Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) An event to help Taiwanese passport holders enroll in the United States' Global Entry program will be held in Taipei next month in response to strong demand for the service first made available to Taiwanese at the beginning of November.
The event, co-organized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), will be held at the AIT's Taipei office from January 18 to 24, 2018, the AIT announced in a statement Tuesday.
Taiwan passport holders and U.S. citizens in Taiwan can take advantage of the event to interview with CBP in Taiwan and join the Global Entry program at that time, it said.
Global Entry applicants are required to make an appointment for an interview before visiting a Global Entry Enrollment Center for in-person interview.
The requirement can be inconvenient for Taiwan residents because all of the centers are located overseas, mostly in the U.S.
There is an alternative process that does not require advance scheduling, known as the Enrollment on Arrival program, but it is available only at select U.S. airports, including San Francisco International and Seattle-Tacoma International, according to the AIT.
Global Entry program interviews in Taiwan will be offered to applicants who have been conditionally approved for the program and who have scheduled an interview for the Taiwan location.
Those interested should visit CBP's Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) website to start the application process and schedule an interview: https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov.
To be conditionally approved in time to schedule an interview with CBP in Taiwan during the January 18-24 interview period, applications for the global entry program must be submitted online before January 4, 2018, it noted.
The application fee is US$100.
Taiwan gained admission to the Global Entry program on Nov. 1, becoming the 12th partner worldwide and third in East Asia whose passport holders are eligible to enroll for the expedited clearance service.
Currently available at 54 U.S. airports and 15 pre-clearance locations around the world, the service streamlines the international arrival process at airports for trusted travelers by allowing them to complete their admission to the U.S. through an automated kiosk rather than wait on CBP inspection lines.
More than 4.7 million members have used the service to date.
For more information, one can check the following website https://www.ait.org.tw/global-entry.
