I took a really quick trip to the US Embassy in London today. I found out earlier this year that Global Entry is now doing interviews at the embassy. Despite traveling to the US at least a few times a year, I hadn’t applied for it before. I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of trying to coordinate an interview at a US airport during one of my trips.
Going to London isn’t a small task, but with direct trains available I knew I could turn it into a day trip. As it turned out, we were able to combine my interview today with a weekend trip to Cambridge, making it even easier. I just hopped on a train from there to London in the morning and made my way back to Cambridge after the interview (only £10 round trip thanks to an off-peak promo!). I even had time before the interview to sit and have lunch in Grosvenor Square.
This was my first time visiting the embassy, so I was a little nervous. (I’d heard descriptions like “super-max prison” thrown around.) In the end, though, it was super easy. Sure, there’s serious security in the form of a high fence, passport check, metal detectors, and guards posted around the building. But everyone was very nice (including the guards, who said hello!) and the whole visit only took about 15 minutes. It probably would have been 10 minutes, but of course the Global Entry interview included quite a few questions about my trip to Iran. They seemed happy with my answers, though, as I was told that I should get email confirmation of my Global Entry membership within a couple days.
And that was it! I was tempted to spend a bit more time in London, since I was already there, but after a weekend away (and knowing what the traffic can be like) I was a bit anxious to get back to Cambridge to start our drive home.
Expat Linguist 