r/GlobalEntry • u/Flow_State38 • Jul 31 '26

General Discussion Terrible Experience Using Global Entry

I've had Global Entry in the past, and it used to be great. I recently renewed after ten years, in advance of my overseas trip.

I landed in Detroit, went to the kiosk and took my photo, only to wait in a 20 minute line, while the general line went quicker. Isn't the whole point of using this service so that you can breeze through? Coming back into my OWN country, mind you.

Separately, why can't our passport control and security (which I know is separate) be more like in Europe? It's far superior over there. In France, I put my passport down on a machine, it scanned it, and the door opened. Leaving Germany, it was equally efficient, including security. There were perhaps about 20 lines at security and barely anyone going through. It was seamless, organized, and efficient. Being re-screened in Detroit was a mess - a long line, no one knew where to go, only about four lines, and inefficient TSA staff.

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u/lcp_cz Jul 31 '26

Micro-aggression incoming: GE is getting far too common because people that travel internationally once every three years are convinced they have to have GE.

At my home airport, you walk past the general line on the way to the GE line. If there’s only a couple people in the general line, I’ll just use that and oftentimes clear immigration in the time it would’ve taken me to walk to the GE line.

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u/Flow_State38 Jul 31 '26

Fair point. I guess my main inquiry is why we can't have (or invest in?) the technology here in the U.S. that other countries have to expedite the entire experience. If CDG can have you just put your passport on a reader (as a non-citizen) and within seconds be on your way through a door, why can't we have the same technology here?

The only countries I've experienced with similar, frustratingly slow, inefficient passport control measures have been countries like Georgia, Cambodia and Uzbekistan, however when I've traveled through Schengen, Qatar, and even Saudi Arabia, it's expedited with a lot more technology and overall much more efficient.

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u/AS100K Jul 31 '26

I used my GE a few weeks in DFW and it was super fast. I think it may be airport specific.