The Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) provides expedited U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processing, at the U.S.-Mexico border, of pre-approved travelers considered low-risk. Voluntarily applicants must undergo a thorough background check against criminal, customs, immigration, law enforcement, and terrorist databases; a 10-fingerprint law enforcement check; and a personal interview with a CBP Officer. The total enrollment fee is $122.50, and SENTRI status is valid for 5 years. Once the applicant is approved, they are issued a Radio Frequency Identification (

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electroma ...

) card identifying their status in the CBP database when arriving at U.S. land and sea ports of entry (POE). SENTRI users have access to dedicated lanes into the United States. Unlike NEXUS, which is a joint program between United States and Canadian immigration authorities, SENTRI is solely a CBP program and only applies to customs and immigrations inspections into the United States, not into Mexico. SENTRI members are permitted to utilize NEXUS lanes when entering the United States from Canada by land (but not vice versa). Global Entry allows registered users to enter their own SENTRI applications and approved members to edit their information. A valid SENTRI card is a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) compliant document.

History

SENTRI was conceived in 1995. A team of representatives from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), U.S. Customs Service, and five other Federal stakeholder agencies was formed and established a technical concept, engineering design and relevant policies. The first SENTRI lane was deployed at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, where the concept and design was refined. Additional technology tests, including in-vehicle biometrics and laneside facial recognition, were conducted at this site. In 1998, the decision was made to expand SENTRI to

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

. The aim was to relieve congestion at the busy Paso del Norte International Bridge. However, this bridge was not wide enough to set aside one lane as a dedicated commuter lane. Therefore, the nearby Stanton Street bridge, which had been a southbound-only bridge, was chosen as the best place to deploy SENTRI. A new port of entry facility was built, and the SENTRI lane opened in September 1999. Next, the SENTRI team elected to deploy a system at the busiest single border crossing in the world, San Ysidro, California. The congested nature of

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

, near the border crossing, made it difficult to identify a place to put the dedicated lane, but with the cooperation of many organizations on both sides of the border, a lane was segregated, and SENTRI opened at San Ysidro in 2000, after which point the SENTRI team was disbanded, and SENTRI became a program office within INS. After INS was sunsetted on March 1, 2003, the SENTRI program office was absorbed by DHS Customs and Border Protection. Today, SENTRI Lanes can be found at the following ports of entry, from West to East: ;California *

San Ysidro Port of Entry __NOTOC__ The San Ysidro Port of Entry (aka San Ysidro Land Port of Entry or San Ysidro LPOE) is the largest land border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, and the fourth- busiest land border crossing in the world (second-busiest if one excl ...

* Otay Mesa Port of Entry, San Diego, California * Calexico West Port of Entry,

Calexico, California Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Die ...

* Calexico East Port of Entry,

;Arizona * San Luis Port of Entry, San Luis, Arizona * Nogales-Grand Avenue Port of Entry,

Nogales, Arizona Nogales (English: or , ; ) is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The population was 20,837 at the 2010 census and estimated 20,103 in 2019. Nogales forms part of the larger Tucson–Nogales combined statistical area, with a total populati ...

* Douglas Arizona Port of Entry,

Douglas, Arizona Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States that lies in the north-west to south-east running Sulpher Springs Valley. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico at Agua Prieta and a history of mining. The population was 16,531 ...

;Texas * El Paso Stanton Street Port of Entry,

* El Paso Ysleta Port of Entry,

* Del Rio Texas Port of Entry,

Del Rio, Texas Del Rio is a city and the county seat of Val Verde County in southwestern Texas, United States. The city is 152 miles west of San Antonio. As of 2020, Del Rio had a population of 34,673. History The Spanish established a small settlement south o ...

* Eagle Pass Camino Real Port of Entry, Eagle Pass, Texas *

Laredo Colombia Solidarity Port of Entry The Laredo Columbia Solidarity Port of Entry is located at the Colombia – Solidarity International Bridge (sometimes referred to as "Bridge III"). It is the only port of entry from the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. It was built in 1991 in an ...

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of ...

Laredo Juarez-Lincoln Port of Entry Laredo may refer to: Places * Laredo, Cantabria, the original Spanish town with this name * Laredo District, La Libertad, Peru United States and Mexico * Laredo–Nuevo Laredo, a bi-national metropolitan area ** Laredo, Texas *** Downtow ...

Anzalduas Port of Entry The Anzalduas Port of Entry opened on December 15, 2009, with the completion of the Anzalduas International Bridge. The bridge is over three miles long and cost over $28 million to build. It was designed to divert traffic from the congested Hid ...

, Mission, Texas *

Hidalgo Texas Port of Entry __NOTOC__ The Hidalgo Texas Port of Entry is located at the northern end of the McAllen–Hidalgo–Reynosa International Bridge, in the city of Hidalgo, Hidalgo County, Texas. The northbound traffic is coming from the city of Reynosa in Tam ...

, Hidalgo, Texas * Pharr Texas Port of Entry, Pharr, Texas *

Brownsville – Veterans Port of Entry The Brownsville Veterans Port of Entry opened in 1999 with the completion of the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates. The bridge was built primarily to divert commercial freight traffic away from the busy downtown bridges, but about a t ...

, Brownsville, Texas

US Global Entry

US citizens may use their SENTRI membership at US Customs and Border Protection Global Entry kiosks located in participating US airports. Mexican nationals who are SENTRI members may apply for Global Entry after passing a risk assessment conducted by the Mexican government.

TSA PreCheck

US citizens who are SENTRI members may use TSA PreCheck on all participating airlines by entering their Customs and Border Protection ID number or PASS ID/KTN (Known Traveler Number) from their SENTRI card into their flight reservation information or into their frequent flyer account. The same privileges extend to NEXUS and Global Entry members. Note that such Trusted Travelers have a very high probability of receiving PreCheck, it is not guaranteed: TSA still uses random procedures for all passengers. This said, Global Entry participants have the absolute highest priority/likelihood for receiving PreCheck (per CBP documents, including a note that it’s included—not “may” receive—with GE).

Enrollment centers

Enrollment centers are located in Douglas, Nogales, and

San Luis San Luis (Spanish for "Saint Louis") may refer to: Places Argentina * San Luis Province * San Luis, Argentina, capital of San Luis Province Belize * San Luis, Belize, in Orange Walk District Colombia * San Luis, Antioquia, a town and municipality ...

, Arizona; Calexico, Otay Mesa, and San Ysidro, California; and Brownsville,

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

, Hidalgo, and Laredo, Texas.

References

External links