United States and Germany Launch Partnership to Link Trusted Traveler Programs

Release Date: April 14, 2010
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute and German Interior Ministry State Secretary Klaus-
Dieter Fritsche today signed a joint statement expressing their intent to integrate U.S. and German trusted traveler programs.
“Integrating one of our biometric trusted traveler programs with Germany’s will facilitate legitimate trade and travel between
our two nations while allowing law enforcement to focus on the most serious security threats at points of entry to our
country,” said Deputy Secretary Lute.
“This is another good step forward of our government-to-government cooperation. The joint program will make transatlantic
air travel easier and make it more secure at the same time,” said State Secretary Fritsche.
Under this statement, the United States and Germany will develop processes for qualified citizens of either country to apply for
both the United States’ Global Entry program and Germany’s Automated and Biometrics-Supported Border Controls (ABG)
program, which each use biometrics to identify trusted travelers.
Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program allowing pre-approved members an alternative to regular
passport processing lines—reducing average wait times by 70 percent, with more than 75 percent of travelers using Global
Entry processed in less than five minutes. ABG serves a similar function for German citizens, and joining the two programs will
make travel faster and more secure.
At Global Entry kiosks, members insert their passport or lawful permanent resident card into a document reader, provide digital
fingerprints for comparison with fingerprints on file, answer customs declaration questions on the kiosk’s touch-screen, and
then present a transaction receipt to CBP officers before leaving the inspection area.
To date, more than 42,000 members have enrolled in the program since it was launched in 2008. Global Entry is currently
available at 20 major airports in the United States for U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents over 14 years of age who are in
possession of a valid machine-readable passport and who consent to a background screening.
Citizens of the Netherlands may also apply under a special reciprocal arrangement—similar to the one initiated today between
the United States and Germany—that links Global Entry with the Privium program in Amsterdam.
For more information on this or other CBP Trusted Traveler programs, or for an application to enroll in the Global Entry pilot
program, please visit www.cbp.gov/travel.

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Written by Chris Jaensch

Attorney P. Christopher Jaensch received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1992 and a Juris Doctor degree in 1995 from the University of Florida. While at UF, he was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa Society and Florida Blue Key, the oldest and most prestigious leadership honorary in the state of Florida.

Mr. Jaensch is a member of the Florida Bar, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the Sarasota Bar Association. He has served as President of the Sarasota-Manatee International Trade Club and served as Regional Vice Chair, Tampa Bay, for the Central Florida Chapter of AILA. He was a member of City of Sarasota Charter Review Committee and has been active in several local organizations, including the influential Laurel Park Neighborhood Association in downtown Sarasota.

Mr. Jaensch has over 18 years of experience in the field of immigration and nationality law and focuses his practice on four primary categories (a) investors and entrepreneurs, (b) business executives, managers and professionals, (c) amateur and professional athletes and coaches and (d) performing artists and immigrants with extraordinary ability.