As a frequent traveler, having Global Entry and TSA PreCheck for over 3 years has greatly enhanced my travel experience by expediting the immigrations process and zipping through security lines. My approval was a quick and painless process.
Now that I often travel with my 2 kids, it was time to get them on board too. The idea of going through the trouble of getting a baby or toddler Global Entry may sound silly, but when traveling with little ones, everyone needs to be approved for the Global Entry program in order to avoid the lines and use the kiosks.
Using the free $100 Global Entry application-fee credit that’s a benefit of The Platinum Card® from American Express and Chase Sapphire Reserve, I filled out the applications for my 2 and half year old son and 18 month old daughter. Other cards that come with the Global Entry application-fee credit include The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN and Citi Prestige.
The application for children is exactly the same for adults – they’ll need to register for a GOES user name and password, a valid passport, and a complete and thorough list of all the countries they’ve visited in the last 5 years. Of course you can just type “child” under occupation/employment history and answer no to criminal/arrest history.
Each application took around 10 minutes, and within 24 hours they’ve received a conditional approval notice indicating that it was time to schedule their in-person interviews.
Apparently the Global Entry facilities are super busy these days, as the first appointment at EWR was no sooner than November 22(!!). JFK was completely booked up for the end of the year at the time I tried to schedule. Of course if you live in a less-busy area, you might have better luck, but either way it’s pretty ridiculous.
A tip is to book the first available appointment and then log in from time to time to snag an appointment that may have opened up from a cancellation. I was stoked when I logged in and saw an appointment in a few days.
Unfortunately there was only one appointment, but I brought both kids anyway. With a friendly attitude and a smile, the officer agreed to process the applications for both of my children in a single appointment slot.
photo: cbp.gov
At the “interview”, I had to state my children’s’ full names as they appeared on their passports, and they had their photos taken. My son slept through his photo, so his sleeping face will grace his ID until he’s over 7 years old :-P. Since my kids were too young, they were unable to take their fingerprints. They must return when they are between the ages of 4 and half to 6 to register their fingerprints (no appointment necessary).
Since my children are too young to use the kiosks with their finger prints, we’ll have to fill out a customs form for each child every time we travel internationally. After that, we’ll have to bring their passports to the customs agent near the kiosks to have their passport stamped.
One of the reasons why I love Global Entry is that I did not have to bother with filing out the paper forms upon arrival, but now when I’m traveling with the kids, I’ll have to fill out 2. I also like that with Global Entry, you can avoid the entry stamp into the US, saving room in your passport, but the kids will have to have their passports stamped.
I’m glad that their application fee was essentially “free” with our credit cards because I personally would not want to shell out $200 out-of-pocket for Global Entry “with limitations” at this age. Either way, I guess that’s the price you pay for being able to avoid long lines as a family.
How has your experience been using Global Entry with a baby or young child?
It seems like a lot of hassle if you have to find the right kiosk. And airport to get these Global entry pass. I have free $200 but I am not sure if I want to drive several hundred miles to keep an appointment at the airport and hassle with the airport parking for the interview .
You do not need to fill out forms. Proceed as normal to the kiosk. The machine will spit out a ‘go to desk’ note for the smallies after it cannot find their fingerprints. There is usually a dedicated CBP agent to help GE folk with issues, so no queue. Agent will take a quick look at passports and then all set.
Adds about 60 seconds to the process.
They never told me about coming back at age 4 to get fingerprints done. How does that work, in my experience there was no reception desk, you just sit outside and they call folk based on who is on the interview schedule for that day.
@Tom, Thx for the info. I will try to go early to the airport and have it done during a layover. That way I would not waste a whole day driving to/from airport or spend a day for hotel and parking. .my last trip cost me $68 for a night of valet parking.
It must depend on the location. At ORD, there is a CBP office with a small lobby and reception desk on the lower level of T5 by arrivals. You register and then wait in the lobby area until your name is called. For the kids, I would imagine you just need to show up, tell the person the nature of your visit, and then wait your turn.
I did the canadian/usa Nexus for my kids as it is free (I have 3 kids) if you are close to an enrollment center it is super easy. The kids did not get fingerprinted during the screening but when we had a layover in DFW I just knocked on the door at the enrollment center and they let us in and quickly got us fingerprinted and done (took about 30 minutes). Now all kiddos can use the kiosk (make sure the camera is pointing down or you hold them up for the pic.
Now we all can use the kiosk with fingerprints with out problems! (kids were 4,6,8 yr old when we got it originally)
To be precise, Nexus costs $50, but Global Entry is then included at no additional charge. The drawback is that your Nexus interview must be done either in Canada or one of the few border location sites in the US. If you frequent Canada and/or live near the border, Nexus could make great sense.