Pre-check expiring and Global Entry app pending - what to do?

[Carpediem]

I've got a little dilemma and not sure what to do. My TSA pre-check will expire on 6/24. I haven't renewed it because I have a Global Entry application pending (over 2 months now) and I know the Global Entry # replaces your TSA KTN.

We have a trip booked to Aruba for late September. Based on what I've read in another related thread, it could take up to a year to get my Global Entry app approved - even though my wife's was approved within days of submitting it. I sent an email to my state rep asking for assistance in finding out the status and received the info shown below, which is basically from the GE website.

Should I let my TSA pre-check expire and assume my GE app will eventually be approved? I'm thinking I should and if my GE app is not approved by the time we leave for Aruba, I'll just have to go through the regular TSA line. Maybe I'm overthinking all this (which I sometimes do) and I should just let all this play out.

Thoughts?

From my state rep's office:

We are currently experiencing high demand and processing volumes. Processing times vary by applicant, but you can expect your application to be processed as follows:

Global Entry (GE): up to 11 months

These are average times, and some applications are processed more quickly. Unfortunately, we cannot anticipate a date of completion for any specific application.

All applicants should check the Trusted Traveler Program website (<%= APP_TITLE %>) periodically for updates on the status of their application.

 

[5Miler]

I wouldn't count on seeing your GE approval anytime soon. DGF and I applied for renewal within 2 hours of each other in Jan 2023 and her approval came the next day while mine took 12 months.

If you absolutely want TSA Precheck then you probably should renew it if the wait time isn't too long. As for getting through passport control you could always use the Mobile Passport app which we used to use before getting Global Entry. It doesn't help with TSA Precheck but it did work wonders getting us through passport control in just minutes. It is free and no preapproval required.

 

[cathy63]

I don't think your federal legislators are going to be much help in getting a new GE application pushed through. They can help with things like an urgent need for a passport or when a government process is taking an excessively long time, but since GE is not a requirement for travel and you're well within the published service window, there's not going to be much that they can do to help you.

If I were in this situation, I'd just deal with the regular security line on the outbound trip. I would give my spouse my large electronics and liquids to take through pre-check*. On the return trip pre-check doesn't help so you both go through the same screening in Aruba, but I'd use the mobile passport app to get through immigration quickly upon returning to the U.S. while my spouse was doing GE.

* You might get pre-check even without a valid KTN though. My Mom gets it automatically when she travels on the same booking with us.