Bow Rider

Just worked through the Is Global Entry worthwhile thread and found some confusing posts. Worked through both web sites, too, and this is what I think.

If you enroll in Global Express you can return to the US from Canada to any GE airport without being enrolled in Nexus. The GE kiosks are in US airports.

The Nexus kiosks are in Canadian airports and give you a paper to give to the US CBP.

Is all that right? And if you are in Nexus can you return to any US airport with that paper, and get through without waiting in the usual line?

Thanks

LessO2

The last part is correct. However most major Canadian airports (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax) all have U.S. preclearance areas. They are fitted with NEXUS, not Global Entry machines.

If you fly in from a Canadian airport that doesn't have U.S. preclearance areas (Victoria, Saskatoon, Kelowna, for example), you can use the GE machine since you will have to clear when you arrive in the U.S.


Yes, but only in the pre-clearance airports as advertised above.


Yes, you get the paper, but you will do the pre-clearance thing at the aforementioned airports.

There will not be a situation where you carry the document onto an airplane.

Make sense?

Bow Rider

For the life of me it doesn't. But thanks for trying to explain it.

How about specific examples?

1) I'm in Global Entry but not Nexus. Flight from Toronto to IAD.

2) I'm in Global Entry but not Nexus. Flight from Saskatoon to IAD.

3) I'm in Nexus but not Global Express. Flight from Toronto to IAD.

4) I'm in Nexus but not Global express. Flight from Toronto to Richmond, Va (assume that's an international airport).

??? Are there US CBP agents at Canadian airports? Even if there are don't you have to get past a US CBP agent in the US? I am clearly not getting this.

Thanks, again

LessO2

Okay.


Regular line, no special treatment or access.


Regular line, no special treatment or access.



You can use one of the NEXUS kiosks at YYZ.


You can use one of the NEXUS kiosks at YYZ.


Yes. But not all of them, only the ones I listed in the previous post.


With the airports I mentioned before, you clear US Customs and Immigration before you even set foot on your flight to the U.S. You arrive in the U.S. as if you came off of a domestic flight.


Again...only Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax have "pre-clearance" at these Canadian airports. You check-in, but do not give your checked bag to the check-in agent, as it will only be tagged. You fill out your Customs Declaration Card. You go into the U.S. Customs Hall, get cleared by Immigration first, hand your card to the person handling Customs at the podium, then drop off your checked bag. Then you will end up at the security checkpoint, clear security, and you will be in a terminal where only U.S. flights depart. You will need to show your Passport to the person at the gate when you board your aircraft.

The rest is as if you're on a domestic flight. You will arrive at the domestic terminal, you will not need to clear US CBP again.


Bottom line: In Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, Global Entry means squat.

Bow Rider

Ahh, I get it now. Thanks so much Less02.

AMRivlin

Members that had Nexus can apply for Global Entry for free.

Can members of GE be approved for nexus?

N1120A

You don't take any paper on a plane. You give the papers to the CBP Customs agent after you skip passport control. You do have to fill out the Blue Form, unlike when you use GE to enter the US from non-preclearance airports.

LessO2 actually didn't get this one right. Saskatoon to IAD (or more likely Saskatoon to ORD) would allow you to use GE, because there is no pre-clearance facility at Saskatoon. The rest were correct.

As for your other question, yes there are, but only at some of them. And no, you would not have to go through customs/passport control again once Stateside. You would land in a domestic terminal as if you had been on a domestic flight, and just walk out.

You left out Ottawa. YOW has pre-clearance

They can, but they have to go through the entire NEXUS process, because the Canadians want to have a look at you. It is much easier and faster to go NEXUS to GE than GE to NEXUS.

chollie

I can't find this on the website.

I had an old original NEXUS pass that expired. I 'renewed' it about a year ago online. I remember being asked if I intended to use it for air travel. I said 'no', because I was thinking I'd only use it for land border crossing.

I can't find anything on the website that addresses this or indicates how one would 'upgrade' a NEXUS pass to allow air travel. Anyone know?

N1120A

NEXUS Air is basically the old CANPASS program. You need to call a NEXUS enrollment center for instructions and then go to one with an iris scan facility.

username

Just starting to explore this topic so forgive the possibly stupid questions...it seems to me that Nexus is cheaper - $50 to start, good for 5 years. Global Entry is $100 to start but can't find how long it is good for.

So, it seems Nexus is cheaper and let's you use it in more places (once you enabled it for Global Entry for free)?

Also, if my passport is about to expire (a few months left), should I wait or switching passport on file is not a big deal?

Thanks.

monkeshine

Global entry is 5 years as well, according to the CBP website.

I found this thread searching on Google. I find myself doing more int'l travel this year and probably more again next year. Just came in from YYZ the other day.

It appears you need NEXUS to go through Canada (but not all airports) but that is Canada specific. Global Entry is when you arrive from other int'l destinations. And there is some kind of nascent reciprocity with the Netherlands, though, I'm not sure how that works. I wonder if it is better to clear through Amsterdam when traveling to Europe if you are a Global Entry traveler and need to commute. It probably makes no sense if your destination is a major hub like Paris or London or Rome though since you'd waste more time transiting than waiting in customs lines.

So for me, a semi-frequent traveler to Canada and Europe, it may be worth joining both Global Entry and Nexus.

Though I did notice that "
Current approved NEXUS or SENTRI members, who are U.S. Citizens or U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents, can now apply for Global Entry trusted traveler program at no additional cost via the Global Online Enrollment System GOES web site."

http://www.globalentry.gov/howtoapply.html

dgwright99

GE is supposed to give front-of-line privildges on arrival at US airports without GE machines.

Does that apply at Canadian airports with pre-clearance ?

mre5765

At Canadian airports with CBP pre-clearance you need NEXUS to fast track. At Canadian airports without pre-clearance, you arrive in the U.S. to CBP clearance, and if GE is at that airport, you can use GE.

You are referring to Privium. U.S. citizens with GE can apply for Privium. Without Privium, it makes no difference if you have GE or not. Privium is very expensive, but you get a lot, such as lounge access (the airline and contract lounges at AMS suck).
Cite? Not IME.

No.

dgwright99

I was told this at my interview. I was told that was what the "CBP" sticker was for. I think that I have also seen it mentioned here on FT (if not FT then elsewhere).

OP604

My whole Canadian family got postcards telling us that as nexus members we can join GE free. The instructions are to login to our GOES account. I did that, and chose 'join a program' but GE is greyed out - can't join it! I can only join SENTRI and FAST programs.

So thanks for nothing, I guess. Naturally there is no explanation.

Does a Canadian with a nexus card use that to enter the US (assuming he did not pre-clear when leaving Canada)? Are nexus cards now automatically recognized by GE kiosks, without the need to register?

It's very confusing. Seems like a waste to mail out those postcards (esp. since I got two so far).