Houston Leads the Nation in Global Entry Program

Globe-trotting passengers who qualify get to avoid lines and save time with our kiosks.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is a national leader in the Global Entry program as our user-friendly automated kiosks in Federal Inspections Services (FIS) facility allow travelers to bypass the traditional lines to clear customs. Houston offers the highest number of Global Entry kiosks in the nation with a total of 15 in place at the airport’s 784,000 square foot Federal Inspection Services facility. Five new Global Entry kiosks were installed in January 2011 at IAH.

Since the program’s inception in June 2008, Houston has maintained the highest number of Global Entry enrollments and kiosk usage in the nation. Before being pre-approved to participate in Global Entry, travelers must undergo an intense background check and interview process, as well as pay a $100 enrollment fee per person, which validates membership for five years, among various other requirements.

Global Entry allows U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents who are frequent international travelers and who have not been found guilty of a criminal offense, charged with a customs or immigration offense, or been declared inadmissible to the U.S. under immigration legislation, to apply for an expedited screening and processing into the country.

“This is an effort to make the arrival process at the U.S. more streamlined, more efficient and more user-friendly. Among other things, we are going to be focusing on reducing wait times and improving customer service,” said Mario C. Diaz, director of aviation.

Biometric data is utilized at the automated kiosks, located at the FIS at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, to identify participating travelers and to clear them through customs.

IAH was selected as one of two airports in the United States to launch the program. The FIS is the largest facility of its kind in the nation, can process up to 4,500 international travelers per hour, when fully staffed.

Upon returning into the United States, enrolled travelers in the program will be able to bypass the regular passport line and proceed directly to the Global Entry kiosk. Once the passenger reaches the kiosk, the traveler will then activate the Global Entry system by placing their passport or permanent resident card into the document reader. The kiosk will then instruct the traveler to provide their fingerprints electronically.

After the biometric data has been matched to the information on file, a digital photograph will be taken of the traveler as part of their transaction records. Finally, the traveler will be prompted to answer several CBP declaration questions posted on the kiosk’s touch-screen. Once the process is successfully completed, the traveler will be issued a transaction receipt which must be presented to the CBP officer as the participant leaves the customs inspection area.

Interested travelers need only apply for the program through the United States Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Web site, pay a $100 fee and schedule an in-person interview with a customs officer at one of participating U.S. airports once their application has been approved.

Applications for enrollment are available online through the Global Online Enrollment System (GOES) at https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov

For more information Global Entry, visit www.globalentry.gov.

Last Updated: April 4, 2011

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