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Global Entry processing time: what CBP says, and your dates
Enter the date you submitted the application: the tool turns CBP’s published figures into dates for you.
Global Entry: the dates CBP’s figures give
80% of applications approved by
November 11, 2026
| Some take up to | October 28, 2027 or longer |
| Card, if approved by the 2-week mark | by December 9, 2026 |
CBP figure: 80% approved within 2 weeks, some 12 months or more. Approval here means conditional approval, before the interview.
CBP publishes one figure on Global Entry review times, and it has two halves. About 80% of applications are conditionally approved within 2 weeks of submission; the rest can take 12 months or longer. CBP gives no average and no breakdown by airport or by profile, and no official source says which applications fall in the slow group, so this site does not guess. Conditional approval is not the end: it opens the interview, which you schedule at an enrollment center or complete through Enrollment on Arrival when you return from abroad, and the final decision follows on a timeline CBP says can vary. Once approved, the card arrives by mail in 2 to 4 weeks and must be activated within 30 days, but you can use the airport kiosks with your passport before it comes. The tool above turns those figures into calendar dates from the day you applied. Nothing on this site, and no paid service, can make CBP review a file faster.
Enrollment on Arrival airports where you land
Airports listed by CBP in New York
2
| Listed | Buffalo Niagara (BUF) |
| Listed | New York JFK (JFK) |
CBP list read on October 26, 2026 (page modified January 29, 2026). Only for conditionally approved applicants, on an international arrival.
Fees and rules read on tsa.gov and cbp.gov by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The four stages and what CBP publishes on each
| Stage | CBP figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Background review | 80% within 2 weeks | some 12 months or longer |
| Interview | as soon as you find a slot or land at an EoA airport | depends on you and on slots |
| Final decision | CBP gives no figure | email and TTP account |
| Card by mail | 2 to 4 weeks | activate within 30 days |
Only the first and last stages have an official figure. Anything you read elsewhere about average weeks per airport or per month comes from travelers' own reports, which this site does not reproduce: such samples lean toward the applications that took long, because those are the ones people write about.
The interview is the stage you control
Once conditionally approved, your wait depends on how soon you can be interviewed. Appointment slots at busy centers may be weeks away, but Enrollment on Arrival needs none: any return from abroad through a listed airport will do. Pick your arrival state or country below to see the airports CBP names there.
Enrollment on Arrival airports where you land
Airports listed by CBP in New York
2
| Listed | Buffalo Niagara (BUF) |
| Listed | New York JFK (JFK) |
CBP list read on October 26, 2026 (page modified January 29, 2026). Only for conditionally approved applicants, on an international arrival.
Some centers also accept walk-ins from conditionally approved applicants. CBP suggests checking whether the domestic airport you pass through has an enrollment center that can take you immediately.
If you need the lane sooner
If a trip is coming and the review drags, TSA PreCheck alone can be faster: TSA says most numbers come within days of the visit. That costs a second fee and does not speed up customs on return. The PreCheck processing time page gives TSA's figures. If you hold a renewal application, the clock matters less: when filed before expiry, CBP keeps your benefits for up to 24 months while it is pending, as the renewal page explains.
When the answer is no
A denial comes in writing with the reason. You can ask the CBP Ombudsman for reconsideration through your TTP account, with documents that clarify the record; the denials page sets out the route. The fee is not refunded, whatever the outcome.
Keeping the file moving
Three things are in your hands while CBP reviews. Answer every question on the application fully: CBP lists false or incomplete information among the grounds for denial. Keep your passport details current in the TTP account, under Update Documents, since a renewed passport mid-review must be on file. And read your email: CBP announces each change of status there, including the conditional approval that opens the interview. Beyond that, CBP gives no channel to ask for a faster review.
Applicants from partner countries face an extra step: their own government vets them before or alongside CBP, under each arrangement's rules, so the published CBP figure may not describe their wait. The page for non-US citizens lists the partner countries.
If your address changes during the review, update it in the TTP account: CBP mails the card to the address on file.