Setting up a new account at login.gov was not that hard, they sent verification thru text. The GOES account is no longer valid.

https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov/

What is hard is changing info on the new site. Most/all of my info successfully migrated, but for some reason my profile only shows a middle initial, not the full name. An easy fix, right? Nope. IT WON'T LET ME EDIT MY PROFILE!

Rant #2: It won't let me be retired. When I first applied 4.5 years ago I was working, then I retired 1.5 years ago. I deleted the work and entered retired, the system won't accept it!

I found a "help" desk email address, they'll get back to me within a mere ten - YES, TEN! - days. The system accepted my middle initial, but I know that may not work. I cannot submit the application until I fix the retired block. I prefer to submit a "good" application so I don't have to drive 2.5 hours to ORD for another interview.

If anyone has a number for a help desk, I could talk directly to a real person and presumably fix the problem.

This is called shitty software. The insurance industry is a master of this crap.
The help desk is usually a long wait to speak with someone who cannot speak standard English, and reads from a script.

Think of one of your hobbies and put that in the blank rather than retired.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
...Think of one of your hobbies and put that in the blank rather than retired.

I added my final job before retirement and it worked! I never could edit my profile, so Global Entry thinks my middle name is "G," I'm hoping that's not a problem.

I submitted the form (and $100) today, waiting to see if I need another interview. On the bright side, it now looks CBP does them at MLI, an easy 15 minute drive.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
This is called shitty software.

Unlike you or I who use a software company's standard commercial product, the Govt geniuses require a bunch of customization that will forever guarantee the software company's troubleshooters a job.

It got approved w/o another interview! I'm not thrilled that Global Entry shows a middle initial only while the passport shows the full middle name, but I'm not losing sleep over it. We're returning thru ORD end of August, I doubt it will be an issue.

Lesson learned: Watch carefully when autofill fills in the blanks.

My son can’t electronically file income taxes. His birth date in the computer is off by one day. I double checked his birth certificate, all correct. He said someone entered it wrong in an IRS database.

I’ve mostly stayed out of it. He says he has to go to an IRS office to correct, not sure if that’s the whole story. I may have to ask next times he’s home.

Oh, if you only knew the ineptitude of the contractors who build and maintain government software.

I work for a software company. You can't sell to the government without including a cutout... er, contractor to markup... er, resell your stuff as part of some multi-digital acronym program. These bozos (usually H1B immigrés) spend forever ignoring the documentation, clog the support phone lines with RTFM questions, and then turn around and present themselves as experts on the software.

You can guess where this goes...

What fpuhan said.

One of the reasons that I got out of software development in 1999 -- I had been contracting to one of the AT&T companies, where software development was done by teams. Team leader, system architects, etc. were all long-time employees of the client company, who really knew what they were doing. Grunt work was done under their supervision by contractors assigned to the teams. Quality was a # 1 criterion.

Along comes Anderson Consulting to sell the client a bill of goods, Anderson to take over software development. They imported a bunch of H1B schmucks, paid them next to nothing but promised to get them a green card and teach them to speak English. Quality went down the shitter. I got out of there as fast as I could move my narrow ass.

Name really should match the passport exactly though...

I had a similar issue with my profile in AMEX travel (corporate travel agent), which had only my middle initial instead of full name. I updated the profile many times, but it never updated in the part the system the international travel agents imported my info from for their bookings. I usually reminded the agent to add my full middle name but sometimes it didn't happen.

However, even outside the US I was never refused check-in, security, or boarding on the occasion that only my middle initial showed on the booking. That is not the case in many countries where the locals must have perfect name match to ID (like China).

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Name really should match the passport exactly though....

I totally agree. My current Global Entry card (expiring soon) has the middle name, the replacement card may not. But I've never had to show the card to get Global Entry or Pre-Check.

It looks like the Global Entry database is the only place that thinks my middle name is "G," and I'm not losing sleep over it. At the end of Aug watch for a post "I got denied Global Entry because the database doesn't match my passport."

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sigmund,