Stretched thin at the U.S. Southern Border, the Department of Homeland Security has shuttered the Global Entry Enrollment Center at Los Angeles International Airport.
Located in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, the enrollment center offered in-person security interviews, a critical step in the Global Entry enrollment process, for arriving international passengers. It is only after the completion of these interviews that a Global Entry application will be approved (or declined).
The office has actually been closed since June 23, though I did not notice and apparently the Los Angeles Times did not either. Last year the Global Entry office in the ticketing hall shifted to an offsite location (a smart way to mitigate airport traffic). That satellite location remains open. It is only the post-flight arrivals interviews that have been suspended.
Asked about the closure, a DHS spokesperson at LAX confirmed the office would be closed “indefinitely”, adding “the humanitarian and security crisis on our southwest border” required a redeployment of those personnel.
Some travelers scheduled for interviews (which require appointments weeks or even months in advance) have reported they were not notified of their appointment cancellations and showed up only to find the doors locked. I find that far-fetched, since appointments are not given for arrival interviews.
DHS says it has notified all travelers via the contact method provided during the enrollment application.
CONCLUSION
I stopped by the office at LAX last night before my flight and can indeed personally confirm the office is shuttered.
What do you think about the Global Entry Enrollment Center closure at LAX?
Seems really odd. It’s not like there are that many people working at these enrollment centers usually. Maybe they assumed you could go over the Long Beach instead but there are plenty of enrollment centers in other much smaller airports that are still staffed. Must be more to the story on this.
Glad to see the border resources shifted to where they are truly needed.
Long Beach is the place to go if you live anywhere in Southern California. It’s only 20 or so minutes past the LAX exit on the freeway, but it’s a world of difference, IMO. You can park for free or less than $2.00, (a one or two minute walk away) and appointments are easy to attain even close in. I went up my initial interview in Long Beach and it all took less than 25 minutes from when I first pulled up to park. My renewal was a few months ago. They are still in the same office building, but now occupy a larger space. This time it took only 20 minutes total. Both of these experiences were mid-afternoon weekdays.
Going to LAX would require 3 times the travel time (even though it’s technically closer) and a fortune for parking. Sure you could schedule your appointment to coincide before or after a flight, in theory…. But in the real world flight or traffic delays would undoubtedly cause those appointments to be missed, and then it’s months to rejoin the queue and reschedule.
So no loss for me!
I think the key was taking care of it without an appointment upon arrival from an international fight. It’s too bad that was lost. But the LA Times got it wrong—the landside Global Entry office stopped doing interviews in October 2018.
That was great for frequent international travelers, but I mostly use mine for the added PreCheck benefit. But that’s getting progressively useless now at large airports. 🙁
DHS gladly took my nonrefundable application fee back in May, and I have been waiting for approval. This is likely why I an still waiting. Would like to get my money back.
I think a lot of personnel are being redeployed. I’ve been checking the Boston locations for a renewal interview for weeks and neither location had any open appointments at all. Finally got it done at JFK during an unrelated visit that I had scheduled.
I believe the people that showed up for interviews were referring to the satellite office at 11099 S La Cienega. That office is closed as well. I had an appointment scheduled at the La Cienega office on 7/23. I double checked my appointment the day before and my interview was cancelled. They never notified me of the cancellation. I scheduled interviews twice and both times they never sent an email confirmation of any kind.
The DHS did not notify me of the interview cancellation.