Conditional approval is not an approval. It is permission to sit the interview, and the start of a 730-day deadline. Nothing else in the application moves until that interview happens, and the clock does not pause while you decide where to do it.
Here is how the status reaches you, what it does and does not entitle you to, and the four places the interview can be completed.
CBP does not email you the decision. It emails you a pointer to it. The Trusted Traveler Programs FAQ puts it plainly:
If there is a change in the status of your application, such as a conditional approval or denial, you will receive an email stating to check your account for a change in status. When you log in to the TTP website, you will see a letter posted on your Dashboard explaining the status change.
The letter on your TTP Dashboard is the notice. The email is only a nudge toward it, and the nudge is the part that goes missing. If you applied a while ago and have heard nothing, log in and read the Dashboard rather than waiting for mail.
While you are in there, check the address on file. CBP's remote interview guidance asks applicants to verify their email before scheduling, so that appointment details reach them.
It means CBP has taken your application far enough to put you in front of an officer. It does not mean you are a member.
Two lines of the TTP FAQ set both the deadline and the penalty:
You should complete the interview as soon as possible after conditional approval. Failing to attend the interview and completing the process within 730 days from the date of conditional approval will result in your application being cancelled.
You must complete enrollment within 730 days of receiving your conditional approval. Not scheduling and completing the interview will result in cancelation of the application and no refunds will be granted.
730 days is two years, counted from the date of the conditional approval — not from the day you applied, and not from the day you paid. Miss it and the application is cancelled with the fee kept, so starting over means a fresh application and another $120. Two years sounds generous, which is exactly the trap.
Only one of them involves the appointment scheduler. The interview can happen on arrival from an international flight, before a departing flight or a cruise, at a land border crossing, or at an enrollment center.
Enrollment on Arrival "allows Global Entry applicants who are conditionally approved to complete their interviews upon arrival into the United States", in CBP's words. There is no appointment: you follow the signage in the international terminal to CBP officers, who complete the interview as part of your admissibility inspection. It is offered at more than 50 U.S. airports in 28 states and at 16 locations abroad.
Two rules decide whether it is open to you: conditional approval has to be in hand already, and the arrival has to be a genuinely international one. CBP's FAQ is exact on the second — "No. Only those who are entering the U.S. Customs and Border Protection area after arriving from an international flight can participate in EoA." A domestic flight that departs, arrives or connects through an airport on the list does not qualify.
Bring your valid passport — all of them if you travel on more than one — evidence of residency such as a driver's license with a current address, a mortgage statement, a rental payment statement or a utility bill (not required for minors), and your permanent resident card if applicable.
It costs nothing and needs no appointment, but it only works if you have an international trip coming, and hours vary by terminal and change. Check CBP's Enrollment on Arrival page for your airport, and our guide to Enrollment on Arrival airports and rules.
Three lesser-known siblings cover the trips that are not international arrivals.
This is the route everyone starts with, and the only one that does not depend on travel. It is also where the wait is out of your hands: availability differs enormously from center to center, driven by staffing, hours and local demand.
So widen the search rather than accept the nearest center's next free date. Compare every center on our wait times page, or browse by state — in Texas, for instance, waits differ from city to city. Slots also return to the scheduler continuously as people cancel and reschedule, so a center showing nothing this morning may show something this afternoon; our guide to getting an earlier interview covers the rest.
Once an appointment exists, there is one rule worth pinning to the wall:
While your application is in "Interview Scheduled" stage, you can reschedule or cancel an appointment by logging in to the TTP website... Please note that canceling an appointment could cause your application to be cancelled. To avoid having your application cancelled, you should reschedule instead of canceling.
So if a booked date stops working — you found something sooner, or the day fell apart — change the date. Do not clear the slot and go looking afterwards.
The Interview Confirmation link on your Dashboard lists the documents CBP wants for your particular application, and that list is the authority. In general terms, the guidance asks for:
Disability assistance is arranged in advance through CBP on (877) 227-5511 or the help.cbp.gov portal, under the "Scheduling interview" issue. At Enrollment on Arrival there is no advance step — tell the officer at the start, and if an effective accommodation is not readily available, CBP may schedule the interview for a later date instead.
A household that applies together does not move together. Each application is reviewed on its own schedule, and each applicant schedules a separate interview:
Each application is processed individually. We strongly encourage applicants to schedule appointments once conditionally approved rather than waiting on a family member.
If your conditional approval lands first, book it. Holding out for one date that suits four people is a reliable way to spend a two-year window.
CBP's stated turnaround is short: "Typically, an application can be approved within 1-2 business days. There may be situations where additional information is required." Your TTP account is where that change shows, the same place the conditional approval letter appeared.
Approval is the point at which the membership exists — the card and the benefits belong to that side of the line, not to conditional approval. One thing that does not affect the term: "Your Trusted Traveler membership date is not dependent on the passport expiration date."
This guide was last checked against CBP's published guidance on September 15, 2026.
For what the appointment itself involves once you have one, see what to expect at a Global Entry interview.
By US Global Entry Team