[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82200-82202]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32832]



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Part IV





Department of Homeland Security





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U.S. Customs and Border Protection



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Expansion of Global Entry Pilot to Mexican Nationals; Utilization of 
Global Entry Kiosks by NEXUS and SENTRI Participants; Notices

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 249 / Wednesday, December 29, 2010 / 
Notices

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[Docket No. USCBP-2006-0037]


Expansion of Global Entry Pilot to Mexican Nationals

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: General notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is conducting an 
international trusted traveler pilot program, referred to as the Global 
Entry pilot, at several major U.S. airports. Currently, eligibility is 
limited to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. lawful permanent 
residents (LPRs), and certain eligible citizens of the Netherlands. 
This document announces that pursuant to a Joint Declaration between 
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Secretariat of 
Governance of the United Mexican States, CBP is expanding eligibility 
for participation in the Global Entry pilot to include qualified 
nationals of Mexico who otherwise satisfy the requirements for 
participation in the Global Entry pilot.

DATES: Effective Dates: The expansion of eligibility in the Global 
Entry pilot to qualified nationals of Mexico will occur on December 29, 
2010. Applications are currently being accepted from U.S. citizens, 
U.S. nationals, U.S. lawful permanent residents, and certain eligible 
citizens of the Netherlands and will be accepted for the duration of 
the pilot. Applications will be accepted from nationals of Mexico 
beginning December 29, 2010. Comments concerning this notice and all 
aspects of the announced pilot may be submitted throughout the duration 
of the pilot.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``USCBP-2006-0037,'' 
by one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Mail: Border Security Regulations Branch, Regulations and 
Rulings, Office of International Trade, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection, Mint Annex, 799 9th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20229.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, document title, and docket number (USCBP-2006-0037) for this 
notice. All comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received go to http://www.regulations.gov. Submitted comments 
may also be inspected during regular business days between the hours of 
9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Office of Regulations and Rulings, Office 
of International Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 799 9th 
Street, NW., 5th Floor, Washington, DC. Arrangements to inspect 
submitted comments should be made in advance by calling Mr. Joseph 
Clark at (202) 325-0118.
    Applications for the Global Entry pilot are available via the CBP 
Global Entry Web site, http://www.globalentry.gov or through the Global 
On-Line Enrollment System (GOES) Web site, https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov. Applications must be completed and submitted 
electronically.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Panetta, Office of Field 
Operations, (202) 344-1253.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In a notice published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2008 (73 
FR 19861), CBP announced an international trusted traveler pilot 
program, then referred to as International Registered Traveler (IRT) 
program, which was scheduled to commence operations at three initial 
U.S. airports on June 10, 2008. In a subsequent notice published in the 
Federal Register on May 27, 2008 (73 FR 30416), CBP changed the name of 
the pilot program from IRT to Global Entry and moved up the starting 
date to June 6, 2008.
    The Global Entry pilot allows for the expedited clearance of pre-
approved, low-risk travelers into the United States. Currently, 
eligibility is limited to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. lawful 
permanent residents (LPRs), and certain eligible citizens of the 
Netherlands. The initial Federal Register notice published on April 11, 
2008 contained a detailed description of the program, the eligibility 
criteria and the application and selection process, and the initial 
airport locations: John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New 
York, Terminal 4 (JFK); the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, 
Houston, Texas (IAH); and the Washington Dulles International Airport, 
Sterling, Virginia (IAD). CBP chose these initial airports due to the 
large numbers of travelers that arrive at those locations from outside 
the United States.
    On August 13, 2008, in a notice published in the Federal Register 
(73 FR 47204), CBP announced that the Global Entry pilot had expanded 
to include all terminals at JFK and four additional airports: Los 
Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California (LAX); 
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia 
(ATL); Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois (ORD); 
and Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida (MIA). Additionally, on 
April 23, 2009, in a notice published in the Federal Register (74 FR 
18586), pursuant to an arrangement between the United States and the 
Netherlands, CBP expanded eligibility for participation in the Global 
Entry pilot to include citizens of the Netherlands who participate in 
Privium, an expedited travel program in the Netherlands.
    On August 10, 2009, in a notice published in the Federal Register 
(74 FR 39965), CBP announced that the Global Entry pilot had again 
expanded to include thirteen additional airports: Newark Liberty 
International Airport, Newark, New Jersey (EWR); San Francisco 
International Airport, San Francisco, California (SFO); Orlando 
International Airport, Orlando, Florida (MCO); Detroit Metropolitan 
Wayne County Airport, Romulus, Michigan (DTW); Dallas Fort Worth 
International Airport, Dallas, Texas (DFW); Honolulu International 
Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL); Boston-Logan International Airport, 
Boston, Massachusetts (BOS); Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport, 
Las Vegas, Nevada (LAS); Sanford-Orlando International Airport, 
Sanford, Florida (SSB); Seattle-Tacoma International Airport-SEATAC, 
Seattle, Washington (STT); Philadelphia International Airport, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PHL); San Juan-Luis Munos Marin 
International Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico (SAJ) and Ft. Lauderdale 
Hollywood International Airport, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL).

Operations

    The Global Entry pilot allows pilot participants expedited entry 
into the United States at any of the designated airport locations by 
using automated kiosks located in the Federal Inspection Services (FIS) 
area of each airport. The Global Entry pilot uses fingerprint 
biometrics technology to verify a participant's identity and confirm 
his or her status as a participant.
    Global Entry pilot participants do not have to wait in the regular 
passport control primary inspection lines. After arriving at the FIS 
area, participants proceed directly to the Global Entry kiosk. A 
sticker affixed to the participant's passport at the time of acceptance 
in the Global Entry pilot

[[Page 82201]]

provides visual identification that the individual can be referred to 
the kiosk.
    After arriving at the kiosk, participants activate the system by 
inserting either a machine-readable passport or a machine-readable U.S. 
permanent resident card (Form I-551) into the document reader. On-
screen instructions guide participants to provide fingerprints 
electronically. These fingerprints are compared with the fingerprint 
biometrics on file to validate identity and confirm that the individual 
is a member of the program. Participants are also prompted to look at 
the camera for a digital photograph and to respond to several customs 
declaration questions by use of a touch-screen.
    When the procedures at the kiosk have been successfully completed, 
participants are issued a transaction receipt. This receipt must be 
provided along with the passport or permanent resident card to the CBP 
Officer at the exit control area who will examine and inspect these 
documents. CBP officers stationed in booths next to the kiosk lanes 
also oversee activities at the kiosk.

Declarations

    When using the Global Entry kiosks, Global Entry pilot participants 
are required to declare all articles being brought into the U.S. 
pursuant to 19 CFR 148.11.
    If a Global Entry pilot participant declares any of the following, 
the kiosk redirects that user to the head of the line at the nearest, 
open passport control, primary inspection station:
    (a) Commercial merchandise or commercial samples, or items that 
exceed the applicable personal exemption amount;
    (b) More than $10,000 in currency or other monetary instruments 
(checks, money orders, etc.), or foreign equivalent in any form; or
    (c) Restricted/prohibited goods, such as agricultural products, 
firearms, mace, pepper spray, endangered animals, birds, controlled 
substances, fireworks, Cuban goods, and plants.

Global Entry pilot participants may also be subject to further 
examination and inspection as determined by CBP Officers at any time 
during the arrival process.
    For a more detailed description of the Global Entry pilot, please 
refer to the April 11, 2008 Federal Register notice, 73 FR 19861.

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking To Establish the Global Entry Pilot as a 
Permanent Program

    In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), published in the Federal 
Register on November 19, 2009 (74 FR 59932), CBP proposed establishing 
the Global Entry pilot as a permanent voluntary international trusted 
traveler program which would operate in a manner similar to the Global 
Entry pilot. The comment period has closed and CBP is in the process of 
analyzing the comments. As provided in the NPRM, current participants 
in the Global Entry pilot would be automatically enrolled in Global 
Entry once the permanent Global Entry program is finalized. Although it 
is projected that the Global Entry program will eventually operate at 
all major international airports, at the start of the program, it is 
anticipated that its operation would initially be limited to the 
airports participating in the pilot.

Expanded Eligibility for the Global Entry Pilot

    Eligibility criteria for participation in the Global Entry pilot 
are also set forth in detail in the April 11, 2008 Federal Register 
notice. To date, only U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. LPRs, and 
certain citizens of the Netherlands are eligible to participate in the 
pilot. However, as explained in the November 19, 2009 NPRM, CBP is 
working to expand the eligibility of the Global Entry pilot to certain 
nonimmigrant aliens from countries that have entered into arrangements 
with CBP concerning international trusted traveler programs. The notice 
stated that such expansions of the pilot would be announced by 
publication in the Federal Register and would include the country and 
any conditions that may apply based on the terms of the arrangement. 
The notice also stated that CBP anticipates that if the United States 
enters into such a Global Entry arrangement during the period of the 
pilot and announces the arrangement in the Federal Register, the 
participating citizens of that country would be automatically enrolled 
in the permanent Global Entry program once it is established.

Expansion of Global Entry Pilot To Include Nationals of Mexico

    On November 30, 2010, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
signed a Joint Declaration with the Secretariat of Governance of the 
United Mexican States regarding cooperation on the development of an 
international trusted traveler pilot consisting of two phases. Phase 1 
is the CBP Global Entry phase expected to offer expedited travel into 
the United States for Mexican nationals who meet CBP Global Entry 
program requirements following screening of applicants by both 
countries. Phase 2 is the Mexico Trusted Traveler Program phase 
expected to include development of a Mexican trusted traveler program 
that offers expedited travel to Mexico for U.S. citizens and Mexican 
nationals and other eligible applicants, who meet mutually determined 
criteria.
    Consistent with Phase 1 of this Joint Declaration, CBP is expanding 
eligibility for the Global Entry pilot. Specifically, nationals of 
Mexico will now be able to apply for participation in the Global Entry 
pilot. In order to participate, Mexican nationals will be required to 
complete the on-line application located on the GOES Web site, pay the 
non-refundable $100 per person applicant processing fee, and satisfy 
all the requirements of the Global Entry pilot.
    Based on the Joint Declaration, Mexican nationals will be permitted 
to participate in the Global Entry pilot only upon successful 
completion of a thorough risk assessment by both CBP and the Mexican 
Government. As is the case with all Global Entry pilot applicants, an 
individual who is inadmissible to the United States under U.S. 
immigration law is ineligible to participate in the Global Entry pilot. 
Applications from such individuals will automatically be rejected. 
Applications for the Global Entry pilot may also be rejected if the 
applicant has ever been convicted of a criminal offense, or if the 
individual has ever been found in violation of customs or immigration 
laws, or of any criminal law. Additionally, an applicant will not be 
accepted for participation in the Global Entry pilot if CBP determines 
that the applicant presents a potential risk of terrorism, or 
criminality (including smuggling), or if CBP cannot sufficiently 
determine that the applicant meets all the program eligibility 
criteria. CBP will be accepting applications from eligible nationals of 
Mexico beginning December 29, 2010. Additional information on 
eligibility will be announced at http://www.globalentry.gov.
    All other aspects of the Global Entry pilot as described in the 
previous notices remain in effect.

U.S. Citizens Participation in Mexico's Trusted Traveler Program

    Consistent with Phase 2 of the Joint Declaration with the Mexican 
government, U.S. citizens who participate in the Global Entry pilot 
will have the option to apply for participation in Mexico's trusted 
traveler program, once such a program is established. Once that program 
is established, it will be announced on CBP's Web site.


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    Dated: December 23, 2010.
Thomas S. Winkowski,
Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations.
[FR Doc. 2010-32832 Filed 12-28-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P