Originally Posted by
Sopwith
Possibly this has been answered, but I haven't gone through the 5000+ posts in this thread, so forgive me. I used Nexus at US immigration for the first time today, expecting to need the card (of course! Why else would they give you the fancy card with RF chip, photo, etc?) I needed it to get into the priority security line, but didn't need it at Immigration. Do they rely com-letely on the iris scan, or does the kiosk read the RF chip from the card in my pocket? In which case I guess I will need to take it out of the fancy copper-lined envelope.

It does not read the card at the Airport. You need to show it for visual confirmation to the border agent US bound.
Remember, it is not just used for air. The RFID functions are used at land crossings.