Global Entry Reconsideration Letter: A Sample, Explained

People often search for a sample Global Entry appeal letter to copy. A copied letter works against you: the reviewer reads your request next to CBP’s own records, so it has to match your facts, your dates and your documents exactly. What helps is a clear structure. This guide shows the structure the kit uses, on a fictional traveler’s letter, so you can see how the parts fit together. Everything in the sample is invented; don’t copy its wording.

What the letter has to do

CBP’s Trusted Traveler Program Denials page says requests and attachments “should be in English and must include”:

the date of denial and the denial reason(s) from your letter;
a summary of information to further clarify a record or explain an incident or arrest;
court disposition documentation, in PDF format, for all arrests or convictions, even if expunged; and/or
other supporting documentation you feel may influence the Ombudsman’s decision.

The letter is the summary; the attachments are the proof. GAO describes the Ombudsman’s guidance as generally weighing how long ago an offense happened, how severe it was, and whether the traveler has kept a clean record in recent years (GAO-24-106314, p. 25), and the regulation bases the risk decision partly on your ability to demonstrate past compliance (8 CFR 235.12(b)(2)). So a good letter does two things: it corrects anything wrong in the record, and it shows compliance since the event. Aim for one page.

The five-block structure

Every letter template in the kit follows the same five blocks, in this order:

Block	What goes in it
1. Who and what	Full name as on your passport, date of birth, PASSID, program, the date of the letter, and the reason quoted exactly.
2. What happened	The facts in date order: where, when, what was alleged, what you did. Match the wording and dates in your records.
3. What the records show	The outcome (dismissed, reduced, penalty paid, record corrected), with an attachment number for each document.
4. Since then	Facts that bear on risk: time elapsed, no further incidents, penalties or sentences completed, and compliant travel. No character references unless they add a checkable fact.
5. The request	What you’re asking for (reinstatement or approval), a numbered list of attachments, and a line confirming the information is true and complete.

An annotated sample (fictional)

Worked example A. Dana isn’t a real person, and this is an excerpt, not a letter to copy.

Dana’s membership was revoked after a CBP agriculture specialist found cured sausage and an apple she hadn’t declared on a flight home from Rome. She paid the civil penalty the same day. Here is how the start of her letter maps to the blocks:

Excerpt. Highlighted: the part you’d replace with your own words.

Block 1: who and what

Re: Request for reconsideration of Global Entry revocation dated April 14, 2026

Name: Dana Morales. Date of birth: [date of birth]. Membership number (PASSID): [PASSID].

The letter of April 14, 2026, revoked my Global Entry membership for the following reason: “[copy the reason exactly as it appears in your letter]”.

Blocks 2 and 3: what happened, and what the records show

I understand the decision relates to my arrival at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on March 18, 2026, on a flight from Rome. I used Global Entry and did not declare food in my carry-on bag: a packet of cured sausage and an apple. A CBP agriculture specialist found them, they were confiscated, and I was issued a civil penalty, which I paid in full the same day (Attachments 1 and 2). I do not dispute what happened.

The cause (block 2), then what changed (block 4)

I had bought the items at the airport in Rome and forgot they were in my bag when I answered the declaration question. That was my mistake. Since then I check every bag before landing, I declare all food, and I have read CBP’s guidance on bringing food into the United States.

Her letter goes on to her travel record since 2021 (11 international trips as a member, and no other customs or agriculture issue in any country), her request to reinstate the membership, a numbered list of five attachments, and a line confirming the information is true and complete.

Notice what the excerpt does: it quotes the letter exactly, accepts the record in one sentence, gives the cause in one more, and ties each claim to an attachment number. Notice what it leaves out: no complaint about the penalty, no speculation about why CBP revoked rather than warned, and no claim that can’t be checked.

Four letter templates by reason, and two complete letters

The kit’s templates follow these five blocks for a customs or agriculture violation, an arrest or criminal record, a letter with no specific reason, and an administrative error. Dana’s and Marcus’s complete letters show each block finished.

Get the kit for $49 See all 8 templates

A 33-page self-help e-book, 8 editable templates and a planner. You adapt and submit everything yourself.

For arrests: put block 3 in a table

When the reason is an arrest, the reviewer needs to match each arrest to a document. A small table does that in seconds. This is the layout from the kit’s second worked example, for a fictional traveler, Marcus, whose one arrest was dismissed and later expunged:

Date	Agency	Charge	Court and case no.	Outcome	Att.
Aug 14, 2009	[City] Police Dept.	Disorderly conduct (misdemeanor)	[County] Municipal Court, [case no.]	Dismissed Mar 3, 2010; expunged 2015	1, 2

His letter says the record was expunged and includes it anyway, because CBP asks for dispositions even when a record has been expunged. If you have more than one arrest, give each its own row and its own disposition. More on the records in Global Entry after a DUI, arrest or expunged record.

Attachments and file names

Number attachments in the order the letter mentions them, and name the files to match, for example 02_Disposition_Case-10CR1234.pdf.
Formats. CBP accepts PDF, DOCX, DOC, PNG, JPEG and GIF, and asks for court dispositions as PDF. Scans are enough online; don’t send originals you can’t replace.
English. Add an English translation to any record that isn’t in English, and attach the original too.
Keep a copy of exactly what you submitted.

What to leave out

Nothing from your history. Incomplete information on the application is itself a disqualifying factor (8 CFR 235.12(b)(2)(i)), so cover every arrest, citation or violation, not just the one you think triggered the decision.
Speculation about CBP’s motives, or arguments about constitutional rights.
“Unfair” without saying what’s inaccurate.
Promises you can’t show, or an overstated travel record.

Not a U.S. citizen, including a green-card holder? Have an immigration lawyer see what you say about any arrest, violation or omission before you submit it; see do you need a lawyer?

Before you press submit

The letter date and reason are quoted exactly.
Every arrest, citation or violation in your history is covered.
Every date and case number matches the attached document.
Court dispositions are PDFs, legible, with every page included.
Someone else has read it for tone and typos.

If the online text box is short

You submit through the Request Reconsideration button in the Program Memberships section of your Dashboard on the TTP website. If the form’s text box is short, paste blocks 1 and 5 there and attach the full letter as a PDF. The steps are in how to request Global Entry reconsideration.

Start from your own letter’s wording

The kit’s triage map takes the reason line from your letter to the page and the template that fit it. The template gives you the five blocks, with everything you must replace in highlighted brackets, and you rewrite the facts in your own words.

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Independent, not affiliated with CBP, DHS, TSA or any government agency. No outcome is promised.

Official sources

This guide is general information about processes the U.S. government publishes. It is not legal advice, and it is not affiliated with CBP, DHS, TSA or any government agency. Nothing here predicts or promises an outcome.