Most of you have probably heard the news but last week the Department of Homeland Security announced that New York residents will no longer be eligible to enroll or re-enroll for Global Entry. If you are a New York resident and currently have Global Entry (or are in the process of applying for Global Entry) here is what you need to know.

New York Residents Cannot Apply For Global Entry (Or Renew It)

New York residents will no longer be eligible to apply for or renew membership in CBP Trusted Traveler Programs which include Global Entry.

New York Residents That Already Have Global Entry Will Not Be Affected (For Now)

New York residents that already have Global Entry will not be immediately affected. Their Global Entry will not be taken away but when Global Entry expires they will not be able to renew it.

Pending Global Entry Applications Are Cancelled

CBP will cancel all pending trusted traveler program applications submitted by residents of New York. According to some readers who had pending applications, their applications were deleted with no notification (and many of them had been waiting for months to be approved).

If you are a resident of New York and had a pending Global Entry application, you will no longer see your pending application when logging into your Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) account at https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov/.

If your application had been approved but have yet to complete your interview you will no longer be able to do so. It is unclear if people that have already scheduled Global Entry interviews will be emailed to let them know (or just be turned away if they show up for their scheduled interview).

If Your Application Is Cancelled You Should Get a Refund

According to the CBP, “[r]efunds will be processed automatically.”  We have not heard of people seeing their refund yet but they should hopefully be seeing refunds soon.  It is also unclear if people that used a credit card with a Global Entry fee credit will have their fee credit reinstated so that they they can use it to pay for Global Entry for another person (that does not reside in New York) or for TSA Precheck.

New Yorkers Can Still Apply for TSA Precheck

The Trusted Traveler Programs programs no longer available to New Yorkers include Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST.  However, residents of New York can still apply for TSA Precheck.  The application fee for TSA Precheck is $85 but there are several ways to get TSA Precheck for free.

TSA Precheck + Mobile Passport is a Good Alternative to Global Entry

An alternative to Global Entry for expedited processing through CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) at airports upon arrival to the United States is to download the free Mobile Passport App.  Mobile Passport enables U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors to save time during the entry process at most major U.S. airports and cruise ports. Using the Mobile Passport App upon arrival into the US is just as quick or even quicker than Global Entry.

Mobile Passport does give expedited security at TSA checkpoints, so you would have to apply for TSA Precheck.

Summary

Unfortunately if you are a New York resident and you were in the process of applying for Global Entry, your application has been cancelled but you should hopefully receive a refund soon.

For those that want Global Entry benefits, the best option is to get TSA Precheck and also get the free Mobile Passport App.

We will update this post with any new information or developments. If any reader had their Global Entry application cancelled please let us know about the status of your refund.  For those that used a credit card with a Global Entry fee credit let us know if you are able to get your fee credit reinstated.