Originally Posted by
supraphonic
It looks like registering my vehicle on the GE application and getting it inspected at a border station (San Ysidro and Otay Mesa are my closest interview centers anyway) effectively extends SENTRI benefits to GE membership though:
http://www.globalentry.gov/faq.html#g2
Not that that would be automatic for every GE member, of course, but for somebody close to the southern border I'm not really seeing how it might be more beneficial to apply for SENTRI over GE. I'm pretty sure GE is even open to Mexican nationals at this point too.
On paper it looks like once vehicle registration is brought into play it's the exact same program under another name, which is causing me to wonder why the fee structure is different. Grandfathered-in policies, maybe? That seems to be the case with NEXUS.
I think I'm just paranoid that I'm missing some fine print somewhere, haha.
There was a program prior to NEXUS called CanPASS. You had to apply to both the US and Canada separately and pay separate fees. The Canada sticker allowed expedited land entry into Canada; the US version allowed expedited entry into the US. Not everyone got both - it depended on individual travel habits.
IIRC, you had to register a specific vehicle, you got a decal to be displayed on the windshield, and you were supposed to have your acceptance letter ready to show if asked.
IIRC, CanPASS was cancelled right after 9-11, then eventually NEXUS was introduced. The great thing (for some people) was that NEXUS wasn't tied to a specific vehicle.