This is pretty standard, downside to being in a small city.

I got mine done in 2018 coming in from JFK, most people I know who have it have also gotten it on the way home.

So you can also do the interview upon reentry at the airport. In terms of Richmond, they only do interviews on Thursdays from 8 am to Noon. There's only a couple appointments once a week, so they're comically difficult to get. I would say keep an eye on Dulles- I was able to get an appointment on a Saturday with short notice, which worked out great for us with our child.

They’re only open for 3 hours a week for appointments which is the main problem.

The secret is Appointment Scanner. It will let you know whenever there is an opening. I wasn’t finding any appointments and was able to snag one when it alerted me. Worth every penny.

https://appointmentscanner.com

Thank you! This helped you snag an appointment here in Richmond?

Thank you! I’m blown away at how difficult this is. This year we fly back into the US on a weekday so hopefully we will have a long enough layover to get through an interview appointment for all 4 of us. But if we can’t then we will likely have to take an entire day and drive up to Dulles which is just maddening.

Well, the good thing about Dulles is that if you time it right, it's pretty painless. The interview process is quick and easy. We left here around 4 pm on a Saturday and were back by 7:45-8. All told we were at Dulles of around 40 minutes.

I used Appointment Scanner for a month Dec-Jan and only saw Richmond appointments show up once. 45 spots early in the morning and I missed them of course. Might have also been harder with all the holidays.

Ended up getting an appointment at Downtown DC office on a day that was convenient. Was able to drive up and park directly under the building. Appointment only took 5 minutes.

Just myself though. Difficult with a whole family...

I was able to get my global entry interview at the Richmond enrollment center (aka building outside the airport) back in September. I called the office on one of the few days they were open, and the agent that I spoke with told me when the online appointments were going to show availability for the following month. The agent gave me a date and time (7 am I think on a random Tuesday) and I was sitting at my computer refreshing the screen like crazy. Good luck!

i got mine done in 2019 there, its the dumbest thing. The interview took 10-15 minutes. All the interview was for me was taking the picture honestly. Best advice i can give is just keep looking, eventually you will find an appointment, took me like 2 months of checking it to finally find one

You don't need an appointment when you are flying back into the US. Look up "interview on arrival." Definitely the easiest way to get it done.

ugg, I wanted to do that. Is driving to DC necessary?

I ended up having to go to Dulles back in 2018, having discovered the same thing. Definitely know what you're going through, it sucks

I kind is suspect that the main reason for the interview requirement is to add on a slam-dunk "lying to a federal officer" charge for anyone who isn't being truthful on their application.

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Jesus, I just assumed this was difficult because the pandemic caused shorter hours and staffing issue. I didn’t realize it’s been an issue for YEARS. Thank for sharing my pity.

interesting and probably right. I knew i was passing so wasnt really concerned about it.

Yes but admittedly this was last year. Might be different now.

My partner signed up for alerts in September and got several alerts for Saturday appointments throughout October at Dulles. We just went ahead and made a weekend out of it.

The staffing is based on International travel levels at that airport, RIC has little if any direct International flights, so minimal staff. Raleigh has several direct international flights so they will have more agents and more opportunities for an appointment.

We ended up going to the DC enrollment center, made a day of it. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-centers/district-columbia

Had to go to Dulles for mine years ago. Richmond didn’t have an office then. Barely do now.

Depending on what it’s worth to you, maybe consider booking one in ATL or elsewhere and snagging cheap tickets ahead to fly in, interview and return.

Also, once you get it set yourself a reminder a month or so before your birthday 5 years out to renew. Renewal is easy while still active but mine lapsed and I had to redo the original filing. Luckily it came through while I was in Canada and I didn’t have to do another interview at all.

If you're coming home through Dulles, we've never seen the site at IAD open for interviews when we've returned from a trip (just the timing of return flights from Europe I think, we've always landed there after regular business hours). Scheduling and driving up to Dulles is your best bet, especially if you want it done before a trip that's already booked.

The main point of the interview is to take your picture and fingerprints

I called the office and asked if they were doing interviews still here or not since I also couldn't get an appointment. The officer told me that they released all the dates for the next month on Tuesday morning at 7 am. I think it was the third Tuesday of the month. Even knowing this, I still almost wasn't able to get an appointment since they were gone within literally two minutes.

I’m 8 months into waiting for conditional approval from my initial application.

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