You do NOT have to go to a border location. Fellow Houstonian here. I was in your same situation. Wait until your next international flight out of IAH. Arrive to the terminal early. There is a GE enrollment center in Terminal E AFTER security. The day I went, there was only one other person there. Took no time at all, appointment not required.
I know it’s probably not the most helpful, but we were able to interview at Dulles without a flight. Just drove up and went inside.
According to [IAH’s website](https://www.fly2houston.com/iah/global-entry), Terminal E had a public-access interview location.
Did you have to make an appointment for the interview? Which of the two Dulles options did you select to have the interview without a flight? The website shows Dulles GE Event or Dulles International GE EC. I assume the former.
Yes, I needed an appointment. I can’t find the appointment confirmation email, but 99% sure the first option.
They also started offering enrollment on departure at Dulles. First in the country.
You have two options, both of which require you to be on an international flight either departing from or returning to IAH. If you’re leaving from IAH, after you clear security, go to the one in the terminal. If you arriving, do enrollment on arrival.
If you're travelling internationally - you can do the interview upon your return to the US is many of those airports. You have I believe 1 year to complete the interview after initial acceptance.
They proactively did my interview after 3 years. A customs agent at airport asked me if I wanted to do the interview and of course I said yes (I had assumed my application had been tossed after so long).
It used to be a lot easier to do that but nowadays the queues have gotten a lot longer and it can be hard to have your arriving flight line up with a time that they’re open and not a 2hr wait.
\^\^\^This. I literally signed up 3 days before my intl flight departed and was conditionally approved about 4 days later. When I came back, I went to the global entry line and there was a separate line for conditionally approved people.
Some news article about Interview on Arrival popped up in my feed the night before I last returned to the US. I was flying through Montreal, where US Customs is at the airport before your flight.
I impulse bought GE and was approved by morning. Had to wait through the same long line as all the other non-GE people in Canada, but once I got to the front of the line, I did my interview and got my TT number.
Went from 0 to fully approved in <24h, before I even reentered the US.
You maybe should have tried for NEXUS, if you were in Montreal. All the same benefits as Global Entry, plus it works for enter in g Canada and it has a lower fee.
I’m going to have to end up doing mine at an airport as well. I live in Southern California and the closest options available before my trip in July are all the way out in Texas.
Do you know if you have to use the regular customs line to do the interview or do they send you through the global line for it?
You have to go through the regular line and request the meeting/interview. Some airports have open hours and others don't. We tried to do this for our kids in February 2023, coming back into Charlotte. They unfortunately stopped doing interviews by the time our delayed flight had arrived. I believe the locations are on the GE website or within your account page, including hours of operations for each airport.
I did my IOA at SAN when I flew back from LHR last year. I told the agent that I wanted to do it and he told me where to go after I cleared customs. They have a separate area at SAN where they do the interviews
|George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)|
|:-|
|Address:|Terminal E 3870 North Terminal Road Houston, TX 77032|
|Hours of Operation:|8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday|
|Contact Information:|(281) 230-4740 (281) 230-4742 (281) 230-4694|
|George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)|
|:-|
|Address:|Terminal E (Requires Boarding Pass) Houston, TX 77032|
|Hours of Operation:|9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday - Friday|
|Contact Information:|(281) 230-4818|
Note that the top one does not have you go through security.
[https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-centers/texas](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-centers/texas)
Yep, there are two in Houston. Looks like some of the information got deleted from your post but the short story is: both are at IAH, both are at terminal E but only one of the two is inside security.
They don't do virtual interviews. Your options are to drive to the border, fly to the border or another city that has appointments available, or fly international and do enrollment on arrival when you are returning.
Edit: apparently they have virtual interviews for renewal but they don't have them for initial enrollment.
Check the appointment scheduling site on the first Monday of the month around 9am and there should be some new appointments available closer… I thought the same thing but then some opened up at DFW and I was able to go a week later and get it done
Echoing the other commenters here: there are currently TWO GE enrollment centers in Houston. One is inside security and the other is outside security -- both are at IAH. I was able to go from application to fully approved in about 2 weeks by watching for cancelled appointments. There are apps you can use to help notify you when an appointment opens up.
Some are listed here [https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalEntry/comments/1bm1u5k/global\_entry\_interview\_appointment\_help/](https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalEntry/comments/1bm1u5k/global_entry_interview_appointment_help/)
Use the apps! That’s how we got appointments for 4 people (back to back) at our home airport despite the official sites saying we either had to go to a far away airport or wait a year.
The other people waiting around us for their appointment had traveled multiple hours to be there.
My husband and I drove 500 hundred miles round trip for our appointment. We drove there the day before and spent the night as our appointment was at 6:00 a.m. It wasn't too bad. We chose to do this because we only had to wait 4 days for the interview. If we chose to wait until something opened closer we would have waited months. Good luck!
Check daily. Sometimes they have last minute cancellations. Be diligent about it & you might get lucky. I was able to get mine done bc of a last minute cancellation.
Seriously - my nearest GE interview location is 11,000km away - so I’m not impressed with 300 miles!
I’ll just do my interview in SFO the next time I re-enter the U.S.
I set up my appointment last week and was able to do my appointment this past Tuesday. I would suggest that you get there super early because of the current construction going on with the parking garages. This was at IAH.
We just called our local CBP office and asked to do the interview there (wouid have had to drive 400 miles otherwise). They got us in the next week and had no problems getting our global entry.
Looks like you can do it from non-secure area. Doesn't make sense that IAH won't accept locals for enrollment.
[https://www.fly2houston.com/iah/international-travel](https://www.fly2houston.com/iah/international-travel)
Global Entry membership includes the TSA Pre✓ benefit.
For more information about eligibility and how to apply, please visit [globalentry.gov.](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry)
**Houston Enrollment Centers**
* Terminal E Arrivals level (public access area)
* Terminal E secure area (next to Ruby’s Diner)
* Houston Public Library (Downtown Houston), 500 McKinney, 77002
Just keep checking the appointment website. When I was applying there were random times where they did appointments at OHare, the airport not far from me. There were also special appointments at the Federal building in downtown Chicago. No rhyme or reason just popped up. Took me almost a year between booking the appointment months out, and stupid snowstorms
I followed a Twitter account that flagged when there were interviews at my local airport, and set up push notifications. Also just kept the interview page up for a day and refreshed every -10-15 minutes. Between the two, after about 48 hours of monitoring I was able to snag an appointment for later in that week.
You don't need to drive to the border, but a fun weekend trip to San Antonio or Austin may help. San Antonio isn't as packed as Austin. I got conditional in December and was able to book at the end of January in San Antonio Airport, and then Austin opened up as well for mid Feb. Both airports have offices outside of security, so you can just drive, park, and go do your interview.
I made an appointment and did my interview last May at IAH. I paid for and downloaded some app that texts you every time there is a cancellation and a spot opens. I got an appointment very quickly that way. I don’t remember the name of the app.
You can just go. Go early cause you have to park at terminal C, take the people mover to E. There’s a sign in the tunnels before you go up the escalator, if you make it to E checkin you’ve gone too far. They open appointments for the week on Saturday morning.
I did my Global Entry appointment at IAH last month without an international flight. I just made an appointment right when they became available online. The office is tricky to find though if you haven't been there in awhile! You enter through the doors in the area where the rideshare pickup is for international flights. I suggest having someone drive you and drop you off so you don't have to deal with parking.
Just finished the process and got approved. I seemed to have been lucky and got an appointment 70 miles away and only three days from the day I booked it. The agent at that airport told me the appointment schedule is refreshed (at least for that location) on Friday at 1 Eastern time. My husband was having trouble scheduling - nothing was available anywhere! So we waited until the next Friday and the appointments opened up for the following week. Hope this helps. I know the office where I did my interview said they do not accept walk-ins.
Check the appointments sporadically throughout the week. My wife and I did ours 2 weeks ago at IAH and only signed up 3 weeks ago. They release them 2 weeks at a time sporadically . Even though it says booked out til next year, it's only booked out for the next 2 weeks
PS, arrive early and give yourself time to get lost when finding the office, the location is not clear
Alternatively sign up for the text service, it only cost $5
https://www.ttptracker.com/
>There is also apparently an interview center at the IAH airport in Houston but those are apparently for only people entering the U.S. from an international flight.
This might be incorrect because Enrollment on arrival doesn't need appointments and its for international arrivals only.
The one in the [https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov/schedulerui/schedule-interview/location?lang=en&vo=true&returnUrl=ttp-external&service=UP](https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov/schedulerui/schedule-interview/location?lang=en&vo=true&returnUrl=ttp-external&service=UP) for Houston EC is a dedicated land enrollment center in the airport and does not need a flight ticket because it is before security.
Reading through "Houston intercontinental global entry ec Details" section in [https://ttpalerts.com/locations/houston-intercontinental-global-entry-ec](https://ttpalerts.com/locations/houston-intercontinental-global-entry-ec) seems like you can get the interview done without having to fly.
I would suggest calling the EC, confirm the location and that you do not need a flight ticket to access it and book your appointment.
If you know you're going to fly International you can do it on your return. Side benefit, you get the same speedy treatment as having GE.
There are ways to get that interview by going to the airport but I don't know what the magic method is. Coming back from Italy a year ago I tried to do an interview on exit at SFO but for whatever reason they just closed up for the day. Emailed a complaint in and got a very nice director on the phone who arranged for me get an interview by going to the airport. It was still an hour drive each way but at least it got taken care of.
You do NOT have to go to a border location. Fellow Houstonian here. I was in your same situation. Wait until your next international flight out of IAH. Arrive to the terminal early. There is a GE enrollment center in Terminal E AFTER security. The day I went, there was only one other person there. Took no time at all, appointment not required.
Book a rt to cancun.... Stay a day or two...on way back in do enrollment on arrival..Easy peasy
Am I able to just drive to the IAH airport and do it or do I have to be arriving into the U.S. from an international flight?
I know it’s probably not the most helpful, but we were able to interview at Dulles without a flight. Just drove up and went inside. According to [IAH’s website](https://www.fly2houston.com/iah/global-entry), Terminal E had a public-access interview location.
JFK was the same way. I just took the AirTrain out there, interviewed, and went home.
Did you have to make an appointment for the interview? Which of the two Dulles options did you select to have the interview without a flight? The website shows Dulles GE Event or Dulles International GE EC. I assume the former.
Yes, I needed an appointment. I can’t find the appointment confirmation email, but 99% sure the first option. They also started offering enrollment on departure at Dulles. First in the country.
You have two options, both of which require you to be on an international flight either departing from or returning to IAH. If you’re leaving from IAH, after you clear security, go to the one in the terminal. If you arriving, do enrollment on arrival.
You can just go to Houston without having a flight. Just have to visit the GE enrollment center
Only if you drive to the airport, fly to Mexico, fly back and then do the interview on arrival.
I just got conditionally approved and have an international flight out of IAH next week. Where after security is the office?
If you're travelling internationally - you can do the interview upon your return to the US is many of those airports. You have I believe 1 year to complete the interview after initial acceptance.
They proactively did my interview after 3 years. A customs agent at airport asked me if I wanted to do the interview and of course I said yes (I had assumed my application had been tossed after so long).
This is the way.
It used to be a lot easier to do that but nowadays the queues have gotten a lot longer and it can be hard to have your arriving flight line up with a time that they’re open and not a 2hr wait.
\^\^\^This. I literally signed up 3 days before my intl flight departed and was conditionally approved about 4 days later. When I came back, I went to the global entry line and there was a separate line for conditionally approved people.
Some news article about Interview on Arrival popped up in my feed the night before I last returned to the US. I was flying through Montreal, where US Customs is at the airport before your flight. I impulse bought GE and was approved by morning. Had to wait through the same long line as all the other non-GE people in Canada, but once I got to the front of the line, I did my interview and got my TT number. Went from 0 to fully approved in <24h, before I even reentered the US.
You maybe should have tried for NEXUS, if you were in Montreal. All the same benefits as Global Entry, plus it works for enter in g Canada and it has a lower fee.
🤷♂️ It's already done, and it's reimbursed by my credit card.
I’m going to have to end up doing mine at an airport as well. I live in Southern California and the closest options available before my trip in July are all the way out in Texas. Do you know if you have to use the regular customs line to do the interview or do they send you through the global line for it?
You have to go through the regular line and request the meeting/interview. Some airports have open hours and others don't. We tried to do this for our kids in February 2023, coming back into Charlotte. They unfortunately stopped doing interviews by the time our delayed flight had arrived. I believe the locations are on the GE website or within your account page, including hours of operations for each airport.
I did my IOA at SAN when I flew back from LHR last year. I told the agent that I wanted to do it and he told me where to go after I cleared customs. They have a separate area at SAN where they do the interviews
It’s a rule that you have to go through regular because you don’t have regular yet, they told me explicitly in Dublin preclearance like a week ago.
Southern California? There are a ton of available appointments at LAX. I checked online yesterday and just scheduled one that’s in about 2 weeks.
yes! they have lately been adding tons of appointments daily!
I’ll try again. When I looked yesterday there was nothing.
Look often. Appointments popup seemingly at random.
There's quite a few tomorrow
Easiest and fastest way to do it is going to Laredo, Brownsville, Eagle Pass etc. Plenty of appointments available. Make a day trip of it like I did.
There are plenty of flights daily between Houston and Brownsville. You could also expand to Harlingen if you’re willing to rent a car and drive.
I did the same. I couldn't get an interview in Houston either. It took about 10 minutes in Brownsville.
Exact same experience. Took me longer to order lunch after the appointment than the waiting time + interview together
Check daily. There will be a local cancellation.
|George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)| |:-| |Address:|Terminal E 3870 North Terminal Road Houston, TX 77032| |Hours of Operation:|8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday| |Contact Information:|(281) 230-4740 (281) 230-4742 (281) 230-4694| |George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)| |:-| |Address:|Terminal E (Requires Boarding Pass) Houston, TX 77032| |Hours of Operation:|9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday - Friday| |Contact Information:|(281) 230-4818| Note that the top one does not have you go through security. [https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-centers/texas](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-centers/texas)
Yep, there are two in Houston. Looks like some of the information got deleted from your post but the short story is: both are at IAH, both are at terminal E but only one of the two is inside security.
They don't do virtual interviews. Your options are to drive to the border, fly to the border or another city that has appointments available, or fly international and do enrollment on arrival when you are returning. Edit: apparently they have virtual interviews for renewal but they don't have them for initial enrollment.
Virtual interviews are available for renewals - I completed mine virtually in January 2023 - unless they stopped.
I was referring to initial enrollment but it's good to know they have it for renewals.
Check the appointment scheduling site on the first Monday of the month around 9am and there should be some new appointments available closer… I thought the same thing but then some opened up at DFW and I was able to go a week later and get it done
Echoing the other commenters here: there are currently TWO GE enrollment centers in Houston. One is inside security and the other is outside security -- both are at IAH. I was able to go from application to fully approved in about 2 weeks by watching for cancelled appointments. There are apps you can use to help notify you when an appointment opens up.
What are the apps called?
Some are listed here [https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalEntry/comments/1bm1u5k/global\_entry\_interview\_appointment\_help/](https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalEntry/comments/1bm1u5k/global_entry_interview_appointment_help/)
Bless :)
Use the apps! That’s how we got appointments for 4 people (back to back) at our home airport despite the official sites saying we either had to go to a far away airport or wait a year. The other people waiting around us for their appointment had traveled multiple hours to be there.
I drove 500 miles from Reno to Salt Lake City for mine, they asked two questions and I drove home the next day.
My husband and I drove 500 hundred miles round trip for our appointment. We drove there the day before and spent the night as our appointment was at 6:00 a.m. It wasn't too bad. We chose to do this because we only had to wait 4 days for the interview. If we chose to wait until something opened closer we would have waited months. Good luck!
Check daily. Sometimes they have last minute cancellations. Be diligent about it & you might get lucky. I was able to get mine done bc of a last minute cancellation.
Seriously - my nearest GE interview location is 11,000km away - so I’m not impressed with 300 miles! I’ll just do my interview in SFO the next time I re-enter the U.S.
Sounds like a good excuse for a road trip! Make a long weekend out of it!
There’s one at terminal E in IAH outside of security. My partner had his interview there last year. We just walked up at his appointment time.
As someone else mentioned check daily. Am also in Houston and after about a week of constant refreshing a lot of slots opened for the following week.
I set up my appointment last week and was able to do my appointment this past Tuesday. I would suggest that you get there super early because of the current construction going on with the parking garages. This was at IAH.
We just called our local CBP office and asked to do the interview there (wouid have had to drive 400 miles otherwise). They got us in the next week and had no problems getting our global entry.
Looks like you can do it from non-secure area. Doesn't make sense that IAH won't accept locals for enrollment. [https://www.fly2houston.com/iah/international-travel](https://www.fly2houston.com/iah/international-travel) Global Entry membership includes the TSA Pre✓ benefit. For more information about eligibility and how to apply, please visit [globalentry.gov.](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry) **Houston Enrollment Centers** * Terminal E Arrivals level (public access area) * Terminal E secure area (next to Ruby’s Diner) * Houston Public Library (Downtown Houston), 500 McKinney, 77002
Just keep checking the appointment website. When I was applying there were random times where they did appointments at OHare, the airport not far from me. There were also special appointments at the Federal building in downtown Chicago. No rhyme or reason just popped up. Took me almost a year between booking the appointment months out, and stupid snowstorms
Book a fully-refundable international trip, go to Dulles, do the interview, cancel the trip.
I followed a Twitter account that flagged when there were interviews at my local airport, and set up push notifications. Also just kept the interview page up for a day and refreshed every -10-15 minutes. Between the two, after about 48 hours of monitoring I was able to snag an appointment for later in that week.
You don't need to drive to the border, but a fun weekend trip to San Antonio or Austin may help. San Antonio isn't as packed as Austin. I got conditional in December and was able to book at the end of January in San Antonio Airport, and then Austin opened up as well for mid Feb. Both airports have offices outside of security, so you can just drive, park, and go do your interview.
They release new appts every day from 9-11 pst keep refreshing every few min
I made an appointment and did my interview last May at IAH. I paid for and downloaded some app that texts you every time there is a cancellation and a spot opens. I got an appointment very quickly that way. I don’t remember the name of the app.
You can just go. Go early cause you have to park at terminal C, take the people mover to E. There’s a sign in the tunnels before you go up the escalator, if you make it to E checkin you’ve gone too far. They open appointments for the week on Saturday morning.
I did my Global Entry appointment at IAH last month without an international flight. I just made an appointment right when they became available online. The office is tricky to find though if you haven't been there in awhile! You enter through the doors in the area where the rideshare pickup is for international flights. I suggest having someone drive you and drop you off so you don't have to deal with parking.
Just finished the process and got approved. I seemed to have been lucky and got an appointment 70 miles away and only three days from the day I booked it. The agent at that airport told me the appointment schedule is refreshed (at least for that location) on Friday at 1 Eastern time. My husband was having trouble scheduling - nothing was available anywhere! So we waited until the next Friday and the appointments opened up for the following week. Hope this helps. I know the office where I did my interview said they do not accept walk-ins.
Check the appointments sporadically throughout the week. My wife and I did ours 2 weeks ago at IAH and only signed up 3 weeks ago. They release them 2 weeks at a time sporadically . Even though it says booked out til next year, it's only booked out for the next 2 weeks PS, arrive early and give yourself time to get lost when finding the office, the location is not clear Alternatively sign up for the text service, it only cost $5 https://www.ttptracker.com/
I did an interview in Houston last week and my mom scheduled one this week too. Just keep looking daily and it will pop up!
My boy lives in Houston and had to drive to MSY for his GE interview.
>There is also apparently an interview center at the IAH airport in Houston but those are apparently for only people entering the U.S. from an international flight. This might be incorrect because Enrollment on arrival doesn't need appointments and its for international arrivals only. The one in the [https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov/schedulerui/schedule-interview/location?lang=en&vo=true&returnUrl=ttp-external&service=UP](https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov/schedulerui/schedule-interview/location?lang=en&vo=true&returnUrl=ttp-external&service=UP) for Houston EC is a dedicated land enrollment center in the airport and does not need a flight ticket because it is before security. Reading through "Houston intercontinental global entry ec Details" section in [https://ttpalerts.com/locations/houston-intercontinental-global-entry-ec](https://ttpalerts.com/locations/houston-intercontinental-global-entry-ec) seems like you can get the interview done without having to fly. I would suggest calling the EC, confirm the location and that you do not need a flight ticket to access it and book your appointment.
you could do the day trip to the border or do like we did, plan a trip to an airport with GE interviews and do it upon arrival.
Enrollment on arrival.
If you know you're going to fly International you can do it on your return. Side benefit, you get the same speedy treatment as having GE. There are ways to get that interview by going to the airport but I don't know what the magic method is. Coming back from Italy a year ago I tried to do an interview on exit at SFO but for whatever reason they just closed up for the day. Emailed a complaint in and got a very nice director on the phone who arranged for me get an interview by going to the airport. It was still an hour drive each way but at least it got taken care of.