Complete process guide
Global Entry: who qualifies, how children apply, and the update that stops it failing at the kiosk
Updated Jul 27, 2026
Written and checked by the QueueCheck editorial team. Last checked July 27, 2026. How we verify information
Most Global Entry writing answers one question, which is how long it takes. The questions that actually stop people applying sit either side of that: whether something in their past disqualifies them, whether the children have to be enrolled too and at what cost, and what the membership does once they have it. Those get thin answers, and one of them has a failure mode that strands members at the kiosk with a perfectly valid membership.
This guide covers the parts of Global Entry that are not about waiting. Our timeline guide handles how long approval and interviews take, and our revocation guide covers what happens when membership ends. Here the subject is eligibility, families, the airport experience as it now works, and the maintenance that keeps a membership functioning.
Global Entry official timing, translated into plain language
OfficialGlobal Entry: vetting normally within 2 weeks; extra review can take 12-24 months
Reader timelines are being collected for this service. The tracker page keeps the current official figure and what people who applied in your month are reporting.
Wait anxiety for Global Entry
Editorial score from official sources. Last checked 23 July 2026.
The membership beyond approval, stage by stage
Eligibility decisions are discretionary, so nothing below guarantees an outcome. Fees, procedures, and the airport experience are set by CBP and change; the official pages are the authority for any specific case.
- 1Check who can apply at all
- 2Take your own history seriously
- 3Enrol the children as their own applicants
- 4Interview, including the family logistics
- 5Use it, and understand what it does
- 6Keep the record current
Check who can apply at all
Before paying anythingGlobal Entry is open to US citizens, US nationals, and lawful permanent residents, along with citizens of a defined list of partner countries who satisfy that country's own arrangements. The application fee is not refundable if you are found ineligible, which makes this the cheapest minute you will spend on the process.
Take your own history seriously
The step people rushCriminal history, customs and agriculture violations, immigration violations, and pending investigations all bear on a discretionary decision. Answering the history questions accurately matters more than what the history contains, because an omission that vetting later surfaces is treated far more harshly than the underlying incident.
Enrol the children as their own applicants
One application per childThere is no minimum age, and no child rides on a parent's membership. Each minor needs their own application, their own account, and their own interview, with consent from a parent or guardian.
Interview, including the family logistics
Coordinated where possibleEveryone in the family is interviewed, which for young children is brief but still a required appointment. Families commonly try to book adjacent slots at one enrolment centre, and Enrolment on Arrival is worth checking for the whole group if an international trip is already booked.
Use it, and understand what it does
From approvalMembership is individual. It speeds your own entry processing and carries TSA PreCheck through your Known Traveler Number; it does not extend to a spouse or child who is not themselves a member, and it does not guarantee admission on any given trip.
Keep the record current
Whenever a document changesA new passport has to be entered in your Trusted Traveler Programs account. Until it is, the membership stops working at kiosks and land crossings even though it has not expired, which is the single most common way a valid membership fails in practice.
A DUI or an old arrest: what the decision turns on
CBP treats trusted-traveler membership as a discretionary privilege rather than an entitlement, so there is no published list of convictions that automatically disqualify an applicant and no published list that is automatically forgiven. What the decision turns on in practice is the shape of the history: how long ago the incident was, whether it stands alone or sits among others, whether any matter is still pending, and what the record shows about the years since.
The variable applicants actually control is disclosure. A dismissed, expunged, or decades-old matter disclosed accurately is an ordinary part of a file that officers see constantly; the same matter discovered undisclosed converts a discretionary decision into one about candour, which is a much worse position. A pending case is worth resolving before applying rather than during, and where the history is serious enough that the answer genuinely matters, a lawyer who handles trusted-traveler matters is a better investment than a forum consensus.
Children, and the fee most families do not know about
There is no minimum age for Global Entry, and no version of it where a child is covered by a parent. Every child needs their own application, their own Trusted Traveler Programs account, and their own interview, with a parent or guardian consenting and present. That is the administrative cost, and for a family of four it means four applications and four interviews rather than one.
The financial cost is lower than families expect, because minors aged 17 and under can be enrolled without the application fee where a parent or guardian is already a member or has an application in progress. That waiver is easy to miss, and it changes the arithmetic of enrolling a whole family considerably. Confirm the current terms on the official pages before applying, since fee arrangements are set by CBP and do change.
What now happens at the kiosk
The Global Entry experience has moved away from the routine that most published descriptions still assume. Upgraded kiosks use facial comparison, so members are commonly processed without scanning a passport or providing fingerprints at the machine, and the receipt-printing step that older guides describe has largely gone. The practical effect is a faster and less fiddly arrival than the instructions suggest.
Two things have not changed. The physical card is for land and sea crossings and for programmes that use it, rather than for airport arrivals, so a card that has not arrived does not stop you using the benefit at an airport. And an officer retains the authority to refer any traveller to secondary inspection regardless of membership, which is a normal feature of the border rather than a sign that something is wrong with your file.
The passport update that quietly disables a membership
Renewing a passport is the most common way a valid Global Entry membership stops working. The membership is tied to the travel document recorded in your Trusted Traveler Programs account, so a new passport must be added there through the document-update section. Until that happens, the membership does not function at kiosks or land crossings, and the traveller usually discovers this at the border rather than at home.
A name change is a step further. Where the new passport carries a different name, updating the record generally requires a visit to an enrolment centre rather than an online edit, which takes an appointment and therefore lead time. Anyone changing a name around a trip should treat the enrolment centre visit as part of the trip planning rather than an errand for afterwards.
What membership does not do
It does not admit you. Entry remains a decision made by an officer on the day, and membership speeds the processing rather than guaranteeing the outcome. It does not cover family members who are not themselves enrolled, which is the most common misunderstanding at the airport when a couple discovers they cannot go through together.
It also does not follow you to every airport or every border. The programme operates at participating locations, and where it is unavailable you use the ordinary queue. Checking which facilities exist at your arrival point matters most for less common airports and for land crossings, where the card and the lane rules differ from the airport experience.
The problems members actually hit
You renewed your passport and Global Entry stopped working
What helps
Add the new passport to your Trusted Traveler Programs account through the document-update section. The membership itself is intact; the record simply points at a document you no longer carry. Do this before travelling rather than after the kiosk rejects you.
You have a DUI or an old arrest and do not know whether to apply
What helps
Disclose it accurately and let the discretionary decision happen. Recency, whether it stands alone, and whether anything is pending all matter, and an undisclosed matter found in vetting is worse than the matter itself. Resolve pending cases first where you can, and take advice where the stakes are high.
Only the adults in your family have membership
What helps
Children cannot use a parent's membership at any age, so a family travelling together either enrols everyone or queues together. Enrolling minors is often free where a parent is a member or has applied, which makes the barrier the four interviews rather than the fee.
You changed your name after marriage or divorce
What helps
Expect an enrolment centre visit rather than an online update, and book it with lead time. Until the record matches your travel document, the same kiosk failure applies as with an unupdated passport.
Your card has not arrived but you are flying soon
What helps
For airport arrivals the card is not what you present; your identity and the record behind it are. The card matters for land and sea crossings. If the trip is by air, a card still in production is not a reason to delay.
You were sent to secondary inspection despite membership
What helps
Officers can refer any traveller regardless of programme membership, and one referral is not evidence of a problem with your file. A pattern across trips is different and is what the DHS redress programme exists for, which our revocation guide covers alongside what a membership ending actually involves.
Share the Global Entry date that would have helped you
Official numbers cannot show what applicants actually experience month by month. Sharing your application and decision dates helps the next reader see the real pace. Under a minute, dates only, nothing personal.
Share my Global Entry datesGlobal Entry details readers usually double-check
Can I get Global Entry with a DUI?
There is no published rule that automatically disqualifies you and none that automatically clears you, because the decision is discretionary. How long ago it happened, whether it stands alone, whether anything is pending, and whether you disclosed it accurately are what the decision turns on. Disclosure is the part you control, and hiding an incident is treated far more seriously than the incident.
Do children need their own Global Entry membership?
Yes, at every age. There is no minimum age and no child is covered by a parent's membership, so each minor needs their own application, account, and interview, with parent or guardian consent. A family enrols individually or queues together.
Is Global Entry free for children?
Minors aged 17 and under can commonly be enrolled without the application fee where a parent or guardian is already a member or has an application in progress. It is a widely missed provision that changes the cost of enrolling a family. Confirm the current terms on the official pages, since fee arrangements change.
Do I need to update Global Entry when I get a new passport?
Yes, and it is the most common way a valid membership stops working. Add the new passport in your Trusted Traveler Programs account under document updates; until you do, the membership fails at kiosks and land crossings. A name change usually requires an enrolment centre visit rather than an online edit.
Do I still scan my passport at the Global Entry kiosk?
Commonly no. Upgraded kiosks use facial comparison, so members are frequently processed without scanning a passport or giving fingerprints at the machine. The experience is quicker than older instructions describe, though what is available varies by location.
Can my spouse or child use my Global Entry lane?
No. Membership is individual and does not extend to anyone travelling with you, which is the most common surprise at the airport. Everyone who wants the benefit needs their own membership, including children.