I mentioned a couple of days ago that I applied online for TSA Pre-Check. Today I went in for the interview portion.
I’d made an appointment, though walk-ins were allowed; I could make the appointment online from pull-down menus (first choose a date, then an available time on that date), which I greatly appreciated. I checked in at the desk, and they asked what identification I’d brought, and I said “Driver’s license and passport,” and she said I would only need the passport, and she asked to see it. Then she asked what payment I’d brought (the site says they very much prefer credit cards), and I said “Credit card,” and she asked to see it. She typed a few things into her computer. Then she handed me back the passport and credit card along with a little dry-erase card on which she’d written my arrival time, and she told me to keep all three of those things together and handy. She led me to a waiting room, and I sat down. I was the only one there, but in the next ten minutes two more people arrived, both walk-ins.
I found I was more nervous than I needed to be. I was a little shaky. I had the “near a police officer” feeling, where even though you are completely innocent you feel like you might get in trouble unexpectedly, or get barked at for doing something wrong. (I have that same feeling going through airport security, which is one reason I want to get Pre-Check: to make that experience shorter and easier, with less time waiting in line feeling anxious beforehand.)
I waited about ten minutes, but that meant I was called in right at my appointment time; I’d arrived a little early. The man who called me in was friendly-looking, in his 60s or so, not intimidating in stature or manner. He asked for my passport and credit card and praised me for having them ready; I gave credit for that to the woman at the front desk who’d told me to keep them out. He said my information aloud as he entered it into the computer, and he said my date of birth with the wrong year; I don’t know if that was a mistake or a test, but I corrected him. Then he asked about my middle initials, but he did it in a slightly odd way; like, say my initials were A. and B., what he said was “What’s A.B.?”—and more like “What’s aybee?” Not “What do A. and B. stand for?” or “What are your middle names?,” so I wondered if that was another little test; either way, I knew the answer and gave it.
There was a screen facing me, and he had me confirm my address, confirm the answers I’d given on the online part of the application (had I been convicted of a crime, had I lived at my address at least five years, was I a U.S. citizen, etc.), confirm my previously-used names, and enter my Social Security number. The email address field was filled in, but hidden (like when you type in a password and it only shows dots); he asked me to tell him my email address and he entered it in the “confirm email” field.
I’d been worried about the fingerprinting part of the test. Long ago when I wanted to work at a daycare, I had to go get fingerprinted at the police station and they had a terrible time getting good prints: they did it again and again, used up sheet after sheet of paper, called in someone more experienced, consulted a supervisor, pressed my fingertips so hard they hurt, and they STILL didn’t seem satisfied with what they got. For the TSA Pre-Check, they had a little screen for me to press my fingers against—no ink. First I pressed my thumbs on the screen, and he said we were waiting for a green light and two beeps, and we got a green light and two beeps. But then I had to put the four fingers of my right hand on the screen, and we tried again and again and couldn’t get the green light and the beeps. He had me press down harder; use my other fingers to help press; move them to slightly different positions; hold my hand flatter—all to no avail. Then we tried the left hand, and it was the same thing over again. He said it would be okay, because we did get good thumb prints and those are the important thing; he said at worst the failure to get good fingerprints might mean a small delay in the application being approved, but shouldn’t result in a rejection or anything.
Then he ran the credit card (TSA Pre-Check is $85 for five years) and had me sign for the charge and also to say I had not told any lies in the interview. He gave me back the credit card and my passport, and said I should receive an email with my Known Traveler Number (KTN) in about a week; he gave me a receipt with information on it in case I didn’t hear back in a week. He said the email would be the only thing I’d get: no card or anything, just an emailed number; so I should print out the email and put it in a safe place when it arrived.
So! Not terrible at all. I think the whole thing took a little over ten minutes, and quite a bit of that was the part where we were struggling with my fingerprints. There was no trouble with my middle names/initials—but they only looked at the passport, not the driver’s license AND passport.
I’m curious, where did you go to do all this? The airport? A passport office or post office? A TSA office (is there such a place)?
They have a thing where you can look up enrollment centers near you: https://universalenroll.dhs.gov/locator (choose Pre-Check from the pull-down menu). In my case there were three relatively nearby options: one at a building on the airport property (not actually within the airport, but in a nearby administrative building), one in a strip mall, and one at a place that also does drug-testing. I’m not sure what the situation is, but it seems like it’s a company TSA contracts with to do this screening for them.
I feel like your fingerprint feature could be quite handy if you ever wished to rob a jewelry store as part of a zany heist.
And you have to blog in the exact same style, but about your zany heists!!
This is making me want to do TSA pre check! I always scoffed at it before, but the process sounds so harmless!
Do it! I did it a couple years ago and because of a childcare snafu had to take my then infant and five year old with me to my appointment. (In our area at that time, appointments were booking weeks out and rescheduling wasn’t really an option.) The office was in the airport and just getting all three of us to it was such effort I was sure this was going to be miserable at best. It was so easy. I doubt it took fifteen minutes. And every time I’ve traveled since, it’s been absolutely worth it. My husband is also prescreened and the four of us move so much more easily through security, and I feel like everyone is more patient with strollers and such because the line isn’t crazy.
@Cara I had the same issue but the opposite experience. My childcare fell through & I had to bring my 9yo with me to the airport. I was supposed to be able to get a “gate pass” from an airline to go back past security where the TSA Pre-check office is. The special services airline representative WOULD NOT give me a gate pass for my 9yo! I kept asking her what I was supposed to do? Leave him alone in the airport? I got very flustered (tears) and ended up leaving (and having to pay for the airport parking for NOTHING). In retrospect, I should have calmly asked for another agent or even tried a different airline’s customer service desk.
This (awful) experience was after showing up at two different walk-in TSA offices that were not in the airport & being told the wait time was 3 hours minimum for walk-in’s.
Finally, a month later I was in the airport several hours early for an international flight & my gate was literally next the TSA office. I walked in, waited 5 minutes for a walk-in appointment, and was done in about 15 minutes. Could not have been easier. I asked one of the TSA reps about my experience with the special services agent and was told that she was WRONG and I totally should have been able to get a gate pass for my MINOR CHILD to make my appointment. I felt belatedly vindicated. My walk-in was on a Friday late afternoon and I received my Trusted Traveler Number email on Sunday.
Once you get your TTN, you can save it into your airline profile for whatever airline(s) you fly regularly.
Thank you for such an informative post! I will be flying with my 3 young children without my husband in mid-July and had been contemplating this. After reading your account, I went straight to the online application and now have an appointment set for Monday. I really hope it helps with the security check in process because our very large and busy airport has security lines that often wind around baggage claim.
If you haven’t lived at your address for at least 5 years, does that make you ineligible?
I don’t believe so. I got TSA Precheck within about 1 1/2-2 years of living at my new address. Was at old address for 14 years. Maybe I just had to type in an extra line on the form? But it didn’t hinder anything.
Oh, yeah—like maybe they just gather 5 years’ worth of former residences or something.
Yes that is it. It also is another verificatioin and a little test–do you know where you lived before or are you trying to be sneaky.
They require this on citizenship applications as well.
Thanks!
Does your airport also have a Clear line? You can sign up with the clear people at the airport before your next trip (takes 5 min), there’s a family rate that covers everyone, and that, plus pre-check, will get you through security ( without showing any ID at all) in 3 min flat every time. Total game changer.
Oh it’s so worth it. You will LOVE it. It was worth the $85 for one trip with kiddoes, let alone 5 years.
I also often have trouble with fingerprint machines. Perhaps everyone has trouble and they just don’t work. For me the problem is that my middle fingertip is much, much higher than my pinkie fingertip, and the machine cannot accommodate that.
WHAT is up with your fingerprints? Like, are they really shallow? Are they shy? WHY DON’T THEY WANT TO BE NOTICED, SWISTLE? WHY?!
Isn’t it weird? The police officers didn’t laugh at all at my little joke about switching to a life of crime.
I say this with the utmost respect, but should you be sharing this? If the questions asked of you WERE actually little “tests,” couldn’t this post sort of guide people (terrorists?) with respect to passing the tests? I realize this is highly unlikely, but I wonder if maybe you signed something–perhaps with fine print–promising not to disclose details like these. I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble.