I travel a lot and every time I go through U.S. Immigration, the machine gives me a piece of paper with a big X. I then need to answer many questions. In Chicago last year they went through all my luggage, which didn't take long since I fly carry on.

I decided to pay the $100 and get Global Entry. In Chicago last Thursday, I got the Big X at the Global Entry, so I then needed to stand in line with everyone else. I was told that someone probably has a name similar to mine. What should I do now?

1) Change your name to Osama Bin Laden
2) Don't go to the US.

You are certainly not the only one with this problem. Here in Canada there has been a lot in the media lately about travellers being subjected to extra questioning and delays because, apparently, they had the same name as someone who was on some sort of watch list. The story that originally captured attention concerned a toddler travelling with his parents, and there have been other cases reported of young children in the same situation. The federally government is “looking into it” but I don’t expect the problem to go away anytime soon.

Sorry, I can’t offer any helpful advice.

But you shouldn't necessarily have to stand in line. I got it once and was directed to the regular higher speed GE line and was questioned there.

You are on the 'No fly list' and were able to get Global Entry?

seems weird.

I was frequently interviewed some years ago, and ending it took a lot of work. For one thing, there are apparently multiple lists and they won't tell you which list you, or someone with a similar name, is on, nor why.

Finally I got a letter from the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program at Homeland Security thanking me for participating in one or more of three programs, and applying for redress. They issued me a Redress Control Number, which I was to give to my travel arranger or airline representative (there is a place for it in my profile if the airline we most frequently use. Once I had that number, the interviews ended. That was in November 2009, and I still carry the letter when we fly.

Much has changed since 2009, but I would think that similar relief is still available. Do government programs ever end? My suggestion would be that you write Homeland Security (avoiding e=mail, etc.) so you and they have a paper trail, and ask for what you want, and where you should go if they cannot provide it.

I had almost forgotten this, then I tried to renew my expiring driver's license and the state of Ohio refused to renew it because someone in Arkansas with a similar name had a DWI conviction in Arkansas and had not completed the terms of his conviction. That took about ten days to right, but it shows the extent that we have surrendered our privacy.

A black X does not mean one is on the no-fly list!

Since you have global entry, call the global entry number and ask them to look into it. I know someone who had a similar problem and a call to global entry was able to solve it.

If you have global entry and get a black X you should be directed to a global entry desk where they can take care of it quickly. But you still need to call global entry to get it resolved for the long term.

>>A black X does not mean one is on the no-fly list!<<

But the OP says he gets the <B>X</B> <u>every</u> time so that would seem to indicate a no fly list.

Thanks for your responses. I had such a hassle getting the Global Entry because of a 1986 incident where I paid a fine of $60 and the report made it look like the police had been looking for me to this date. Calling Global Entry sounds like a good idea. Does someone actually answer the phone?

Here's the problem, speaking from experience: it sounds like you had a court case that was not fully closed in the file that the FBI (or whoever maintains the national file of criminal court cases. This happens frequently for cases that happened many years ago (before everything was computerized), and, for example, any sort of probation was involved. After the probation period was over, you go back to court, the judge pats you on the head and says "good boy," and your case is over. Except that the record of your probation being closed only shows up in the local court. Then, when the records all got computerized, the original case with probation appears, but the closing of the probation does not. So, as far as the computer is concerned, you might still be on probation, or there might be a warrant out for your arrest. And that's why you get the black X.

You need to head down to a GE office and have a chat with the folks -- there's a way that they can fix this. (I don't know the exact process, but someone there will.) It's very possible that you will need to get something from the court that shows that your 1986 case is closed.

Alternatively, the GE people have been reading your posts on Fodors, and they're making a statement.

janis, he gets the black X as he comes back into the US. Obviously NOT no-fly, as he has just flown into the US and obviously flew out earlier..

Wally, yes, someone does actually answer the phone at the GE office.

The case I know of was something like what Don is talking about. In the case I'm familiar with, there were no charges at all - the person wasn't even arrested (an 18 year old being rowdy on Halloween, the police brought them to the station, parents picked them up). So in this case, there was no possibility of a warrant, it was just a messy detail that can be hard to get rid of. In fact the state where it happened has no record of it! Who knows how GE got access to what appears to be a non-existent arrest record.

So the FBI computers are full of grandmothers who received a citation for burning their bras during the Vietnam War. No wonder we're having trouble finding the terrorists.

Thanks for your responses.

If you are a US citizen, there are specific and complicated procedures you can go through to "clear" your name. If you are not a US citizen, I do not have any clue. My husband always got extra questioning when flying and several times almost missed flights. He was always prohibited from checking in on-line - and this was for domestic travel. He was on some "you are special" list because of someone with a similar name. He had to get notarized this and thats, finger-printed, interviewed - and it got fixed eventually. But since each airline also had a "you are special" list, it took a while for 2 airlines to catch up with the TSA.

My husband gets the black X every time we fly back into the U.S. The airport people cannot explain why he gets it. Someone (another traveler who also gets the X) said it is because of his pass port and the way to avoid it is to apply for a new pp--which has four years left on it. We get TSA pre-check each time we fly out to another country so it seems we are ok with them.