This Florida Seaport Just Became the First to Host a Global Entry Enrollment Center

The Miami cruise port just became the first seaport with a Global Entry Enrollment Center, allowing travelers to complete their applications for the Trusted Traveler program when sailing.

The PortMiami Global Entry Enrollment Center opened this month and will be available to conditionally approved cruisers to complete the interview portion of their application. While enrollment centers are offered in dozens of states and territories and even in Qatar, this is the first in a cruise port.

“This is a proactive endeavor and benefit offered by the Miami Seaport to help expedite the Global Entry application process for international travelers departing on a cruise,” Carlos Martel, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) director of field operations at the Miami-Tampa Field Office, said in a statement. 

The new PortMiami Global Enrollment Center is located in Cruise Terminal D, according to the port. Travelers who are processing both new and renewal applications will be able to make appointments.

Global Entry allows travelers returning from an international trip to go through customs faster by using an automated kiosk. Travelers who are approved for Global Entry also get TSA PreCheck. The program costs $100 for the application, which is valid for five years and is nonrefundable. Certain credit cards reimburse the application fee.

Travelers must first apply online and then schedule an in-person interview. In select locations, CBP operates an enrollment on arrival option, allowing applicants to complete their interview when they land in an international terminal, no appointment necessary.

Earlier this year, CBP introduced a mobile app to allow Global Entry members to verify their identity from their smartphone by taking a selfie while waiting in the security line rather than at the kiosk. That service is available at select airports around the country.

The new PortMiami Global Entry Enrollment Center opened as the cruise terminal welcomed a record 7.299 million passengers this year, according to Miami-Dade County. The cruise terminal serves several popular cruise lines, including Oceania Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Next year, the port will welcome the largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas.