Every mention I have seen of a GE expiration date fits the format I described. I don't know about notification for renewal.

This is great news! My birthday is in early July; my GE interview is scheduled for July 24. I will have almost six years before I have to renew.

To get a Nexus card, tho, you have to do an interview at a CA-US border crossing, and get your retina scan at a Canada port of entry.

You don't have to have the iris scan completed to get your NEXUS card or to use GE. While the interview is generally complicated by the fact that you need to get in the proximity of the border, if you can justify a trip to SEA (there's a enrollment center near Boeing Field) or DTW, you need not visit a Canadian airport.

This sounds similar to my experience with my NEXUS card.

I scheduled a business trip with a 4 hr layover In dtw. Rented a car, drove 25 minutes to the border for my appt and then went back to the airport to catch my flight. Was pretty easy, then on my next trip to YYZ went To get the scan

I did the Nexus interview at SEA (well, King County Airport at Boeing Field to be precise) but the iris scan can only be done in Canada. Fortunately, no appointment needed for that so next time I'm north of the border I'll gitter done.

I haven't seen this anywhere--how long does it take from application to approval, in general?

Try this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/pract...sing-time.html

I have read this thread and have reviewed the FAQs on the GE website and still have some questions perhaps you all could help with. I fly 3-4 international flights a year and have experienced hellacious customs/passport control wait times when returning to the US via LAX, DTW, and ATL primarily. I am interested in GE and the $100 application fee seems very reasonable. Furthermore, being BHM-based, the interview site at ATL is easily accessible. I can't find information (and judging by this thread and others, maybe this has not been determined yet) related to how long GE is valid for once approved and what the renewal fees will be for the program. Additionally, looks as if many of the FT GE threads have been dormant for some time, anyone have an up to date comment on processing time and also how long the interviews are lasting so I know how best to plan to go for the interview, layover versus drive 2 hours to ATL?

It's good for five years. (Technically until your birthday after the five years have passed, so in some cases it could be almost six years.) Since no one has hit the five year date yet, we don't know if the renewal is another $100 or if there's a discount. The "interview" is really a training on using the kiosks and the opportunity for CBP to get your picture and finger scans. Takes under 30 minutes.

If you get GE, does that do anything toward getting NEXUS? I want to get GE but also travel to Canada by car with some frequency, so NEXUS would be good as well...so does the order matter? Do I need NEXUS first, which gets me GE? Or can I get GE and then complete the retina scan to get NEXUS?

If you get NEXUS, GE is included once you do the interview, even before the retina scan. (I'm in that state now.)

This is the way to go. If you do NEXUS first, you will get both for $50 dollars. If you apply to GE first, you will have to complete two separate applications and spend $150.

It is the way to go, especially if you travel to Canada regularly. You can also use NEXUS when crossing the border in a motor vehicle (though everyone in the vehicle must have NEXUS to use that lane). For NEXUS to be helpful when flying in and out of Canada you must have the iris scan which can only be done in Canada. The fly in the ointment is that NEXUS requires an interview by both U.S. and Canadian Customs Officers so there are a limited number of sites. Interview sites for GOES alone are much more plentiful. I did my NEXUS interviews in Seattle, took all of 10 minutes with each officer. As noted above, GOES comes with NEXUS and for only $50 you get both.

Canada needs to perform a background check on you as well. They do one for NEXUS applicants but they're uninterested (for obvious reasons) in GE applicants.

The US gives NEXUS members GE because they've undergone the same (or at least very similar) checks by the US.