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» » Global Entry Program
Under the Department of Homeland Security’s new program recurrent, globe-trotting passengers
who qualify will have an expedited entry into the United States through Houston.
Continuing its tradition of piloting important new transportation initiatives, the Houston Airport System (HAS), this month, welcomed the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff at George Bush Intercontinental Airport’s (IAH) expansive Federal Inspections Services (FIS) facility.
Secretary Chertoff flew in to Houston to kick-off the Department of Homeland Security’s latest transportation initiative known as the Global Entry Program. 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.
Interested travelers need only apply for the program through the United States Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) website, pay a $100 fee and schedule an in-person interview with a customs officer at one of the three participating U.S. airports once their application has been approved.
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.
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“This day has been a long time coming. It is a big step forward in terms of automating and electronically basing our system for new entry; a kind of international registered traveler,” said Secretary Chertoff.
“This is part of an overall effort to continue to enhance border security, but also 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.”
IAH was selected as one of three airports in the United States to launch the program partly because of its sheer size. 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, and was also the location for the first Model Port in the country – another one of the Department of Homeland Security’s pilot programs, which was launched last year and is meant to increase international travel into the United States.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), who also serves on the nation’s Committee on Homeland Security, welcomed the Global Entry Program as a coup for travelers.
“I think it is a very important statement that matches the friendliness of the United States with securing the American people. I’m glad that we were able to have Secretary Chertoff, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, present to see how advanced Houston Intercontinental Airport is and also the Houston Airport System,” she said. “It is a system that is always looking forward and forward-thinking. I think the Global Entry Program allows returning citizens of the United States to have a warm and friendly welcome, but at the same time to ensure that those that enter the United States, even returning citizens, have a secure passage.”
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
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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.
“Essentially with the implementation of the program and biometrics, travelers will get through the customs lines much quicker,” offered Richard M. Vacar, director of aviation for the Houston Airport System. “This process will take a fourth of the actual time that it would take to go through the customs process with a CBP officer.”
The program will be piloted initially at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport.
Applications for enrollment are available online through the Global On-Line Enrollment System (GOES) at https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov.
For more information about the Global Pilot Program visit www.cbp.gov.
Last Updated: September 18, 2008
Copyright © 2008 - Houston Airport System
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