SENTRI provides expedited CBP processing for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Applicants must voluntarily undergo a thorough biographical background check against criminal, law enforcement, customs, immigration, and terrorist indices; a 10-fingerprint law enforcement check; and a personal interview with a CBP Officer.

    Applicants will not qualify for participation in the SENTRI program if they:

    •Provide false or incomplete information on the application.

    •Have been convicted of any criminal offense or have pending criminal charges to include outstanding warrants.

    •Have been found in violation of any customs, immigration, or agriculture regulations or laws in any country.

    •Are subjects of an ongoing investigation by any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency.

    •Are inadmissible to the United States under immigration regulation, including applicants with approved waivers of inadmissibility or parole documentation.

    •Cannot satisfy CBP of their low risk status or meet other program requirements.

    Once an applicant is approved they are issued a Radio Frequency Identification Card (RFID) that will identify their record and status in the CBP database upon arrival at the U.S. port of entry. An RFID decal is also issued to the applicant’s vehicle. SENTRI users have access to specific, dedicated primary lanes into the United States.

    SENTRI was first implemented at the Otay Mesa, Calif. port of entry in 1995. SENTRI Dedicated Commuter Lanes also exist in El Paso, Texas; San Ysidro, Calif.; Calexico, Calif; Nogales, Ariz.; Hidalgo, Texas; Brownsville, Texas; and Laredo, Texas.

Technical process

    When an approved international traveler approaches the border in the SENTRI lane, the system automatically identifies the vehicle and the identity of the occupants of the vehicle. This is accomplished by:

    •The RFID cards contain a file number that is read upon arrival.

    •The file number triggers the participant’s data to be brought up on the CBP Officer’s screen.

    •The data is verified by the CBP Officer and the traveler is released or referred for additional inspections.

    All of the applicant data is stored in the secure CBP database. It is not stored on the card, and it is not transmitted with the RFID (With RFID technology there is potential for tracking an individual’s movements, profiling an individual’s habits, and allowing for secondary uses of information).

    Simultaneously, license plate readers and computers perform queries of the vehicles and their occupants against law enforcement databases that are continuously updated. A combination of electric gates, tire shredders, traffic control lights, fixed iron bollards, and pop-up pneumatic bollards ensure physical control of the border crosser and their vehicles.

    Participants in the program wait for much shorter periods of time than regular lanes to enter the United States, even at the busiest time of day. Critical information required in the inspection process is provided to the officer in advance of the passenger’s arrival thus reducing the inspection time from an average of 30-40 seconds to an average of 10 seconds.

Application information

    Applicants to the SENTRI program may submit their application online using the Global Online Enrollment System (GOES). Once the application is certified as true and complete, it will be submitted to CBP for processing. Applicants can monitor the status of their application by logging back into GOES, and will be advised of conditional approval, or denial through the GOES account posting.

    To complete a SENTRI application via the Internet, click on the GOES link to be transferred to the on-line application.

    Once notification of conditional approval is received, contact the nearest enrollment center listed on the notification to schedule an interview. Applicants have 180 days from that date to schedule an interview. Otherwise, applicants will be denied further enrollment consideration for failure to schedule an interview, which is the final requirement in determining program membership. This denial will not prevent an applicant from submitting a new application in the future. However, a new payment fee will be required. At the time of interview, payment of the application fee, fingerprint fee, lane fee, and any additional vehicle fee will be required.

    Applicants must bring with them the following original documents to the interview. Please ensure you bring the exact documents you provided on the on-line application.

    •Originals of evidence of citizenship that you listed on your application.

    •If not a U.S. citizen, originals of evidence of immigration admissibility to the United States that you listed on your application.

    •Valid driver’s license (or state identification) issued in state where applicant lives.

    •Vehicle registration and evidence of U.S. automobile insurance by a company authorized to write automobile insurance in the United States.

    •If the vehicle is not registered in the name of the applicant, a notarized letter authorizing its use by the applicant is required. A company vehicle requires written authorization on company letterhead.

    •Evidence of employment or financial support. (For instance, most recent year’s tax return, pay receipt, or direct deposit salary statement. Self employed must present business license, current tax information and bank statement)

    •Evidence of residence, (Mortgage or rent payment receipts)

    During the interview, information provided on the application will be verified and upon acceptance, CBP will:

    •Take a photograph of applicant for identification card.

    •Take applicant’s fingerprint.

    •Provide terms and conditions of the program.

    •Answer any questions the applicant has.

    •Issue an RFID enabled identification card.

    Visits to the enrollment centers are by appointment only.

Required fees

    Application Fee: $25 per person (or a maximum of $50 total for husband, wife and minor children)

    Fingerprint Fee: $24 (applicants 14 years and older)

    System Costs Fee: $80 per person (or a maximum of $160 total for a husband, wife and minor children)

    Total fee is $129 per person.

    If an approved participant wishes to register more than one vehicle for use in the SENTRI DCL lane (maximum of 4 vehicles), or an approved participant wishes to be registered in more than one vehicle (maximum of 8 persons per vehicle), an additional fee of $42 per vehicle will be assessed. Enrollees will be charged a $25 replacement fee for a lost, stolen, or destroyed card and a $42 replacement fee for a lost, stolen or destroyed vehicle ID tag.