Once again the hardest border to cross with an American passport is when you are entering the United States.
How it works in Europe
If you are a European you enter by scanning your passport, it checks your biometrics against the detail stored in your passport, if there is a match, you are in, no problem. Report to customs if you have anything to declare, otherwise welcome home.
If you are entering the UK it works the same way, but also for EU, US, Canadian, Australian, and a few other nationalities the UK has working agreements with. There is no need for a system like Global Entry to move their citizens through customs quickly because it is already efficient for everyone.
If you are going through security in the EU and you are not a citizen, they are sufficiently staffed, there is plenty of room to unload your luggage, and it is quick and easy at Munich airport, the 6th busiest airport in the European Union. Reykjavik is the same way. No reason to shill out more money only to get the same efficient service. That would be dumb.
But let’s say you are American and you want to go home.
Confusing Republican System
This all started with the immigration restrictions started by the PATRIOT ACT which protects our nation from the global menace of socks and sandals, and does nothing to curb the flow of money from Gulf States to terrorist organizations.
Well, first of all, the DHS website presents you with several options. They are:
TSA Precheck (speedy security)
Global Entry (speedy customs, comes with TSA precheck)
Nexus (which states that it comes with both TSA Precheck and global entry on their website)
SENTRI (may include TSA Precheck)
FAST (truck drivers going between US, Canada, and Mexico)
Now we end up with a very confusing setup on the TSA website, which confused me today.
Our first screenshot is from ttp.cbp.dhs.gov:
Our second screenshot is from https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/nexus
Our third screenshot is from https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/frequently-asked-questions:
Now we have a big question for the government… As a NEXUS holder, If I were to fly between London and Toronto with a connecting flight to Chicago, I can use the Global Entry kiosks for my connecting flight. If I were to fly directly from London to Chicago, I cannot use the exact same kiosk because its in the USA.
How does this make any sense?
The wording for NEXUS is also confusing because basically it is expedited immigration into Canada, as well as simplified security procedures at all major Canadian airports.
What gets even more confusing, is you can add the program for another tax (fee) to your already existing Nexus card, since the Nexus card application already includes all of the required information for Global Entry (obviously, since it works in Canada), but this is not available to all US Citizen Nexus members!
This is a system designed to confuse and get people in trouble. It is difficult to know which program to apply to, and you basically have to know all your travel plans for the next 5 years in advance to know which one to go for. This is absurd.
There are a few directions the US government can go from here.
Make it so that there is only one program. It will be TSA Precheck and Global Entry. If we have given you a background check and gotten your biometrics once, you shouldn’t have any restrictions on which program you want to use! If you want to go for NEXUS your application is also approved by the Canadians and they also receive your biometrics so you can use their kiosks just like the Global Entry kiosks. This is the conservative non-confusing option.
Just do what the Europeans do and since we already have biometrics with your passport, we can just use the same technology the Europeans already use for their own citizens. Their borders are just as secure as ours. This would make global entry redundant.
Do what the British do and use the exact same technology for all citizens from countries which have biometric passports and share data with us. Their borders are just as secure as ours.
Make TSA fast and secure by default like it already is in Europe perhaps? This would make TSA Precheck redundant.
Maybe join Schengen, and use their already very efficient security apparatus which is superior to ours because having customs between the US, Canada, and the EU is very silly. This is the default in Europe, and it works just fine, they are safer than the US.
Because seriously… George Bush really screwed up our immigration. It’s time to make it better.
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