Global Entry applicants denied for long-forgotten infractions of the law

The government’s trusted traveler program has proved itself more popular than officials expected, with 1.2 million people now eligible to speed up their entry to this country using a self-service kiosk rather than waiting to speak to a customs agent at the airport.

But some people have been surprised to find that their applications for Global Entry and other trusted traveler programs have been rejected — not for some serious infraction but for a minor brush with law enforcement or customs inspectors that turned up during the required background check.