Appealing the Denial of a TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry Program Application Due to a Disqualifying Criminal History

According to the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) 3 to 5 percent of the roughly 30,000 monthly applicants that apply for the Pre-Check or Global Entry programs are rejected for various reasons. Many times, these applicants are rejected due to inaccurate or faulty information that surfaces during criminal background checks. For example, pursuant to TSA’s policies, they do not consider you to have been convicted of an offense and will therefore not use such an offense against you, if your finding of guilt was overturned on appeal, fully pardoned, or expunged. Nonetheless, the TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry Appeal lawyers at Wolf Law have noticed that some applicants have been wrongfully rejected as a result of convictions that have been overturned on appeal, pardoned, or expunged.

Moreover, pursuant to the TSA, if you have ever been convicted of certain disqualifying felonies, such as a crime involving a transportation security incident, improper transportation of a hazardous material, unlawful possession or use of an explosive device, an act of terrorism, or making any threat concerning an explosive device in a place of public use, then you will forever be disqualified from participation in these programs. The TSA Pre-Check attorneys at Wolf Law, however, have noticed that the TSA will often consider a conviction a disqualifying offense based on inaccurate or incomplete information.

For example, one recent client’s application was denied on the basis that he had a prior conviction for making terroristic threats. Although it sounded quite serious, it turned out that this conviction arose out of a simple bar fight and did involve threats concerning any explosive devices, let alone in threats of any explosive devices in a public place, as required in order to constitute a disqualifying conviction. The TSA, however, had based its decision on incomplete information, which we were thereafter able to supplement in order to prove that the client’s offense was in fact not disqualifying.

The TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry Appeal lawyers at Wolf Law have also noticed that the TSA will sometimes wrongfully reject an application of the basis of a disqualifying conviction, even though the applicant was actually convicted of a misdemeanor or lesser offense, was found not guilty, or the charges were dismissed with no remaining legal restrictions. Other times, we have seen the TSA reject an application of the basis that the applicant had open criminal dispositions and/or outstanding criminal warrants. These determinations likewise are often made in error, and we are able to prove that the open warrant was issued in error, has since been resolved, or did not result in a disqualifying criminal conviction.

You should also be aware that if you have been convicted of certain types of felony convictions, which include but are not limited to bribery, arson, robbery, distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, fraud, unlawful possession of a weapon, or assault, among others, the TSA will nonetheless remove any ineligibility upon a showing that you were released from incarceration more than 5 years ago and that the conviction is more than 7 years old. Thus, often times we are able to remove a disqualification on this basis as well.

In short, there are many possible defenses to a claim of ineligibility due to a disqualifying criminal conviction, open criminal dispositions, and/or outstanding criminal warrants. If your application has been rejected for any of these reasons, contact an experienced TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry Appeal attorney today for a consultation. Our attorneys are knowledgeable of the TSA application process and are able to assist you today.

In addition to contacting the courts that were involved in your prior offenses, we will work to submit the appropriate legal paperwork and, if necessary, file the requisite motions requesting disclosure of any records related to you cases. Our attorneys are available for a free consultation at (732) 741-4448.