Last updated: January 2026
We track appointment availability at every Global Entry enrollment center in the country, and we've been doing it since 2020. Over the years, some clear patterns have emerged — and knowing them can save you literal months of waiting.
The big picture
The average Global Entry interview wait is somewhere around 30–60 days nationwide. But that number is basically meaningless, because it hides a massive range. Some centers have appointments this week. Others won't see you until spring.
What determines the wait at any given center? Mostly it comes down to three things: how many people live nearby, how well-staffed the center is, and whether people know it exists.
Where the waits are shortest
These centers consistently run under two weeks:
Eisenhower Park (East Meadow, NY) is probably the best-kept secret on the East Coast. It's on Long Island, about 30 miles from Manhattan, and routinely has same-week appointments while JFK is booked out for months. If you're in the NYC area and haven't heard of it, now you have.
Nashville, St. Louis, and Kansas City — the mid-size Midwest/Southern cities punch way above their weight. Low demand, adequate staffing, short waits. If any of these are within driving distance, don't overthink it.
Pittsburgh is another good one. Draws from a smaller metro area and rarely gets backed up.
Where the waits are longest
No surprises here — it's the big coastal airports:
JFK and Newark together serve the entire New York metro area (20+ million people). Waits regularly exceed 60 days. LAX and SFO are the same story for Southern and Northern California. O'Hare gets crushed with Chicago-area demand. Boston Logan serves all of New England from one center.
If you're near one of these, your best move is to look at nearby alternatives. Every one of these has a less-popular center within a couple hours' drive that could save you 1–2 months.
Seasonal patterns (this is useful)
We see the same cycle every year:
September through November is the sweet spot. Summer travel is over, fewer people are applying, and appointment slots open up. If you can time your application to hit conditional approval in the fall, you're golden.
January through March is the worst. The post-holiday rush of "I should really get Global Entry" applications all hit at once. Processing slows down, interview slots fill up.
Summer is middling — steady demand but also higher staffing at some locations.
The takeaway: if you're not in a rush, starting your application in August or September tends to produce the smoothest experience.
The cancellation economy
This is the part most people miss. The official wait time at a center might say 60 days, but that doesn't mean you actually have to wait 60 days.
Appointments cancel constantly. Someone gets sick, changes their travel plans, books at a different location, or just forgets. When that happens, their slot goes back into the pool — and if you're watching, you can grab it.
At busy centers like DFW (which we see cancellations at multiple times per day), the catch is that these slots get snapped up fast. We're talking minutes, sometimes seconds. Which is why we built the alert system — we check every center every few minutes and text you instantly when something opens.
Our data from the past year: the median time from signing up for alerts to booking an interview is about 10 days. 85% of users book within two weeks. Even at JFK.
Region by region tips
Northeast: Eisenhower Park over JFK. Ronald Reagan Building in DC over Dulles. Pittsburgh if you're in western PA/Ohio.
Southeast: Nashville and Charleston run short. Atlanta and Miami are packed. Charlotte is hit or miss but worth watching.
Midwest: Kansas City and St. Louis are your friends. The Chicago Field Office downtown is separate from O'Hare and often has better availability.
Texas: Austin-Bergstrom is usually faster than DFW or Houston Intercontinental. The Houston Field Office is a separate (and often faster) option from the airport center.
West Coast: Portland usually beats SeaTac. Phoenix Sky Harbor is decent. For California, honestly just sign up for alerts — LAX, SFO, and San Diego are all competitive.
Check for yourself
All of this data is live on our locations page, updated every few minutes from the DHS scheduling system. You can see exactly what's available right now at every center in the country.
And if you want to stop checking and let us do it for you, that's what the alerts are for.
We've helped 25,000+ travelers book faster Global Entry interviews since 2020. Get started here.