BajaNomad

Mexicali crossing with SENTRI?

John M - 9-27-2016 at 11:20 AM

We just got our SENTRI cards - about 15 weeks from when we applied in total.
Has anyone had recent experience crossing at Mexicali west vs Mexicali east? We think it'll be mid-week around noon. The entrance to the SENTRI lane entrance appears to be pretty straight-forward looking at GoogleEarth.

John M

BigBearRider - 9-27-2016 at 11:35 AM

Not Mexicali, but be prepared for a secondary inspection. I crossed Sunday morning with a new car that I just recently enrolled in SENTRI. I got sent to secondary. I understand from posts here that it may happen on your first trip or so, since they did away with the vehicle inspection as part of the approval process.

MICK - 9-27-2016 at 04:13 PM

The east tends to be a bit faster especially their secondary. Never go the the west crossing on Wednesdays the traffic is always bad due to the swap meet in Calexico. I have yet to be pulled into secondary with my truck going on twenty crossings. Knock on wood.
Good luck
Mick

Hey Mick!

John M - 9-27-2016 at 05:00 PM

We finally got 'em! - Are you in Rio Hardy early Oct?

We still need to complete the pole line - hope you guys got that transmission fixed up ok!

John

MICK - 9-28-2016 at 09:38 PM

We aré here off and on in oct. Tránsmission was fixed in two days for 250.00 good as new.
Let me know when your coming thru and stop by.
Mick

[Edited on 9-29-2016 by MICK]

CortezBlue - 9-29-2016 at 08:54 PM

I always exit East Gate, but then again, I am headed to AZ.

East gate is great for 2 reasons.

1. It is very straight forward to get to the SENTRI lane coming off Hwy 5 or coming from Nuevo Mexicalli

2. If you have pedestrians, it is SUPER fast for them to walk through and pick up on the other side.

new vehicle?

akshadow - 9-29-2016 at 09:35 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BigBearRider  
Not Mexicali, but be prepared for a secondary inspection. I crossed Sunday morning with a new car that I just recently enrolled in SENTRI. I got sent to secondary. I understand from posts here that it may happen on your first trip or so, since they did away with the vehicle inspection as part of the approval process.


Was your vehicle approved on the Sentri program? and they still did the inspection in secondary?
If the vehicle was approved how long did it take to get approval from the time you paid your fees?

BajaMama - 9-30-2016 at 05:47 AM

My first crossing with my SENTRI pass was at Otay Mesa in June. Took 3 minutes. My car was approved with my initial application and I was told that I could expect to be sent to secondary for vehicle inspection, however I was not sent over that first crossing. I will probably be sent over in October when I head back up. BTW the Otay Mesa crossing was a breeze, I crossed over Blvd 2000 from South Rosarito.