It’s been a busy month as we get our baby girl set up for global travel! After receiving her passport on December 30 – more on passport timelines here – I immediately submitted (that same day) an application for her to get Global Entry. This had always been a part of our plan, though we suspected we would need to have her interview on arrival upon our return from Japan. Fortunately, we were able to snag a last-minute interview ahead of time, so now this little lady is ready to go! Here’s what our timelines looked like for Global Entry:
- December 30 – We submitted her application for Global Entry through the Trusted Traveler Programs Website, located here: https://ttp.dhs.gov. We paid our $100 fee at this time as well.
- January 1 – We received an email update that she was conditionally approved – yay! Of course, that meant it was time to schedule an interview for her. I looked at our three closest airports, and there was nothing available until after we left for our trip.
- January 1 to January 11 – I periodically checked the website to see if any interviews opened up. I almost snagged one at the Sanford airport (about two hours away), but I decided to hold out for something closer at either Tampa or Orlando. While I could have used a service, like Megan did, I ultimately found an appointment for January 19 at TPA!
- January 19 – Since we weren’t ghosted this time, our little girl had her interview and got her picture taken. We then received her official approval on our walk back to the short-term parking lot!
So, within a month, we knocked out everything – a timeline I’ve never seen before, but I’m quite grateful we accomplished. Now we’re just waiting on her physical card to come in the mail.
The agent we spoke to also recommended we look into the Global Entry mobile app, which will be my next step. When we have two kids in tow on our travels, I appreciate anything that helps us move more efficiently!