We started the process to renew our Global Entry application at the end of February 2022. We both submitted our application and paid the fee on 2/26/2022. Julie received a notification she was conditionally approved on 2/28/2022 (2 days!). It took James another 4 months before he received his notification of a conditionally approved application (6/25/2022 – we were on our way back from Scotland!!). If we had reviewed our email while in the Washington Dulles airport we may have been able to finish the interview process 5 months ago as we came through customs. Julie would occasionally login to the Global Entry website to see if she could find available interview times at the Des Moines Airport; but there never seemed to be openings (either in person or via video). We had decided we would try the interview upon entry option the next time we flew internationally. In the meantime, we would keep looking (we didn’t want to drive to International Falls, MN or any other far reaching location to have a 10 minute interview).
Earlier in November, we visited our chiropractor and we always swap travel stories with he and his wife. They had recently returned from Portugal and told us about their adventure. We found out they had recently applied for Global Entry (their first application) and were able to obtain interviews in Des Moines. We asked them how they were able to accomplish this feat since we struggled to find an appointment. Our chiropractor said the Customs Agent in Des Moines randomly adds interview slots toward the end of the month for 3 months out. So on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Julie logged in to the Global Entry site and clicked on Des Moines to see if there any openings for February or later. Lo and behold (after rubbing her eyes and double checking the calendar date said 2022) Julie was able to schedule interviews for 11/27/2022!
3 hours after our in person interviews with a very nice customs agent, we received the notifications our applications were fully approved!
Now . . . what visually extraordinary location should we explore since we have Global Entry for another 5 years?