Those advising to call my enrollment center were spot on. Called first thing this morning and was told it had to do with some glitch with my fingerprints - you know, the ones I need to use the GE kiosks as a NEXUS member and I already had on file for GE and had to do again to add NEXUS to the GE that I already was fingerprinted for, Catch-22 style.

There needs to be some sort of supervisory override "now that the problem is fixed" and my approval should be forthcoming with no further action required on my end. I was told this has happened in the past and all were aware of the issue.

Now this all sounds to me like a story to protect OPSEC, but the moral is that within 15 seconds after asking my PASS ID it was clear to me the issue was obvious to the officer I was speaking with and I was assured I am good to go shortly.

Yes check back. I scheduled mine and right off the bat got the slot one week out. I kept checking to see if I could reschedule (as I had to cancel a meeting at work to take the original) and ALL SORTS of openings came up. Blaine had one actually on Sunday, when I looked on Friday. Not sure where you live (I am in the Seattle area) but that also opens up Vancouver Place which appears to open big blocks of appointments on the weekends two weeks out , Blaine and the other 2 in Vancouver.

I had my interview today (as originally scheduled) and got the approval email on my drive back to work.

My experience is quite different.
I am a Canadian Permanent Resident and I applied using the paper form to the Canadian CBSA. I hand-delivered my application form on Dec 9 (their Montreal offices are just around the corner from my office), the payment was taken on Dec 27 (I guess some Christmas delay). I called on Feb 10, got an answering machine and left a message. They called me back after a couple of hours (I was in a meeting and they left a message saying that my Canadian and US clearance arrived on Jan 29, but that it will take 3-4 weeks to receive a letter allowing me to make an appointment.

I don't know what to think: 3-4 weeks for sending a letter, after the approval has been given by both Canada and the US, sounds like an awfully long time. Maybe they are going to send a paper letter instead of an email, given that the process was started that way, but it still feels quite strange.

Did anyone have a similar experience? Any suggestions?

None here but what number did you call?

The one on this page
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexus/menu-eng.html

866-399-5887

Applied: 01/13 (Family of 4)
Cond. App.: 02/13 (2 Kids) and on 02/14 (2 Adults)

Feedback on the Detroit and Port Huron centers appreciated. Thx.

Did my interview in Detroit. Easy to find, it's right under the Ambassador Bridge on the American side. (Take the Ambassador Bridge exit and turn left into the cargo processing area) Had plenty of open slots, even next day. Took me a couple of hours early. Answered a few questions, took my picture and fingerprints, watched a video on how Nexus works and I was out the door. The longest part of the whole process was the video. Had my full acceptance email before I got back to my car. Got my card less than a week later.

Just for further timing tracking (I know it was useful to me).

Applied online Jan 12
Got conditional approval Feb 17
First Available interview appointment at Toronto Pearson Jun 18

Hope to luck into an interview sooner than that!

Thanks to everyone who provided information in this thread, it was very helpful.

Edited to add: After booking my initial appointment for June, checked back a couple of hours later and got an appointment for Feb 20!

An update from me too about the timing.

After being told that I had received a conditional approval on Jan 29, I finally received a letter on Feb 14 with the instructions to obtain an interview.

The first available appointment at Montreal airport was on May 7, so I tried for Champlain, NY, which had a few slots available for Feb 18, which was the following working day (since Feb 14 was a Friday and Feb 17 was President's Day).
I have had my interview and I am now waiting for the card.

Any chance?
 

So I had no idea the wait for NEXUS would be so long, I sent in the GOES app on 2/18. I have a trip to Australia on 3/28.

My question is, after I get the interview can I use the GE right away (before the card comes)? I've heard when you apply for GE you can use it right away, but am not sure about the NEXUS/GE situation.

As soon as your GOES account is marked "Approved", you can start using GE.

The whole process in a nutshell
 

No, First off the approval process for GE takes ~1-2weeks and once you have been approved, you will schedule your interview. You probably already knew this...<<< (check around if you live in an area with lots of enrollment centers as some will have shorter wait lists than others) Once you have your interview they will approve of you (or not if you lied):p and then in an additional ~10 BUSINESS;) days, you will receive your card. At that point you will have to go back on to your goes account and activate your card. Only at that point can you use your GE Number and card. If you use the number before activating your card, it will result in "serious consequences" (they will revoke your GE status) so yeah, you can't start using it until you get your card. it will most likely be ready just in time for your trip to aussieland! Good luck and happy travels!^ It's definitely worth the wait and process though especially if you fly through MIA, IAH, or LAX because it will save you hours and hours waiting in line!

A GE membership is active the moment the GOES account status changes to "approved." The GE kiosks can be used long before the card has been activated. There are no consequences for using the kiosks without activation. The only purpose for the activated card is use at land and sea border crossings.

Yeah, that would be correct. No card needed.

It is almost as if some people join FT just to invent and share inaccurate information. :rolleyes::td:

That is my bad, i am thinking of when i got nexus, that is when you need a card, I'm sorry:( No card needed for GE but it is for Nexus. Sorry for any confusion! Ari, i don't mean to share inaccurate info, i was just trying to help based on one of my experiences. Forgive me for my misunderstanding^