To breeze through Transport Security Administration lines at airports, it will cost you about $100 a year to enroll in a program that allows the TSA to perform a "Security Threat Assessment" on you before you travel.
At present, only one company operates the TSA pre-screening process. It's called Clear and is operated by Verified Identity Pass, Inc., a privately owned company. Clear is authorized and regulated by the airport in which it operates and the TSA.
To join the program you first have to fill in some forms available on Clear's website and then you visit an enrollment station at a designated airport, to have your fingerprints and an image of your iris taken.
When enrolling online you will be asked numerous questions about your past life and background. Clear advises applicants to have their driver's license number, their home addresses for the past five years, their Social Security number, alien registration number (if they have one) and a current credit card handy when filling out the questionnaire.
When completing the process in person at the enrollment station, you will have to bring two forms of approved, government-issued identification, such as a driver's license and birth certificate. If you have a U.S. passport, be sure to bring it too.
Once you've given your fingerprints and iris image, your application will be sent to the TSA. Once they determine you're not a danger to the state--or your fellow passengers--you're notified by email and you receive a special "smart card." The process takes about two to four weeks.
The "smart card" stores your name, fingerprints, iris images and photograph on a chip that can be assessed by Clear's attendants at airports.
When using the card at an airport, look for a bright blue cube that designates the special lane for pre-screened passengers. At the lane you present your "smart card," a boarding pass and a government-issued photo ID to the Clear attendant who, once your data is verified, guides you through an abbreviated security check.
A TSA rep gives you a special stamp and you're off and running.
You still have to pass through a metal detector, and your luggage goes through an X-ray machine, but the pre-screening means it takes minutes rather than hours.
Clear isn't available at all airports but its use is growing quickly as business travelers decide that the extra freedom of getting through lines quickly is worth the fee. Check with the information desks at airports, or at the Clear website, to find out which airports operate the special lines.
At present Clear offers the pre-screening service for $99.95 a year. The price includes a $28 TSA vetting fee.
