Global Entry's Mobile App Is Being Replaced: What Nomads Need to Know

Customs and Border Protection is shutting down the Global Entry mobile app on September 15, 2026, and replacing it with a new app called the Trusted Traveler app, according to The Points Guy. For remote workers and nomads who cross US borders often, this is a small piece of admin that's worth handling before your next flight rather than at the customs kiosk.

What's changing

The current Global Entry app will stop working on September 15, The Points Guy reports, with the new Trusted Traveler app rolling out later that same month. Travelers won't need to reapply or create new credentials — logins carry over to the new app.

The bigger shift is scope. Instead of managing just Global Entry, the new app will let members handle applications and renewals across multiple trusted traveler programs, including Nexus and SENTRI, in one place. That's a consolidation move, not just a rebrand — CBP is folding several border-crossing tools that previously lived in separate systems into a single app.

For anyone unfamiliar, Global Entry is CBP's program that lets pre-approved, low-risk travelers skip the standard immigration line and use an automated kiosk or facial-recognition lane when re-entering the country. Membership costs $120 for five years, according to both The Points Guy and CBP's own program page.

Why this matters for a border-tech transition

Trusted traveler programs already lean on tech at the border — CBP has been expanding camera-capture verification at major airports, including Boston Logan, Dallas Fort Worth, JFK, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle-Tacoma, according to The Points Guy. An app swap during that kind of rollout is exactly the sort of change that can catch frequent travelers off guard if they don't update before a trip.

What this means for remote workers and nomads

If your work involves regularly re-entering the US — client meetings, family visits, or just basing part of the year stateside — Global Entry is one of the few travel tools most nomads set up once and then forget about. That's precisely the risk here: an app that quietly stops working mid-trip, right when you're relying on it to skip a long immigration line after a long-haul flight.

The fix is simple but has a deadline. Download the new Trusted Traveler app before September 15, log in with your existing Global Entry credentials, and confirm it recognizes your membership before you fly next. Don't wait until you're standing at a kiosk that no longer talks to your old app. If you already build a pre-trip checklist into your travel routine — passport expiration, visa requirements, roaming eSIM setup — this is a five-minute addition worth putting on it now, especially if you have a US-bound trip booked for later this month.

For a broader rundown of tools worth keeping current before you travel, see our digital nomad starter kit.

Sources

• The Global Entry mobile app is getting replaced: Here's what to know — The Points Guy
• Global Entry — U.S. Customs and Border Protection