International travelers arriving in the United States are once again queueing in conventional passport lines after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) quietly suspended Global Entry processing because of a six-week-old funding lapse. As of March 10, automated kiosks are offline at all U.S. airports and pre-clearance sites; TSA PreCheck remains operational but is experiencing staffing delays. (insidethemagic.net)
CBP sources say the Trusted Traveler infrastructure—software updates, kiosk maintenance and enrollment center staffing—was deemed “non-essential” under the shutdown’s contingency plan. Without appropriations, the agency cannot process new applications, conduct in-person interviews or maintain the kiosks’ biometric systems. Roughly 12 million Global Entry members are affected.
Business travelers who relied on four-minute kiosk exits now face waits of 60–180 minutes at peak hubs such as JFK and Miami, according to social-media crowdsourcing.
![Global Entry Kiosks Go Dark Nationwide Amid Partial Government Shutdown]()
In the meantime, platforms like VisaHQ can smooth other parts of the entry process by helping travelers verify visa requirements, secure e-authorizations and even arrange passport renewals online—valuable services when trusted-traveler perks suddenly disappear. Learn more at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/
Travel managers are advising executives to download the Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app as a stop-gap, although its dedicated lanes are limited to 40 airports and hours of operation vary.
Corporate travel programs should flag the change in automated pre-trip emails, build longer connection buffers into flight bookings and revisit arrival-day meeting schedules. If the shutdown persists, companies may see higher hotel and per-diem costs as employees miss onward connections or overnight at port-of-entry cities.
CBP sources say the Trusted Traveler infrastructure—software updates, kiosk maintenance and enrollment center staffing—was deemed “non-essential” under the shutdown’s contingency plan. Without appropriations, the agency cannot process new applications, conduct in-person interviews or maintain the kiosks’ biometric systems. Roughly 12 million Global Entry members are affected.
Business travelers who relied on four-minute kiosk exits now face waits of 60–180 minutes at peak hubs such as JFK and Miami, according to social-media crowdsourcing.
In the meantime, platforms like VisaHQ can smooth other parts of the entry process by helping travelers verify visa requirements, secure e-authorizations and even arrange passport renewals online—valuable services when trusted-traveler perks suddenly disappear. Learn more at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/
Travel managers are advising executives to download the Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app as a stop-gap, although its dedicated lanes are limited to 40 airports and hours of operation vary.
Corporate travel programs should flag the change in automated pre-trip emails, build longer connection buffers into flight bookings and revisit arrival-day meeting schedules. If the shutdown persists, companies may see higher hotel and per-diem costs as employees miss onward connections or overnight at port-of-entry cities.
