For the past year, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has set up shop at some of the nation's busiest airports to pitch a program designed to make it easier for Americans who travel abroad frequently to re-enter the country.
Now the federal agency is taking that message to conventioneers.
Customs and Border Patrol representatives set up booths at two recent trade shows at the Georgia World Congress Center, the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association meeting in February and the American College of Cardiology gathering in March.
They were selling the Global Entry Trusted Travelers Program, a plan that allows Americans to pass through customs quicker. While general travelers go through several customs checkpoints, Global Entry members avoid the long lines by going to designated kiosks at 20 U.S. airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson International.
Enrollment in the program costs $100 and lasts five years. More than 42,000 people have enrolled since Global Entry launched in 2008.
"It's an opportunity to meet a larger pool of people in a specific area," said Tamara Mathews, a spokeswoman for the Customs and Border Patrol, who credits the agency's passenger service manager Linda Fuller with taking the lead at conventions locally.
"These are business people who frequently travel," Mathews said. "We are trying to interest them for future visits."
Here's how it works at the Atlanta airport: Global Entry participants bypass the passport control line and proceed to one of eight Global Entry kiosks. They insert their passport, provide their fingerprints and then answer a set of questions. Then they take their receipt to an exit marked for the program.
Tim Sushil, another Customs spokesman, said the agency also wants to to take the program to large corporations with employees who would benefit from participating. He said the program ensures security through a thorough vetting process that includes a face-to-face interview with participants and detailed background checks.
At the Atlanta conventions, the agency handed out hundreds of brochures on the program and talked to dozens of interested visitors, Mathews and Fuller said. International conventioneers also expressed interest, but at the moment the program is limited to foreign travelers from the Netherlands, which has an agreement with the U.S.
Germany and the United Kingdom are working on agreements and hope to make the program available to their citizens in the future. they said.
"They definitely want to know more," Fuller said of international visitors.
Geoff Freeman, senior vice president of public affairs for the U.S. Travel Association, called Global Entry "tremendous," with lots of potential. He said speeding some travelers through the customs process could help reduce long lines for others coming back into the country who aren't part of the program.
The next step, he said, is to get the word to more people through marketing and most importantly, getting agreements with other countries. His association has been at the forefront of advocacy to streamline the entry process into the U.S. by foreign visitors. He said that will make the nation more competitive as a destination.
Charlie Olentine, vice president of the Atlanta-based U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, agreed. He said the Visa process for entry into the U.S., for instance, is difficult and can dissuade some from making the trip.
"About 4,000 of our convention attendees come from outside of the country, especially Latin America," Olentine said. "Frankly that is where my growth is going to come from in the future."
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
