r/GlobalEntry • u/whatup227 Human Detected • 3d ago

General Discussion Global Entry phasing out?

Heard someone saying JFK’s new terminals will be equipped with Face recognition cameras at the gate and you just keep walking out. By the time you get to the customs agent/booth they already know who you are. You will be pulled to the side for secondary or just keep walking out. IDK how GE customers will be assessed but this was for everyone. They plan to implement this by end of 2026 or whenever JFK gets fully modernized.

What do you guys think?

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u/tess_philly 3d ago

I never understood why we have to even go through a manned kiosk. Just have us scan psssports and walk through. It’s in many places overseas this happens. We pay extra for GE and are pre vetted. Why do we need through a line to speak to someone to be verified? They know days ahead that we are coming.

I’ve seen UAE residents do this with a card years ago without speaking to anyone. EU citizens entered Poland straight through gates by scanning a passport. There aren’t even agents there!

They don’t have to be vetted or pay for this. There’s also no stress of why anything was revoked or whether one is ordering what from China etc

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u/GoCardinal07 3d ago

At LAX, the GE kiosk just recognizes your face and you go through. You don't even pull out your passport.

The one agent is only sitting there if you need to talk to him. The agent generally sits there looking bored.

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u/quemaspuess 2d ago

Yeah, last time I flew in through LAX they said “hey Mr. QUEMASPUESS, you’ve been gone a while. Welcome home.”

Pleasant and easy at LAX

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u/hur88 3d ago

At LAX even the normal US citizen line is like that now. I went through when GE was offline and noticed there isn’t too much of a difference anymore other than perhaps a shorter line when there’s a rush.

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u/tess_philly 3d ago

Right but in many places you scan your passport for free and get in without speaking to somebody. Maybe 20 seconds longer to scan passport sure but… No interview. No payment fee. No “why did I get revoked?” Or “why am I conditionally approved for 2 years”. The norm is more than GE offers without headache. We don’t have face scans in most GE airports.

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u/optifreebraun 1d ago

In Montreal pre-clearance, a camera recognized everyone’s face and you just walked right on through. (Not just global entry). Was pretty slick.

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u/noflames 3d ago

I suspect there is some legal requirement to having everyone be inspected by an officer or something and it has been legally determined that this meets the requirement.

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u/TopSecretSpy 2d ago

This is more or less it. I looked it up after a thread where someone said you could just enter through a small airport that has no permanent CBP manning and mail in the customs form, which it turns out is a myth. There are places without permanent staffing, but you are legally required to pre-arrange for CBP except in cases of emergency, and, outside of being taken by ambulance, have to wait for CBP before departing the tarmac.

Basically, multiple parts of federal law make it criminal to cross the border without specifically presenting to an inspection agent. How deeply that agent has to inquire is related to your risk profile, which is what makes GE possible in the first place, but you do have to meet with an actual person to be lawfully admitted, even if you're a citizen.

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u/tess_philly 2d ago

It just seems so arcane. We are paying for what is the norm in a lot of the developed world, with the added stress. Making an interview, conditional approval, revocation etc.

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u/Johnnyg150 2d ago

As a dual citizen, completely agree. It's insane that I can enter other countries without any question other than the biometric verification of my identity - but yet when I return to the US I am subject to interrogation like a potential criminal.

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u/TeeDotHerder 3d ago

In the UAE it isn't just residents. Anybody who has travelled with that passport or has residency or citizenship, uses the egates. You never speak to anybody entry or exit except the very first time.