BajaNomad

Sentri pre-approval?

beachbum1A - 8-22-2016 at 11:06 AM

My friend completed her initial application for Sentri on line and submitted it on June 4th along with a $25 dollar deposit.
She is still waiting for some word from them indicating her application was pre-approved or? She is checking her online GOES account every couple of days but all it says is "pending".

My question is: what is the current amount of time that it is taking for this first step in the process? Has anyone recently received their approval and then made their appointment?
Thanks!

same here

John M - 8-22-2016 at 03:32 PM

It took twelve weeks almost to the day.

The appointment for the interview another 2-3 weeks out.

Then you are supposed to get the Sentri in yet another 10 days.

Our interview is next week.

John M

edited to say: when you make the appointment, and they send you the citizenship study guide it's best not to ignore it, especially part II the potential essay question.

[Edited on 8-22-2016 by John M]


Edit #2 - ok, my attempt at humor with the first edit has met with a complete lack of sense of humor by my wife. So, I hereby state that I made it up - mostly.

[Edited on 8-23-2016 by John M]

BajaMama - 8-22-2016 at 08:24 PM

When I did it it January it took three weeks - i submitted my father in laws mid June and still waiting. Rush hour I suppose.

beachbum1A - 8-23-2016 at 06:42 AM

Quote: Originally posted by John M  
It took twelve weeks almost to the day.

The appointment for the interview another 2-3 weeks out.

Then you are supposed to get the Sentri in yet another 10 days.

Our interview is next week.

John M]


Thanks! Looks like we should hear something around Labor Day then. Just seems like a long damn time you know!

stiladam - 8-23-2016 at 09:20 AM

Q: Once you get your application approved is the date preset for the interview, or do you get a choice of dates/times?

I want to set my interview for a morning before I cross the border for the weekend ;)

larryC - 8-23-2016 at 10:53 AM

Quote: Originally posted by stiladam  
Q: Once you get your application approved is the date preset for the interview, or do you get a choice of dates/times?

I want to set my interview for a morning before I cross the border for the weekend ;)


You pick the appointment date and time from a list of available dates and times.

date and time

John M - 8-23-2016 at 11:35 AM

The office (we have to go to Otay Mesa) is open for interviews from 6:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

JM

danaeb - 8-23-2016 at 12:32 PM

When you get your dates/times, schedule a date. It's usually a couple of weeks (or more) out. You can go back into the GOES calendar at any time and reschedule an earlier date if there have been cancellations/new openings...

tjsue - 8-23-2016 at 12:39 PM

You don't have to go to Otay Mesa, you can go to the San Ysidro office. The SY office has moved from close to McDonalds right as you come out of customs, to Virginia Avenue close to the duty free store, and I'm assuming that it's a larger space.

stiladam - 8-23-2016 at 01:04 PM

Thanks so much for the responses!

Another one, of course:

Has anyone had issues with approval with financed vehicles?

I finance through a credit union and I only owe a few grand on my 2013 truck but I'm considering paying it off early just to avoid the issue with getting a letter from the bank lol

4 to 6 months What !!!!!!

Keri - 8-23-2016 at 03:27 PM

I put my app for adding a car in May 23. Still pending. I called many offices yesterday because my sentri is going to expire Sept 24. I thought by starting in May would be enough time but now I find out that you cannot put your sentri in until your added car is cleared. Then they drop on me it is now taking 4 to 6 months to clear your car. and the best thing for me to do is cancel my car and start my sentri because it is more important not to let my sentri expire, So now I have 13 weeks and I think $42 in which will not be reimbursed I will not have my sentri until around Dec if it is 12 weeks again if we are on 4 to 6 months Im screwed I,m Going to the san ysidro offfice in person tomorrow. Anyone got any ideas on some one to talk to for some help,k

[Edited on 8-23-2016 by Keri]

stiladam - 8-31-2016 at 10:06 AM

Wow, I hope things turn around for you with this Keri.

Another Global Entry/Sentri question that search couldn't help with.

I just applied for GE and I'm giddy. Can't wait for my interview. I added my vehicle during the application process

Since it seems my vehicle is only attached to my application, does this mean that I can have any Global Entry/Sentri card holders with me in my vehicle Sentri lanes?

I know in years past the vehicle had to match the occupants with CPB.

My girlfriend is doing her application today and she's wondering if she needs to list my vehicle on her application as well.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Edited on 8-31-2016 by stiladam]

BigBearRider - 8-31-2016 at 10:24 AM

Quote: Originally posted by stiladam  
Wow, I hope things turn around for you with this Keri.

Another Global Entry/Sentri question that search couldn't help with.

I just applied for GE and I'm giddy. Can't wait for my interview. I added my vehicle during the application process

Since it seems my vehicle is only attached to my application, does this mean that I can have any Global Entry/Sentri card holders with me in my vehicle Sentri lanes?

I know in years past the vehicle had to match the occupants with CPB.

My girlfriend is doing her application today and she's wondering if she needs to list my vehicle on her application as well.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Edited on 8-31-2016 by stiladam]


You can have any GE holders in your car. Girlfriend does not have to (and perhaps cannot) add your car to her GE application.

stiladam - 8-31-2016 at 10:51 AM

Perfecto, thanks BBR!

Udo - 8-31-2016 at 11:06 AM

Best of luck!
Quote: Originally posted by stiladam  
Q: Once you get your application approved is the date preset for the interview, or do you get a choice of dates/times?

I want to set my interview for a morning before I cross the border for the weekend ;)

BigBearRider - 8-31-2016 at 11:16 AM

Quote: Originally posted by stiladam  
Perfecto, thanks BBR!


I may have responded too quickly to the second part.

Is your girlfriend thinking about registering your car because she wants to drive it across the border? I don't think that your girlfriend can drive your SENTRI-registered vehicle across the border. Does anyone know?

If she cannot, can she also register the car under her name through SENTRI? I suspect not, but am now unsure.

stiladam - 8-31-2016 at 11:49 AM

99.9% Sure that we'll always be traveling together, so I thought it best to add our own individual vehicles only under each application - as long as we're okay being carded passengers in each others vehicles.

If we were to cross solo we would likely be driving our own vehicle, so I think we're good to go using this procedure!?

[Edited on 8-31-2016 by stiladam]

tjsue - 8-31-2016 at 12:22 PM

Quote: Originally posted by larryC  
Quote: Originally posted by stiladam  
Q: Once you get your application approved is the date preset for the interview, or do you get a choice of dates/times?

I want to set my interview for a morning before I cross the border for the weekend ;)


You pick the appointment date and time from a list of available dates and times.


You'll get a choice of dates and times, but it probably won't be what you want, but you can keep checking the website for cancellations.

BajaMama - 8-31-2016 at 04:17 PM

Keep in mind that you need to schedule your interview appointment for within 30 days of initial approval. But you can reschedule. We too are waiting for initial approval for my father in law. Also, my car is financed and as far as I know it was approved.

stiladam - 9-1-2016 at 09:25 AM

Wonder if it will be difficult to schedule mine and my girlfriends appointments on the same day when a closer appointment pops up?!

Dual appointments

John M - 9-1-2016 at 09:36 AM

I had the same question, so to resolve it I simply called and talked to a scheduler and she made our appointments for the same time....and they were sooner than the on-line dates.

(619) 690-7600 - wait time on the phone can be significant.

John M

BigBearRider - 9-1-2016 at 09:36 AM

I did two vehicles that were not financed first. Then I did my other car, which is still being paid off. I did not reflect on the issue, and was not asked to provide a letter from the finance company for the third vehicle.

stiladam - 9-1-2016 at 09:47 AM

Excellent, thanks you guys :-)

I know I'm probably overthinking all of this, I just want to make sure it all goes as smooth and as quick as possible.

unashi - 9-2-2016 at 09:00 AM

Reaching the nine week mark and still no pre-approval for SENTRI. Assuming it will be at least 12 as listed above.

stiladam - 9-2-2016 at 11:06 AM

Unashi; did you sign up for Sentri or Global Entry?

I did GE and I've convinced myself I'll have pre-approval next week haha

Some things I have going for me are: Same residence and workplace 20+ years and of course no shady background . Hopefully a slam dunk?!

From what I hear some GE applications are going through in a week. The Flyertalk forum offers some insight into the peoples' various experiences with processing times

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trusted-travelers/1066899-glo...

Interview today

John M - 9-2-2016 at 12:12 PM

We had our interview this morning at the scheduled 6:00 a.m. at the Otay Mesa SENTRI office. We got there a few minutes early, office was already open but interviews do start at 6:00 a.m. - probably ten people were waiting that all had a 6:00 a.m. appt. We were out by 6:30 - nearly $200 lighter, fingerprinted (by some sort of scanner) photographed, and answered a couple of questions. As promised there was no vehicle inspection.

The only issue would have been if my wife hadn't read the driving instructions provided by CPB - On the road they tell you to take, you approach two signs that both say "Road Closed" - the instructions mention that, and tell you to ignore the closed part, to get to the SENTRI parking lot - 200' from the office.

Quick and easy.

One interviewer told us 2 to 3 weeks, another said 2 weeks max to get our SENTRI cards.



OTAY MESA parking and SENTRI office

John M

[Edited on 9-2-2016 by John M]

BajaMama - 9-2-2016 at 02:37 PM

Unashi, I submitted my father in law's Sentri application 12 weeks ago and still no pre-approval. My hubby and I submitted in January, approved three weeks later, interviewed 4/1, had our passes mid April. I think the program(s) got a HUGE application surge after the TSA messes last spring. Remember, you are not just getting a SENTRI, you will get TSA pre-approved and Global Entry, which is what the masses are applying for too!

stiladam - 9-2-2016 at 03:47 PM

Just wondering....Has anyone signed up for Viajero Confiable? The Mexican version on Global Entry?

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-...

stiladam - 9-2-2016 at 03:50 PM

It's weird to hear that so many GEOS/GE/Sentri applications are taking so long. I very much hope this isn't the case for me.

Here's a story from today on FlyerTalk:

Just wanted to share a success/luck story. I applied through GOES on 8/20, got conditional approval on 8/26. Had plans to fly out of LAX on 9/1. Spammed reload the day before my scheduled departure and got an appointment on 9/1 but for after my scheduled departure time.

Asked the office if they could squeeze me in, and they did so! Approved an hour later.

I'm not located in the US, so this was a HUGE win for me.

BigBearRider - 9-2-2016 at 03:55 PM

Quote: Originally posted by stiladam  
Just wondering....Has anyone signed up for Viajero Confiable? The Mexican version on Global Entry?

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-...


I did not know about Viajero Confiable. If Loreto had a separate line for it, I would apply, but only Cabo, Mexico City, and Cancun participate at this point:

https://www.gob.mx/inm/acciones-y-programas/programa-viajero...

Aeropuertos participantes:
•Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México
•Aeropuerto Internacional de San José del Cabo
•Aeropuerto Internacional de Cancún


[Edited on 9-2-2016 by BigBearRider]

stiladam - 9-9-2016 at 12:32 PM

My Global Entry/Sentri experience thus far:

08/30 Initial application
09/08 Received approval to set interview.
09/13 Interview appointment set (after 3 tries - starting in Nov)

Relatively easy so far. You do have to keep checking in for closer appointments. They do pop up but you have to work at it.

One pain; I was NOT able to add the girlfriend to my interview appointment slot. I inquired via email to the GE location and was denied, even though this is the method suggested on the GOES site, so you mileage may vary. I was going to cut and paste the info from GOES in response but I don't want to end up on the bad boy list out of the gate hehe.

Telephone vs on-line appointment

John M - 9-9-2016 at 01:40 PM

The telephone appointment procedure worked for us, and as I said a much quicker time slot was open.

John M

Approval!

John M - 9-15-2016 at 11:31 AM

My wife and I were notified today via email of a change in our SENTRI status. Our in-person interview was nearly two weeks ago on the 2nd of September.

The GOES website told we have been approved and we can use the program as soon as our cards arrive.

14 weeks for the entire process, so far.

John M

stiladam - 9-16-2016 at 12:14 PM

That's great.

I'm actually really pleased with the entire process thus far. My appointment on Tuesday the 13th and it went great. The actual appt. was shorter than the walk from the car to the office.

I'm expecting my card to arrive next week, so just over 3 weeks from application to card arrival (I hope)

Now I'm worried with the process being so simple - everyone will do it ;-)

mtgoat666 - 9-16-2016 at 12:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by stiladam  
That's great.

I'm actually really pleased with the entire process thus far. My appointment on Tuesday the 13th and it went great. The actual appt. was shorter than the walk from the car to the office.

I'm expecting my card to arrive next week, so just over 3 weeks from application to card arrival (I hope)

Now I'm worried with the process being so simple - everyone will do it ;-)


Congratulations on reaching ELITE status! After your platinum card arrives, we'll let you in on the secret handshake

stiladam - 9-16-2016 at 01:09 PM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by stiladam  
That's great.

I'm actually really pleased with the entire process thus far. My appointment on Tuesday the 13th and it went great. The actual appt. was shorter than the walk from the car to the office.

I'm expecting my card to arrive next week, so just over 3 weeks from application to card arrival (I hope)

Now I'm worried with the process being so simple - everyone will do it ;-)


Congratulations on reaching ELITE status! After your platinum card arrives, we'll let you in on the secret handshake


Haha, well it's funny. After JR passed away and Carol moved up north (and LaBarca was flattened) I lost the urge to go south. I finally have the fever again.

DENNIS - 9-16-2016 at 02:10 PM



La Barca was leveled? WOW...didn't hear about that.

walleigh - 9-18-2016 at 06:27 PM

I guess I'll add my data point here if anyone is interested in what I believe was a pretty fast process.

August 29: Applied for Global Entry
September 7: Conditional approval/interview invite
September 13: Interview/approval at San Ysidro

I'm now waiting (im)patiently for my card to arrive. My originally scheduled interview was in early October at Otay, but I happened to see an opening at San Ysidro early in the morning on the 13th. So I headed down to the border before work and got it taken care of. I will note that while most people talk about how quick the interview is. I had a different experience. My appointment was at 6:15 AM. I checked in at the desk a little before that and wasn't interviewed for almost 45 minutes. The interview itself was quick and painless, but they were running a bit behind at the new office.

I can't wait to get my card and run down to TJ to try it out.

SENTRI return to USA?

John M - 9-19-2016 at 06:34 AM

Our interviewer was reluctant to describe the return to the USA as "easy."

She said something to the effect that the real challenge is finding your way to the SENTRI lanes from the south. I asked about a map to the start of the SENTRI lanes and got nothing worthwhile except that things are changing there due to road construction. Wandering around town looking or getting in the regular lanes isn't going to make this fun at that POE.

Mexicali both east and west ports of entry are pretty straightforward but we are wondering about at San Ysidro & Otay Mesa.

John

bajaguy - 9-19-2016 at 07:31 AM

Otay Mesa via Blvd 2000 is very easy
Quote: Originally posted by John M  
Our interviewer was reluctant to describe the return to the USA as "easy."

She said something to the effect that the real challenge is finding your way to the SENTRI lanes from the south. I asked about a map to the start of the SENTRI lanes and got nothing worthwhile except that things are changing there due to road construction. Wandering around town looking or getting in the regular lanes isn't going to make this fun at that POE.

Mexicali both east and west ports of entry are pretty straightforward but we are wondering about at San Ysidro & Otay Mesa.

John

mtgoat666 - 9-19-2016 at 08:17 AM

Quote: Originally posted by John M  
Our interviewer was reluctant to describe the return to the USA as "easy."

She said something to the effect that the real challenge is finding your way to the SENTRI lanes from the south. I asked about a map to the start of the SENTRI lanes and got nothing worthwhile except that things are changing there due to road construction. Wandering around town looking or getting in the regular lanes isn't going to make this fun at that POE.

Mexicali both east and west ports of entry are pretty straightforward but we are wondering about at San Ysidro & Otay Mesa.

John


Some sites have posted maps to the various lanes at each xing. Try baja bound and discover baja websites.
After a couple xings (and a few unexpected explorations while lost) you'll know TJ like the back of your hand!