My father's application time (current GE holder expiring in September, renewing as NEXUS rather than GE):

Applied: 1/27
Conditional Approval: 2/8
Interview Scheduled: 7/26 at Vancouver UEC.

Countries listed on application was 30+, nearly all for business. One or two of them were 'interesting' (UAE, Turkey, Kenya), although the reason for visiting were snoozefests; he was on mundane business trips visiting remote sites. He and my mom live in downstate NY... he is close to retirement and as a result his international travel will nearly cease.

However, the cheaper cost of NEXUS and the Canadian border benefit were good enough reasons to apply for NEXUS instead of renewing his existing GE. He is interviewing on his next trip out to the PNW along with my mom, who submitted her app a few days ago.