I'd like to piggy-back on this thread with my own "Should I apply to Nexus?" or "Am I now ineligible for Nexus?" question.

I have been planning on applying for Nexus for some time, but never got around to it. I was recently transitting through the US to Costa Rica (YYZ-->IAH-->LIR) and did not declare some food I was carrying to eat on the plane/at IAH. When we got to the US Customs officer, he asked again and we made an oral declaration. However, we were sent to the back for second inspection because our oral declaration did not match the written declaration.

The officer in the back room gave us a bit of a speech about "why didn't you declare this?" etc, etc, and looked through our bags. He found some packaged food and sliced apples, but did not confiscate anything. We did not receive a ticket/fine and I don't think (though I don't recall 100%) that we got any written notification about the inspection or any violation. I also don't know if either of the officers we spoke to recorded anything in their computers.

The Nexus info page says that applications may be denied if you have a "recorded violation of customs, immigration or agriculture law." However, I can't find anything that explains what constitutes a "recorded violation" (i.e. does just getting sent for secondary inspection count as a violation even if no ticket/fine was given and nothing was confiscated)? Seems to me that since nothing was confiscated and we were not fined, there is likely no record of the violation, but I don't know that for sure and don't want to go through the cost and time of applying if there is little chance of success.

If anyone on these threads has any insight into whether this is likely to thwart my application, it would certainly put my mind at ease and/or help me avoid unnecessary expense.