The Lakewood Township moments ago announced that – following extensive outreach and coordination – the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be hosting in-person interviews in Lakewood for its popular Global Entry Program.
The interviews are expected to take place in the Lakewood Municipal Building in August (exact date and time have not been finalized yet). This would be the first time that the CBPwould conduct such interviews in Ocean County – and among the few times it has done so in the entire state, outside of Newark Liberty Airport.
There will be a limited number of interview slots available at this event, available to CBP pre-approved Lakewood residentsonly. In order to qualify for a potential slot, applicants must receive initial CBP conditional approval for Global Entry by July 31st. As the conditional approval process can take several weeks, or longer, applicants who would like a chance to be interviewed are advised to begin the application process promptly.
Details regarding event schedule – and how to request an interview slot – will follow. As interview slots at this event arevery limited, conditional approval does not guarantee an interview slot in Lakewood – but can always be used to schedule an interview at the regular, year-round CBP Global Entry enrollment locations.
Applying for the Global Entry Program costs $120 per adult;and several credit card companies provide customers with credits towards the application fee.
Global Entry is free for children under the age of 18. A parent or legal guardian must already be an active Global Entry member or have a pending application in order to apply for a child.Children are not automatically covered by a parent or legal guardian’s membership. Every traveler, regardless of age, must have their own separate account and approved background check.
Applications can be submitted online at https://globalentry.gov/,which is the only official government site for applications. (CBP strongly discourages the use of third-party sites). It is important that all questions are answered accurately. Submitting anyinaccurate information – even minor or inadvertently – can disqualify an applicant from consideration for the program.
Program Benefits:
Travelers who are approved for the Global Entry Program typically enjoy substantially shorter wait times at passport control at dozens of airports in the United States, as well as at CBP Pre-Clearance stations at select airports outside the United States. Once fully approved in Global Entry, members are also automatically enrolled into TSA PreCheck for expedited domestic airport security at no additional cost.
(For more information about Global Entry, please visit https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry and/or watch this informational video.)
