General Reports

[QUOTE=Sound7; 1399812]SENTRI Interview Risk Factors Are Unkown but the risk of lossing US citizenship is real. One has to guard ones citizenship if it means stop crossing international borders including Tijuana.

SENTRI interviews are open ended interview to say the least. Be prepared to be interviewed about personal matters in various format in a public space. I can understand the stress this puts on the applicants and some do bring personal advocate for the interview.

I would not be surprised by the high rejection rate for SENTRI applicants now under the current political environment regarding border issues. Having said thet personal attitude will be the key factors.

Good luck to all the Sentri applicants.

Unkown Risk Factors: Goverment and private agency data base not avialable to the general public.

Bus is 10 peso to Otay with a short walk.[/QUOTE]Hogwash.

Tell us about your SENTRI interview.

[QUOTE=Efjayel;1399963]Haven't decided yet on how to answer when asked why I want a SENTRI pass. I'm still deciding if I should say it's to stay in touch with family. I'm just worried if they ask me where they live since I don't actually have any family in Tijuana. I was also thinking about saying it's to meet with my girlfriend / fiance. But then they might start asking questions about that, which I don't have either. How do you guys think I should answer?[/QUOTE]I would recommend telling the truth. They are looking for people who act suspicious and have something to hide. If you start telling some made up story you will be more stressed trying to keep your details straight and that could trigger a longer, more serious interview.

When I had my interview it went very smoothly and I got the impression that they didn't care why I wanted the SENTRI card, there was no wrong answer. There is nothing wrong with saying you like to go to the bars.

it's a rather simple process if you have a clean record. to my surprise my 2 summons from my past weren't an issue with getting my card. why? i don't know but they did show up on the screen during the interview.

the interview is given by a customs officer in uniform so be prepared to sit down with a cop. dress nicely and have good hygiene. remember you are presenting yourself as a model citizen. he will look on the screen and ask you a few of the same questions that you already answered on your application. he also asked me what my father did for a living and where my mother was born. he did question me about the summons i received but i told him i that i was young and dumb at the time.

also if you have ever been stopped or had something confirep001ed from you at customs then you must declare this during the interview and application. ie. if you came back from mexico with a head of lettuce in your luggage or a half eaten sandwhich be honest. i tried to bring a questionable item in as an "art piece" but they didn't buy it. i did declare it though so no big deal. also no big deal at the sentri interview because i was honest.

mexican americans will have a tougher time getting sentri imo. if you have family members that have gotten in trouble you probably stand a chance at not meeting requirements. proving that you make a decent income is an issue imo. a guy collecting unemployment with a sentri pass could lead to questionable activity.

just look at your situation from the customs perspective and be realistic. be advised though that this a geared as a privileged program to those that generate a very low risk to the govt. this is determined by the man and you have absolutely no say in the process. you apply and have the interview. imo if you make the interview process you are good. dress nicely. if your application takes way too long to be processed that is probably imo a bad sign.

good luck gentlemen.

my application process was rather quick. i was approved immediately. like within the month. the appointment is what is taking so long. minimum of 3 months for the earliest appointment. as for customs, i've never had anything confirep001ed or even had to declare anything since i never bring anything back. i guess my only worry is my relatives. mostly my dad as he's had a lot of legal troubles in the past even as far as identity theft. hopefully his past doesn't come back to haunt me as i don't relate myself to him. we rarely ever talk. would be pretty unfair though to be denied because of his mistakes since i have a very clean record. i've had a full background customs inspection in the past because of work and was also considered a low risk civilian unlike some of my co-workers who took very long in the application process. some where even called in for an interview to "discuss" gray areas of their past. my application then was also quick and required no interview. i plan to bring that up at the sentri interview.

i do not plan on telling the truth as far as why i want a sentri. if they ask i will go with fjord's suggestion of visiting family and relatives and of course the food. because honestly, you can't get food in the states like how it's made in tijuana. i will never mention bars, drinking, prostitutes or anything of that nature. as far as they are concerned, i am not even aware those places exist. wish me luck.

again, for those of you who already did the interview, how long after your scheduled appointment where you finally done and out the door?

[QUOTE=Efjayel; 1399963]How long did you wait until you where interviewed? I have nothing to worry about the non public database as I have a record as clean as a whistle.

Are you a Citizen? I'm not. So I figure I'll get the third degree. Haven't decided yet on how to answer when asked why I want a SENTRI pass. I'm still deciding if I should say it's to stay in touch with family. I'm just worried if they ask me where they live since I don't actually have any family in Tijuana. I was also thinking about saying it's to meet with my girlfriend / fiance. But then they might start asking questions about that, which I don't have either. How do you guys think I should answer?[/QUOTE]Yes, I am a citizen. When they asked why I wanted one, I told them the damn line is too long and the wait is crazy. Convenience was my anwer. It was really faster than I thought. 2 weeks after submission. Was a 2 month wait but all I did was keep checking to see if there was any cancellations. Could've been 1 month total but I couldn't make the appointment last minute. If you keep checking online, you can see what opens up due to cancellations.

[QUOTE=Efjayel;1400317]Again, for those of you who already did the interview, how long after your scheduled appointment where you finally done and out the door?[/QUOTE]My wait was 2 or 3 months. I showed up about 15 minutes early for my appointment and the place was packed. Oh, BTW, they were taking walk-ins. I had to wait about 30 minutes before my name was called. Maybe a bit less.

They guy who interviewed me was named Lawless. Great name, huh? Wanted to know why I wanted the card. I told him the lines were stupid long, I used to come down occasionally to drink beer with a friend, etc, but had to stop because of the line. He also wanted to know if I did business in MX, which I don't. He made a huge point about employment. Wanted to see pay stubs. The instructions specifically state pay stubs or a tax return. So, it was easier for me to print off the Gutenberg Bible of my corporate tax return than to try to gen up "pay stubs" which don't really exist, as it's all electronic now. Anyway, he kept saying there was no evidence that I was employed as of the date I was there. I finally got a bit testy and pointed out that I had brought everything they required, to the letter. If the needed pay stubs only, they should have said so. He just looked at his screen for a while, then got friendly and said he figured they had enough info, and approved me.

He was also interested in criminal history of family members, and wanted to know if any of my friends were criminals.

Anyway, start to finish of interview was maybe another 15. 20 minutes. At one point they asked if I wanted a SENTRI sticker for my car. I ponied up the extra $$. Then I had to wait in another short line to pay, then waited outside for 15 minutes, or so, for the guy to come and inspect the car.

So, beginning to end was in the range of an hour or so.

Awesome Fjord, you're always so helpful and detailed.

It was crowded? So there is a whole bunch of people applying for SENTRI? I don't know why but I imagined the place to be quite dead since not many people know about SENTRI and how to apply for it. If they allow walk ins, then whats the point of setting up an appointment?

I'll do both, bring pay stubs and tax records just to be thorough.

I'm guessing that they ask you about family member's criminal history to see if you are truthful about it right? I'm not sure about my fathers criminal past besides knowing that he has one. I don't have criminal friends or even any close friends at that. Mostly everyone I know would only fit the bill of sporadic acquaintance.

Is there another fee besides the car fee during the interview? It's been so long since I did the application that I can't recall if I already payed all fees or if there is another fee at the interview. And can you pay in credit card or only cash?

Sbeach,

Obviously I want a SENTRI card to avoid the lines and have the convenience of crossing quickly. The question I am concerned about is when they ask me what I will be doing in Mexico, specially since I am originally from Mexico and don't have citizenship. They might think I'm trying to smuggle in family members or something.

[QUOTE=Phordphan; 1400357]My wait was 2 or 3 months.

I'm leaving on a month trip next week. Is it a good idea to apply for a Sentri card before I leave or should I wait until I come back from my trip?

Do they respond to the application right away like wanting a finger print or does it take more than a month for any response?

Last Saturday I waited in line from 3:20am to 5:20am, and what made it worse was all those A-holes who were cutting in. I told myself never again I'm going without a Sentri card.

Thank you in advance for any response.

[url]http://www.internationalsexguide.info/forum/showthread.php?2221-General-Reports/page38[/url]

PH

[QUOTE=Efjayel; 1400415]Awesome Fjord, you're always so helpful and detailed.

It was crowded? So there is a whole bunch of people applying for SENTRI? I don't know why but I imagined the place to be quite dead since not many people know about SENTRI and how to apply for it. If they allow walk ins, then whats the point of setting up an appointment?

I'll do both, bring pay stubs and tax records just to be thorough.

I'm guessing that they ask you about family member's criminal history to see if you are truthful about it right? I'm not sure about my fathers criminal past besides knowing that he has one. I don't have criminal friends or even any close friends at that. Mostly everyone I know would only fit the bill of sporadic acquaintance.

Is there another fee besides the car fee during the interview? It's been so long since I did the application that I can't recall if I already payed all fees or if there is another fee at the interview. And can you pay in credit card or only cash?

Sbeach,

Obviously I want a SENTRI card to avoid the lines and have the convenience of crossing quickly. The question I am concerned about is when they ask me what I will be doing in Mexico, specially since I am originally from Mexico and don't have citizenship. They might think I'm trying to smuggle in family members or something.[/QUOTE]Not everybody was there for SENTRI. Many were, but it reminded me a bit of the DMV. Lots of different things going on.

Yes, they seemed to already have the answers to a lot of the questions they asked. Don't volunteer any info, just answer. If they didn't already like you, they would have already rejected your application.

You should have already paid for the application. The only other thing to pay is the car fee. Yes they take credit cards.

[QUOTE=Jendabaze; 1400474][QUOTE=Phordphan; 1400357]My wait was 2 or 3 months.

I'm leaving on a month trip next week. Is it a good idea to apply for a Sentri card before I leave or should I wait until I come back from my trip?

Do they respond to the application right away like wanting a finger print or does it take more than a month for any response?

Last Saturday I waited in line from 3:20am to 5:20am, and what made it worse was all those A-holes who were cutting in. I told myself never again I'm going without a Sentri card.

Thank you in advance for any response.[/QUOTE]Apply as soon as you can. Don't worry you'll be fine because the wait time for pending approval is about 2. 3 months. Even after that. You can schedule your date to come in for the interview process.

[QUOTE=Phordphan;1400584]You should have already paid for the application. The only other thing to pay is the car fee. Yes they take credit cards.[/QUOTE]Even if you don't get a tag for your car you have to pay the SENTRI fee after your interview (if you pass). I think it was around $120. When you apply the application fee ($25?) is just for the processing of your application.

After waiting a couple of months for my interview when I got there they said that their computer program was down so they couldn't tell who had appointments so it was first come first serve. Although the place was packed I waited only about 20 minutes for my interview (that's after waiting about 10 minutes in the line at the door to get to talk to a person). Most of the people there were not waiting for SENTRI interviews. So I would recommend just doing the walkin when you have some time to spare.

[QUOTE=JPF; 1400668]Even if you don't get a tag for your car you have to pay the SENTRI fee after your interview (if you pass). I think it was around $120. When you apply the application fee ($25?) is just for the processing of your application.

After waiting a couple of months for my interview when I got there they said that their computer program was down so they couldn't tell who had appointments so it was first come first serve. Although the place was packed I waited only about 20 minutes for my interview (that's after waiting about 10 minutes in the line at the door to get to talk to a person). Most of the people there were not waiting for SENTRI interviews. So I would recommend just doing the walkin when you have some time to spare.[/QUOTE]Ahh, you're absolutely right. Memory was a bit fuzzy. I remember paying something online, but it was, in fact, the $25 fee. They wanted a credit card for the balance after the interview. Plus the car fee.

Thanks for the info guys. So after the interview, I guess I should expect to pay about $200 including car fee. Bah!

Anybody have any info on a clean decent hotel in Ensenada. Also best way to travel down there if we don't take the car.

Hey GSR you up for a double date with your Novia in Ensenada Tommorow?