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I had renewed and activated my SENTRI last summer. Had made several crossings without incident, until this Sunday morning. I was flagged for an un-activated SENTRI. And boy did the CBP rubes have a time with me. I realize that it's probably a good thing that they're very wary & suspicious of travelers, but it should be only up to a point (IMHO). Mistreatment is probably a little overboard to describe they're behavior, but unprofessional is pretty dang close. No less than half-a-dozen gave me the 3d degree. From boot-asses to the head houncho. Long story short, I never activated my card in they're summation. And I better do it..."Do you understand?" Gave 'em the old Roger and left there pretty hot.
No longer trusting my GOES on-line account to activate my card, I called the San Ysidro CBP office for help. I explained about my renewal, activation, recent use, etc. Her reply: "Your activation time from your renewal has lapsed, you'll have to go on-line and start over" ( I.e. Application, interview, vehicle inspection, etc.). WHAT!!!
I went back to the GOES Support link and pleaded my case. Aved que pasa?
Sheeeesh, there now. I feel a little better.

P.S. Has anyone heard of a CBP card-reader de-activating a SENTRI card?

Originally Posted by Doc Rey

I had renewed and activated my SENTRI last summer. Had made several crossings without incident, until this Sunday morning. I was flagged for an un-activated SENTRI. And boy did the CBP rubes have a time with me. I realize that it's probably a good thing that they're very wary & suspicious of travelers, but it should be only up to a point (IMHO). Mistreatment is probably a little overboard to describe they're behavior, but unprofessional is pretty dang close. No less than half-a-dozen gave me the 3d degree. From boot-asses to the head houncho. Long story short, I never activated my card in they're summation. And I better do it..."Do you understand?" Gave 'em the old Roger and left there pretty hot.
No longer trusting my GOES on-line account to activate my card, I called the San Ysidro CBP office for help. I explained about my renewal, activation, recent use, etc. Her reply: "Your activation time from your renewal has lapsed, you'll have to go on-line and start over" ( I.e. Application, interview, vehicle inspection, etc.). WHAT!!!
I went back to the GOES Support link and pleaded my case. Aved que pasa?
Sheeeesh, there now. I feel a little better.

P.S. Has anyone heard of a CBP card-reader de-activating a SENTRI card?

Regarding G.O.ES. Support... A big ZERO! They just regurgitate their policy. Go on-line, pay an additional fee ( as the "non-activated" card is no good ), hope all goes well & maybe get a replacement card in a few months.

This is all part of Homeland Security. In a decade they have grown from a knee jerk reaction to what will soon have its reaches into all levels of government and our daily lives. And being a very large bureaucratic agency means that there are simply ever more ways for them to screw up, lose things, give out conflicting information, etc etc etc.

Computers don't make mistakes - bureaucrats who set them up and design their software (often) do...

Isn't there somewhere in GOES that shows that you reactivated your card?

Don't know? Just like I thought they would have a count of my unremarkable crossing between this summer & my recent incident. It would seem I'd have to request an I.G. Inspection...

I'd pay an in-person visit to a Sentri office, and request to speak to a supervisor. They can pull up all the information out of the computers there.

Thanks. I'm going to play a couple of hands first. 1. I work in the Port of L.A. (LAFD), gonna approach CBP there and see if they will help. 2. Barring any help at the Port, an LAFD partner of mine rides dirt bikes with a CBP jefe from San Ysidro.
Wish me good fortune.

I doubt if CBP at the Port of LA will be able to do much except offer advice. Your friend might be of more help with the SY CPB buddy, though. The information won't be in their computers, though.

It's similar to me going through secondary every time I crossed the border, whether I drove or I walked. The officers got to know me, and just as tired of seeing me as I was of going to secondary. But that's finally stopped. I filed a DHS Trip Report and they took me off the list. I was put on the list by the 20 something year old officer that interviewed me and denied me my Sentri due to my income.

K. Thanks for the insight.

Good luck, and keep us posted. It'll be interesting to see what they have to say.

I have my Sentri pass now, and can really appreciate not sitting in line for 1+hours to cross the border. I can tell the difference in my gas tank already.

Good for you. Believe it or not, I still haven't rectified my situation yet. It's a combination of bureaucratic red tape on their part & procrastination on mine. Eventually, though...

You should get it taken care of. It took me six months, three appeals, two interviews, and $147 to get mine. And it's worth every penny of it.