Problems when entering the US with GC

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

6 hours ago, zoom123 said:

Yes, once appliation is conditioanally approved then they will ask to schedule an interview. I recently submitted and waiting for conditional approval.

Indeed, there is no chance of the below happening which is what confused me at first when you said it -

On 11/1/2018 at 8:01 AM, zoom123 said:

If interview is not required they will approve your application send a card.

 

[zoom123 7]

Hi Guys, just to update my application for TTP is denied. I checked my dashboard after getting email saying status updated. I don't see any document uploaded or any other info. Just plain saying your application is denied.

I don't understand why , I never had an issue with law or immigration. ( Only reason is I'm a Muslim) I think I will write an email to them once if they upload any document with reason. If you guys have any suggestions please let me know.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

It’s unconstitutional to deny you on the basis of religion, and many Muslims are TTP members.

 

”In the event you are denied or revoked from the Trusted Traveler Programs, then you may provide additional documentation to the CBP Trusted Traveler Ombudsman and request reconsideration.  If you do not know why you were denied then you will need to submit a request for personal records to the CBP/Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Division, in accordance with federal privacy laws.  For additional information about filing a FOIA request with CBP, please visit our Freedom of Information Act web page.”

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1150/~/trusted-traveler-application-denied

 

[Sandr123 1]

I am sorry this is happening to you and I had similar situation happening to me (it is especially frustrating when you are coming from a 14 hour flight and still have to get home). A few times they were asking some questions, but most of the time they just let me go. What one officer told me is that this is a mark that you will never be able to remove until you become a citizen, otherwise you should just plan on a longer connection time. 

 

But keep us updated in case your situation changes, I'd be more than glad to know that someone succeeded. 

[ElGuapo88 19]

I am a Venezuelan citizen with a conditional GC received October of 2017.  Since then I've been out of the country 5 times (Turks & Caicos x2, Cayman Islands, Europe, and Mexico) and every single time I return I go through secondary.  It depends on how many people are waiting - I've been in a crowded room where it took over an hour and I've also been in an empty room where I was let out in 10 minutes.  I was never asked any questions, they just call my name and return my documents and I'm free to go.  My situation is a bit different though as I have two arrests prior to receiving my green card.  One was for a DUI (charges were dropped) and the other was for driving with an expired license over 6 months.  Because of this, along with the fact that Venezuela was on the travel ban (only for government officials and their immediate families, neither of which apply to me) I kind of expected the trip to secondary inspection.  However, after being sent to secondary after every return it got a bit frustrating.  I asked 3 different CBP officers and they all told me the same thing - it's because of my prior arrests.  The first officer only sees a red flag with no other information, so they refer you to secondary where the officers there look into your record.  You would think that their system would let the first officer know that the arrests were years ago and that I had since exited and returned to the country already having cleared secondary, but that's not the case.  

 

I have TSA Precheck but haven't applied for Global Entry yet.  Not all arrests exclude you from being approved, and since the only charge I was found guilty of is driving with an expired license I figure I might have a chance.  But I'm just going to wait until I'm a citizen to apply since I think it may be easier to be approved at that point.  It's frustrating, but at this point it's just something I expect.  My wife goes to get the luggage and the car while I sit in secondary, and usually I'm out by the time she's done.

[Newcron 6]

On 12/3/2018 at 8:34 AM, zoom123 said:

Hi Guys, just to update my application for TTP is denied. I checked my dashboard after getting email saying status updated. I don't see any document uploaded or any other info. Just plain saying your application is denied.

I don't understand why , I never had an issue with law or immigration. ( Only reason is I'm a Muslim) I think I will write an email to them once if they upload any document with reason. If you guys have any suggestions please let me know.

Sorry to hear about your denial. I'm thinking about applying for Global Entry as well. Did you lose your application/membership fee completely or are they refunding it? 

 

Knowing how tourist visa denial from my country is basically like gambling because the fees are never refunded, my guess is no, but I gotta ask.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 hour ago, Newcron said:

Sorry to hear about your denial. I'm thinking about applying for Global Entry as well. Did you lose your application/membership fee completely or are they refunding it? 

 

Knowing how tourist visa denial from my country is basically like gambling because the fees are never refunded, my guess is no, but I gotta ask.

These fees are almost never refundable (and they aren't in this case either), because they are not fees to “get” a visa or “get” a membership, they actually pay for the time involved in someone evaluating the application. 

[zoom123 7]

13 hours ago, Newcron said:

Sorry to hear about your denial. I'm thinking about applying for Global Entry as well. Did you lose your application/membership fee completely or are they refunding it? 

 

Knowing how tourist visa denial from my country is basically like gambling because the fees are never refunded, my guess is no, but I gotta ask.

The fee is non refundable. If I re-submit application again I have to pay for it again. The reason for the denay is "You do not meet the program eligibility requirements".

I don't understand what I didn't met. I never had any issues/crime, even traffic ticket.

[Newcron 6]

On 12/9/2018 at 8:24 PM, SusieQQQ said:

These fees are almost never refundable (and they aren't in this case either), because they are not fees to “get” a visa or “get” a membership, they actually pay for the time involved in someone evaluating the application. 

 

12 hours ago, zoom123 said:

The fee is non refundable. If I re-submit application again I have to pay for it again. The reason for the denay is "You do not meet the program eligibility requirements".

I don't understand what I didn't met. I never had any issues/crime, even traffic ticket.

Thank you!

[Chewbacca 18]

On 12/5/2018 at 1:23 PM, ElGuapo88 said:

I am a Venezuelan citizen with a conditional GC received October of 2017.  Since then I've been out of the country 5 times (Turks & Caicos x2, Cayman Islands, Europe, and Mexico) and every single time I return I go through secondary.  It depends on how many people are waiting - I've been in a crowded room where it took over an hour and I've also been in an empty room where I was let out in 10 minutes.  I was never asked any questions, they just call my name and return my documents and I'm free to go.  My situation is a bit different though as I have two arrests prior to receiving my green card.  One was for a DUI (charges were dropped) and the other was for driving with an expired license over 6 months.  Because of this, along with the fact that Venezuela was on the travel ban (only for government officials and their immediate families, neither of which apply to me) I kind of expected the trip to secondary inspection.  However, after being sent to secondary after every return it got a bit frustrating.  I asked 3 different CBP officers and they all told me the same thing - it's because of my prior arrests.  The first officer only sees a red flag with no other information, so they refer you to secondary where the officers there look into your record.  You would think that their system would let the first officer know that the arrests were years ago and that I had since exited and returned to the country already having cleared secondary, but that's not the case.  

 

I have TSA Precheck but haven't applied for Global Entry yet.  Not all arrests exclude you from being approved, and since the only charge I was found guilty of is driving with an expired license I figure I might have a chance.  But I'm just going to wait until I'm a citizen to apply since I think it may be easier to be approved at that point.  It's frustrating, but at this point it's just something I expect.  My wife goes to get the luggage and the car while I sit in secondary, and usually I'm out by the time she's done.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Yesterday I was send to secondary inspection for the third time! The first officer was really nice and told me that the only thing that he could see is that I should be sent to secondary but not the reason why. The second officer asked me if I ever had any problems with immigration as the only thing he could see is that the problem is related to "administrative processing". He asked about visa denials, and I'm afraid that during my interview for the CR1 visa, it was denied because I had not fulfilled the 2 years home residency requirement (my visa process was faster than expected, and the time from submitting the petition to interview date was 5 months). The consular office gave me the option of applying for the waiver or wait. Since I was just few months away for the end of the 2 years, I just waited. I didn't have to go to the consulate again as they just asked me to send my passport by mail and one week later they sent back with the visa. 

 

I believe this CR1 denial is the reason of me being sent to secondary every time I enter the US. The officer said that I could apply for Global Entry but no guarantees that it would be approved or fix the problem. Otherwise, just wait until I become a citizen. I will contact the consulate in my home country to ask if they could help. 

 

It's very frustrating that CPB can't fixed the issue, but at least I know what to expect on the next trip, and I can plan longer layovers to avoid missing connecting flights. BTW, I also applied for a redress number, but it didn't help with this issue. 

[ElGuapo88 19]

@Chewbacca - I also asked about the redress number and the CBP agent told me it probably wouldn't make a difference.