TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, CLEAR: We explain U.S. expedited travel programs

Travelers looking to navigate crowded United States airports more quickly and easily have several options. Currently, five travel services provide a fast track through immigration or security screenings. Four of those services—TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, SENTRI, and NEXUS—are operated by the U.S. government’s Trusted Traveler Program, which now has 24 million members. The fifth, called CLEAR Plus, is run by a private company.

PreCheck lets travelers classified as low-risk skip regular Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screenings; Global Entry expedites customs checks on arrival in the U.S; SENTRI streamlines overland border crossings; and NEXUS simplifies passage between the U.S. and Canada. CLEAR Plus, meanwhile, focuses on airport departures, using biometrics for swifter identification of passengers.

SENTRI and NEXUS are available to U.S. nationals, lawful U.S. permanent residents, and also citizens of certain other countries. Whereas CLEAR Plus is available to citizens of more than 40 nations, and Global Entry can be used by nationals of more than 20 countries and includes TSA PreCheck membership.

What’s new with travel expedited programs

More than 2.8 million people enrolled in TSA PreCheck in 2025 as U.S. authorities expanded its use of technology to tackle waiting times for this airport screening service. The large volume of users corresponded with longer wait times. Fresh TSA figures reveal that 87 percent of PreCheck passengers waited less than five minutes to clear security in 2025, down from 94 percent back in 2022.

PreCheck may lose members if its efficiency continues to wane, warns Sheldon Jacobson, an aviation security expert and a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne. At some U.S. airports, he adds, travelers are reporting longer waits at PreCheck lanes than TSA lanes. “Passengers will view PreCheck as not worthwhile, perhaps allowing their status to lapse,” Jacobson predicts, if this system’s waiting times balloon further.

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However, he believes this problem may be addressed by the TSA’s new technology. Facial recognition and self-service security screenings are being developed in a bid to reduce PreCheck waiting times. TSA PreCheck Touchless ID lets PreCheck members verify their identity via facial recognition instead of by presenting ID or a boarding pass.

It is now operating at 58 U.S. airports, likely increasing to 65 by spring, according to a TSA spokesperson. Touchless ID is currently used by five airlines: Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest, and United.

Meanwhile, TSA is further developing a self-screening service that was installed in 2024 at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport that allows Trusted Traveler Program passengers to scan their own ID and carry-on bags. A TSA spokesperson says that real-world testing of that prototype would continue.

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What to know about the three major fast-track programs

TSA PreCheck

Members can join express security lanes at U.S. airports, eliminating the need to remove shoes, belts, laptops, jackets, and liquids of less than 3.4 ounces (100 ml).

To become a TSA PreCheck member, travelers must provide personal information and undergo a background check. Within five days, approved applicants receive a Known Traveler Number, used when booking flights to ensure access to TSA PreCheck expedited screenings.

Enrolling for TSA PreCheck has become much easier, thanks to application points at more than 100 CLEAR locations across the U.S., from airports to Staples store outlets.

CLEAR Plus

Like TSA PreCheck, CLEAR Plus allows members to move more efficiently through airport checkpoints by having their identity verified via biometrics (eye or fingerprint) rather than queuing to present ID to security staff.

Travelers from the U.S. and more than 40 other countries can join CLEAR Plus by enrolling in person at a CLEAR desk at a participating U.S. airport.

Tip: Filling out the application online before visiting the airport to complete enrollment speeds up the approval process.

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Global Entry

This program costs $120 for five years and provides expedited security clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the U.S. At separate Global Entry lanes, members have their photo taken, which confirms their identity, before they briefly meet a Customs and Border Patrol officer.

Global Entry can be used by citizens of 22 nations: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bahrain, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India, Japan, Jordan, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, United Kingdom.

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However, Global Entry has a slower, more complex application process than PreCheck or CLEAR Plus, says John Lipford, affiliate professor of tourism at Grand Valley State University, in Michigan.

Global Entry applications can take up to 12 months to process. Applicants must pass a strict background check and an in-person interview, which can take months to secure. Once completed, they must check their application status on the Trusted Traveler Program website.

But there is a shortcut—the Enrollment on Arrival program lets applicants who are conditionally approved (usually after a few weeks), complete the interview, without an appointment, at the airport when they arrive from an overseas trip.

The program runs at more than 50 airports in the U.S. and 26 outside the country, with interviews conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers. You just need a valid passport or permanent resident card and documents proving residency in the U.S. or one of the other 22 eligible countries. Acceptable documents include a driver’s license, utility bill, mortgage statement, or rental payment statement.

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Which program is right for you?

Global Entry

This program is designed for people traveling overseas and, as an added benefit, it includes TSA PreCheck membership. Travelers who fly only within the U.S. are better suited to having just TSA PreCheck or CLEAR Plus.

TSA PreCheck

The advantages of TSA PreCheck over CLEAR Plus are wider availability, lower pricing, and greater security bypasses, says Lipford. PreCheck is offered at more than 200 U.S. airports, compared to 60 for CLEAR Plus. It only costs from $76.75 for a five-year membership, which is about 13 times cheaper per year than CLEAR. And, unlike CLEAR Plus members, TSA PreCheck users don’t need to undergo body scans.

CLEAR Plus

Despite costing $209 annually, CLEAR Plus is popular for its convenience, marketing, and consumer fascination with emerging technologies, says Lipford. Its sales kiosks are prominent in so many U.S. airports that they can easily be spotted by weary travelers queuing for a flight and wishing for speedier progress.

CLEAR Plus is also newer than PreCheck and uses biometrics as standard; it benefits from a perception of being more cutting edge, Lipford says.

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But Lipford expresses concern that travelers are sacrificing their privacy by agreeing to the biometric data collection of some expedited travel services.

“What was once a more conscious tradeoff between privacy and convenience is increasingly becoming an almost automatic decision for many consumers,” he says. “This could have serious consequences, collectively and in the long term, should such data ever be misused or accessed beyond its intended scope.”

“Privacy has historically been a fundamental component of daily life in the United States,” he adds, “and there is a growing argument that we are gradually relinquishing portions of that right in exchange for speed, efficiency, and convenience.”