UES Enrollment Center

Well here’s my take.
We are going to be taking several trips via Airlines this year so wanted to get a Pre Check ASAP. The soonest appointment would have been a month and a half out so we filled out our applications on line and headed down for a walk-​in and arrived at 12:45. We talked to a few people who had been waiting for 3+ hours before being seen. The staff began putting names on the list at 1:00 when they officially opened after their lunch break. We were advised that as people who had appointments came in they would be given priority.
We soon noticed that each client’s appointment was only taking about 10 minutes to complete. That gave us hope that we would for sure get in before they closed at 4:30. As it turned out the line before us was disappearing quickly so to our surprise we got out of there at 2:00. Perhaps getting there when we did rather than first thing in the morning during an apparent rush was good but I must say the staff was doing their job very efficiently. They were all pleasant to deal with.
Other posts gave advice on how to find the office once you are going up the driveway but here are a few more tips. As you arrive at the back building grab a 1-​hour parking spot if you can. We were told you can stay parked there as long as you need to but will be towed if you use a reserved spot.
To get into the office, enter that back building from the left side looking up (east side) through the private parking garage entrance. Head to the back left corner to the office next to a small restaraunt .
BTW, the restrooms are down the hallway past their office.
Good luck and have patience.

Apologies in advance for the length, but the detail is the story. This is not a review on this location, or the process, it is what it is, but thought worth sharing my experience. I’m still not sure best option or best location, but …
With all the news footage of 3 hour waits in the security lines (and missed flights) at various airports such as Chicago, Atlanta, LA, etc. and the promise it’ll only get worse this summer, I decided to finally apply for TSA Pre-​Check. $ 85 for 5 years, figure it’ll pay for itself in saved frustration and made flights by end of summer 2016.
TSA website gives multiple options — process most on-​line and visit one of the 3 San Diego processing centers for finger printing, make an online appointment at one of the 3 San Diego Processing Centers to expedite the application process, or show up at one of the centers as a walk-​in and put your name on the list (appointments move to top of list).
3 San Diego Processing Centers — airport (no thanks, thinking has to be the busiest but I don’t know), Mission Valley (Hmmm), Bonita (way out the way). Next avail online appointment for Mission Valley office is 5 weeks out. If processing online you still have to visit a Center. So my logic says walk-​up is as good an option as anything, plus I’m travelling next week so MAYBE I’ll complete the process and get to use it right away !
This is where logic gets trumped by irony.
I show up at the Mission Valley office at 8:10 am (yes, should have been earlier but love that 5 South drive in the a.m.). After waiting 3 hours, I am finally seen and complete the application process. Will find out in 45 days (or less) if I get it. And yes I had to pay the $ 85. The ironic thing — spent 3 hours to apply for TSA Pre-​Check in order to avoid waiting in 3 hour lines at airport.
More irony — They know people will be waiting in the «lobby», so they have a rather old TV with a DVR playing a movie. The movie continues to loop, in other words when it completes it re-​starts automatically. Being there for 3 hours I got to watch the move nearly 2 times. The movie — GroundHog Day (Bill Murray).
I don’t have a recommendation on most expeditious way to do this, perhaps I chose the worse route. But should you choose my route, bring a book !

Such GREAT service! I walked in without an appointment and luckily I was able to get in within 15 minutes. Diana was the friendliest and was patient with questions I had. Highly recommend !!

It took a while for the Known Traveler Number to come through but it did! It’s been about 2 weeks since I went in to the TSA Precheck processing center.
Can’t wait to put this to use!

Getting in and out isn’t an issue. I went there without an appointment to get my hazmat for my CDL and the lady who did the finger print treated like I am doing it like I am a criminal. She was not nice.

Make sure you make an appointment for the TSA Pre. I did that and getting in and getting done was a breeze. Lady helping me was a tad gruff, but maybe she was having a bad day. Overall got it done, and now i have pre check for 5 years. If you are an upstanding citizen, this is worth the $ 85 bucks.

I had an appointment at 1:30 and showed up an hour early (I wrote down the wrong time) and was told the TSA people wouldn’t be back until 1. I went to get something to eat next door-​the girls are super friendly and the food was really good if you come and are waiting. I showed up at 12:55 and went to check in and was told they will be checking in people at 1, and then the women behind the counter sat and talked for the next 8 minutes… apparently their clocks are set to the wrong time because my phone said it was past 1pm, and this job is a joke why couldn’t they of taken the few people that were there a few minutes early? But because I had took the time to go online and fill things out and make an appointment, granted I showed up early but I got my stuff together more than the 3 random walking that went before me and they didn’t see me until close to my appointment. :-/​I’m glad this is good for 5 years a because I wouldn’t wanna deal with subpar customer service and people who aren’t personable any more frequent than I have to. But really the deli made it worth it :-)

If you’re considering getting Pre-​TSA precheck and are on the fence about it, just do it. Here’s the math… valid for 5 years or 60 months and it costs $ 85, 85/​60= $ 1.42/per mo. If you travel say once a month totally worth it. If you travel once a year it’s 85/​5= $ 17/​per year. So ask yourself is it worth the price to «fastpass» security lines, don’t have to take off shoes, jackets, jewelry, etc???
Now that you made up your mind to get your Pre-​TSA precheck, GPS will take you only so far. It’s just West and across the street of the late Todai restaurant off of Camino Del Rio South. Look for a big white concrete arch with the address on it. Once you go through the archway and up the big hill in the back, the lane splits right/​left (take either lane) there are LOTS of Reserved 1 hour parking signs everywhere. Park and go up to the Lobby level (L), and the entrance is right next to the deli with a ton of signs on the door. Can’t really miss it.
Once you’re there just check-​in and wait for them to call you up. Since there wasn’t anyone there, except for me I waited 5 minutes. The process was to verify your information, take finger prints, and process the $ 85 payment. Again, this is good for 5 years. The entire process took less than 10 minutes since I filled out everything online, which I highly recommend doing to save some time. Mind you, that my appointment was at 3 pm and no one was there when I got there are 2:30 pm.
Overall, this was a quick and painless since no one was there. Pre-​Enroll, fill out the Pre-​TSA precheck, and schedule your appointment online. I’ll even help you out…
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Arrived 30 minutes before it opened, at 7:30am. Lots of parking. Three people already ahead of us in the office. Able to wait in chairs, which was nice. Once they opened the glass window at 8am, they told us to assemble a line in which we arrived. Everyone was civil. By the that time there were another 6 people behind us. If someone came in with an appointment, they would have priority over the walk-​ins.
Some people rolled in at 9:15am, which is a little late because it took us an hour and 15 minutes wait with only 3 people ahead of us. There was an old guy ahead of us who was having trouble being fingerprint scanned (they get worn off when you’re old).
You need your passport and $ 85 ready when you go into the office with the really nice lady. This part only took 10 minutes or less. They only ask you to confirm details about yourself and then they scan your passport. They ask for fingerprints and the credit card which you will charge to. At the end they give you a receipt with an ID number and say you can check online for status in 48hours to get the Known Traveler Number. Been 72 hours and still nothing for me. They say you will definitely know if you passed the background check by 3 – 4 weeks.
Crossing my fingers for a less stressful flying experience. I hate feeling like a corralled animal and being forced to do the full body scan!

Sweet people.
Free 1-​hour parking.
Take stairs up one flight to get to the enrollment center. Café right next door for those of you waiting. Water in the lobby.
Free WiFi from nearby business!
Don’t forget your passport for TSA Pre-​Check!