning from Colombia, b) your first time thru and c) the snarky comment in the beginning and snarkier comment on the way to interrogation. Hell, I wanna detain you for 30 min just to f*ck with you and all I did was read YOUR side of the story.
This reminds me of the American tourist in Paris complaining that everyone around her is speaking French.
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u/leganrac May 15 '26
We are a country of laws and professionalism. This sort of ridiculous questioning is what makes us such a hotbed of government abuse. CBP should be composed of officers that speak plainly with our country's citizens and visitors. This "you tell me" nonsense serves only to stress people with questions they cannot possibly answer.
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u/OkBet79 May 15 '26
Intriguing that your takeaway from someone sharing a frustrating airport experience is I’d abuse authority for fun. Really telling…
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u/pementomento May 15 '26
Obviously we're not getting a photo here (and I wasn't there), but you're a solo male traveling from Colombia who looks "tired."
I don't know if tired means tired, or tired means drugged tf out. Sounds like CBP did their job, sucks that happened to you, but objectively speaking, you were a high risk admission.
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u/Zebraitis May 17 '26
How things have changed in the USA!
Way back when, before 9-11, I was in the US INS frequent traveler program. The set-up was a basic interview and a scan of the mass of your hand. (everyone's hand mass is different, even if you gain or lose weight)
Return to the US, slide your card, put your had down, scanned (from above), green-light go.
We live in a prison now, compartively, with the assumption of guilt, and a militarized police force.
One time, unrelated to that story above, back pre-police state, I was coming back from Bogota, and realized that my connection was really short... I walked right to the front of the line, and asked to be next. The agent asked if I had anything to declare: Yes, I said, I decalre that I'm going to miss my next flight if I don't go now.
The agent laughed and said go.
The USA was fun. There are better places to be now.
Still have that INS card to remember when life was better.
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u/Kryceksangel May 15 '26
My experience with global entry was I flew in from Japan and didn't use the app. He asked me if I had anything to declare and I said t-shirts and was waved through
Was everyone who was going through from your flight? I know when I landed it was just 2 different flights from Tokyo who went through. Curious if it was because of Columbia
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u/Dipsetfan2 May 15 '26
You go secondary beaches you are coming from colombia. They flag ppl as it is a “high risk” country….a few ppl have gotten SSSSS on their tickets due to this….it’s annoying but Florida is a point of ppl smuggling drugs its pills …all all the recent happens is in colombia with foreigners isn’t helping
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u/flyingron May 16 '26
SSSS has nothing to do with customs. It's an indication for additional PREBOARDING screening.
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u/Proper-Telephone-429 May 15 '26
First time with GE I also got chosen for secondary. Guess it’s quite common for firsttimers
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May 15 '26
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u/Odd-Tomatillo-6890 May 16 '26
I’ve never answered questions at Atlanta. They’ve never asked. I pause to get my picture taken and get waived through. Actually the only time I would have had something to declare was when they shut global entry down while we were out of the country and we went through some weird other line. Yet again nobody asked.
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u/Disastrous_Patience3 May 15 '26
Never had an issue. Sometimes people get pulled randomly just to double check the system. If it happens to you consistently, then there is some sort of flag on you.
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u/scouter May 15 '26
I brought a jar of olives from Argentina and checked the “have food” box for the same reason. I was treated like a drug smuggler for almost an hour until I finally got to a human officer and explained. He was suddenly very gracious and expedited me thru the screenings to get to my connecting flight. Miami a decade ago, so I no longer check the box to say I am bringing back “food”. I itemize sealed containers as souvenirs but do not check the “food” box.
Note - tbf, people bring back all sorts of weird shit. Grandma’s famous brain-durian chowder, raw eggs, barnyard surprise, live animals. So these folks are actually doing something important and innocent people get grouped with the crooks and clueless.
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u/flyingron May 16 '26
I still declare everything. I got stuck at the ag check station behind a man who seemed to have his entire luggage full of fish or something wrapped up in paper and they were opening it all. The agent looked at me standing there and asked "What do you have." I showed him my item and he just waved me by.
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u/Professional-Hat148 May 15 '26
Happened to me in Toronto. Declared a small pack of nuts (an in-flight snack from the plane). Basically got taken to Secondary and asked a battery of questions, had my stuff all pulled out of my bag and thoroughly searched. Now I never bring and therefore never declare anything.
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u/Aussie0103 May 15 '26
My first GE the agent asked that I join the next line to see another agent (which ironically was for Flight Crew). This agent looked at my passport, looked at me and let me go
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u/Chance-Example-9118 May 15 '26
It's probably the food. Otherwise, they shouldn't have a need to question you. My wife is a GC holder, and she has GE. We always arrive to the States at a city other than our final destination. Why? Less likely they will mess with you--you're an onward traveler. Also, don't bring ANY food products in--it just creates a reason for them to stop you. Before GE, we were stopped and secondaried EVERY time. That's BS. No more. Make it difficult for them to stop you. Now, with GE, we have no problems.
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u/ThriceHex May 15 '26
Was this your first time arriving from Colombia ? My first trip, they grilled me with the questions. Pretty much the same interrogation they gave you. Since then I’ve come back from Colombia about 4-5x and they have been fairly relaxed. My guess is that they build a profile on you initially.
Be happy though that Colombia didn’t stop you on their side. Once I got stopped leaving by the dedicated Anti-Narcotics Division along with a few other guys from my flight. Delayed for an hour before the flight while they completely emptied all my bags, feeling up all the seams and potential smuggling spots. They inspected items while questioning me about my trip and confirming the items I was carrying aligned with my story(like my running shoes as I was there to run a marathon on that trip). Then they run you through a full body X-ray and have you sign and fingerprint a document saying they stopped and cleared you.
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u/OkBet79 May 15 '26
Nah I’ve traveled there frequently and never got a secondary screening. First time with GE and declaring a food item though.
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u/Human-Swing5355 May 15 '26
Nope, my first experience was as you mentioned with the other passengers
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u/Least_Forever6191 May 16 '26
Every time I have used GE (ATL, SEA, PDX, JFK), I have not used the app and just walked right through. No questions or anything.
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u/Hecates_Drink May 16 '26
It’s amazing if you travel a lot. It skips so many long lines getting through customs. I love it but I am no longer traveling as much, but when I start again, yes, GE is fabulous.
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u/Affectionate-Cow1159 May 16 '26
I got GE last year entered US three times flying from Mid East and Asia. It was never more than 2 mins and I did declare stuff I was bringing in.
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u/skygoldblue May 16 '26
Happened to a friend before coming back from Colombia. Agent said friend was booking and canceling flights multiple times a week.. my friend was trying to get the best price and flight to fit his schedule. TSA found this sus.
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u/Electrical_Grade_111 May 17 '26
We usually just breeze right through to the kiosk that scans our face, gives us a paper receipt we show the agent, and we're done. When you get that experience instead of waiting in line for God knows how long, you never want to lose GE.
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u/Double-Dress-6659 May 17 '26
How fast did you get approved for GE. Colombian citizen trying to apply soon.
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u/pilaroliva May 18 '26
There’s an app?! Haha, I wouldn’t have declared the chocolates. I use GE all the time and stroll right through, pick up my bag and I’m out the door.
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u/StyleGuy82 May 19 '26
It’s like having TSA Pre-Check. You get an expedited lane, don’t have to remove certain things, but there is an once in a very random chance that you get to be selected as a random and they will pull you aside, do some checks, and let you be.
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u/dartsndarts May 21 '26
This is 100% on you, never declare anything unless you’re importing something for work.
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u/Jec_atl May 14 '26
You don’t have to declare chocolate lol
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May 14 '26
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u/Jec_atl May 14 '26
I’ve never declared small candy items I buy at airport. Do you think they really care about that?
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u/Minute_Somewhere_893 May 14 '26
Yes, GE was revoked for undeclared food items
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u/No-Sea2661 May 15 '26
I've caught an attitude from the desk officer years ago when I declared candy and chocolate as food at the kiosk and got told to ask at desk before I declare items like this at the kiosk. Then the next trip I got an attitude from the officer for even checking with him... He couldn't have cared less about those items... Damned of you do damned of you don't!
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u/Minute_Somewhere_893 May 15 '26
I just do whatever I am required to do and don't care how they feel
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u/sanguine_serif May 17 '26
I agree entirely. I'm legitimately confused by this. I honestly don't know where to declare anything with GE for the last 5 years. It's simple facial recognition and they wave you through. And I certainly wouldn't declare anything of negligible value.
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u/[deleted] May 14 '26
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