In early July 2017, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that citizens of India can enroll in the Global Entry Program (GEP), thereby making India as one among only eleven countries whose citizens have the privilege of expedited immigration clearance. Pre-approved low-risk travelers could present their machine-readable passport or U.S. permanent resident card, place their fingerprints on the scanner for fingerprint verification, and complete a customs declaration at Global Entry kiosks at selected U.S. airports. To be pre-approved, all applicants are required to undergo a rigorous background check and in-person interview before enrollment.

In a recent update on the website of Indian embassy in Washington D.C., the procedure to apply for GEP through the Global Online Enrollment Systems (GOES) is explained as a simple three step process:

1. GEP applicant should apply and complete the application submission process through GOES of the CBP.
2. After completion of Step ‘1’ as above, the applicant should submit the requisite information along with applicable fee of Rs.500/- in the Passport Seva Portal for background verification in India. Applicants must also mandatorily visit the respective Passport Seva Kendra (PSK)/Passport Seva Laghu Kendra (PSLK) in India in person for completing formalities such as capturing of biometrics (fingerprints), photograph, in-person interview etc. The visit to the PSK/PSLK should be made only after fixing prior appointment.
3. If the applicant is currently not in India, s/he should apply for GEP membership at the CBP site at a date close to his India visit, so that the India side of the application submission process is completed during her/his visit.

This update can be found here.

It is up to the discretion of the CBP officials to select travelers for further examination when entering the U.S. If the CBP finds any violation of the program’s terms and conditions, it can revoke global entry privileges and enact appropriate enforcement action