Mar 6, 2017, 1:27 pm
Last edit by: seawolf
CBSA published NEXUS processing times to get to conditional approval can be found here. The most recently published processing time is below, along with a short history of recent official published times. A longer history of published wait times is here, via the Internet Archive Wayback machine. Please post your personal experiences below in the thread. All posts are appreciated. Thank you/Merci!
5 business days as of 2020-04-29
30 business days as of 2020-02-17
39 business days as of 2019-10-07
40 business days as of 2019-08-28
25 business days as of 2019-04-11
5 business days as of 2020-04-29
30 business days as of 2020-02-17
39 business days as of 2019-10-07
40 business days as of 2019-08-28
25 business days as of 2019-04-11
NEXUS First Time Applications Information and Processing Timelines
Jul 17, 2023 | 5:52 am
#2416
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: EY
Posts: 976
Application for a one year old infant that’s been pending for 17 months now. Called a Nexus office who refused to look up the individual application, and said it can generally take up to 20 months for an application to process. US citizen family with both married and cohabiting parents and sibling being Nexus members.
Jul 21, 2023 | 12:27 am
#2417
Join Date: Jul 2023
Posts: 11
Applied in May 2022 and still waiting. I called both the CBP and CBSA NEXUS lines. The CBP line was extremely confrontational and was rude from the offset. I asked them if they had any additional information from me, they called me a liar, and hung up on me when I said FOIA. Later, I called the CBSA line and they told me I had passed the Canadian background check in June 2022 and my application was only waiting for the US side to pass.
I already have Global Entry and that only took 4 months to process, so I couldn't possibly imagine why it would now take over a year for the CBP to do my background check.
Lesson learned: don't bother calling CBP, just call the CBSA NEXUS line.
I already have Global Entry and that only took 4 months to process, so I couldn't possibly imagine why it would now take over a year for the CBP to do my background check.
Lesson learned: don't bother calling CBP, just call the CBSA NEXUS line.
Jul 21, 2023 | 9:25 pm
#2418
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 582
Oddly enough I've had a similar case. Applied last year, called CBSA and was told they finished processing and that it was waiting for CBP. Also a long-time GE member. Never found a line to talk to a real person though, but maybe that was for the best 
Jul 24, 2023 | 11:31 pm
#2419
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 5
Here are some revised data points based on my wife and myself:
We both applied on March 05, 2022.
I received conditional approval on March 11, 2022.
My wife had to wait for an extended period to receive her conditional approval, which finally came on April 28, 2023.
I waited until my wife received her conditional approval before scheduling the interview to avoid having to travel to the Blaine center twice.
We finally had our interview on July 03, 2023. We arrived 30 minutes early, and the reception lady was still able to check us in and she asked us for our interview letter, password, driver's license, and naturalization certificate.
We waited until our names were called and then proceeded to the interview station.
The U.S. officer conducting the interview was very pleasant. They confirmed our basic information and provided detailed explanations about the Nexus program. We then switched to the Canadian officer, who patiently explained how the Nexus lane should work and highlighted important details.
The entire interview process lasted approximately 15-20 minutes, and we received the approval notification as we were walking back to our car.
Both of us received the approval notification immediately after leaving the center. We will provide an update once we receive our Nexus cards.
We both applied on March 05, 2022.
I received conditional approval on March 11, 2022.
My wife had to wait for an extended period to receive her conditional approval, which finally came on April 28, 2023.
I waited until my wife received her conditional approval before scheduling the interview to avoid having to travel to the Blaine center twice.
We finally had our interview on July 03, 2023. We arrived 30 minutes early, and the reception lady was still able to check us in and she asked us for our interview letter, password, driver's license, and naturalization certificate.
We waited until our names were called and then proceeded to the interview station.
The U.S. officer conducting the interview was very pleasant. They confirmed our basic information and provided detailed explanations about the Nexus program. We then switched to the Canadian officer, who patiently explained how the Nexus lane should work and highlighted important details.
The entire interview process lasted approximately 15-20 minutes, and we received the approval notification as we were walking back to our car.
Both of us received the approval notification immediately after leaving the center. We will provide an update once we receive our Nexus cards.
Jul 27, 2023 | 3:34 pm
#2420
Join Date: Jun 2023
Location: YYZ
Programs: Air Canada Aeroplan
Posts: 404
Has anyone recently applied for a new Nexus card? Just wondering how long it took for the conditional approval?
On the TTP website it says new applications are treated within 12-14 months, but I assume most of that is waiting for the in person interview?
On the TTP website it says new applications are treated within 12-14 months, but I assume most of that is waiting for the in person interview?
Jul 27, 2023 | 4:57 pm
#2421
Join Date: Nov 2009
Programs: DL DM 1MM
Posts: 3,561
Most of the wait time is spent between application submission and the response "conditional approval". From the point of receiving "conditional approval", how much longer you need to wait for approval is simply a function of your flexibility to travel to an interview location with availability. People willing to travel to an interview location can get an interview appointment relatively quickly, popular interview locations can require significant time to find an appointment slot..
Jul 27, 2023 | 10:42 pm
#2422
Join Date: Apr 2023
Posts: 183
My conditional approval took around a week as a Canadian PR. Too lazy to go to an interview though, not planning to go to the US anytime soon
Jul 28, 2023 | 11:38 pm
#2423
Join Date: May 2023
Location: GTA
Posts: 15
Applied for a new card in Spring 2023 - still waiting on conditional approval. Seems to be somewhat of a randomness to how quickly they process. Some get it pretty quickly, and some (myself) will likely be stuck in queue for a year.
Jul 30, 2023 | 9:28 pm
#2424
Join Date: Jan 2023
Location: YYZ
Posts: 25
Few data-points based on my whole family:
Myself
Applied Feb 14 2020
Conditional Approval April 2 2020
Cancelled April 3 2022 (no interviews available yet)
Re-Applied May 1 2022
Conditional Approval June 7 2022
Interviewed November 18 2022
Received Card December 2022
Father
Applied July 24 2022
Conditional Approval Feb 7 2023
Mother
Applied April 26 2022
Still Pending
Truly all over the place, although I imagine given that I'm Canadian-born and young, there's less to comb through.
Myself
Applied Feb 14 2020
Conditional Approval April 2 2020
Cancelled April 3 2022 (no interviews available yet)
Re-Applied May 1 2022
Conditional Approval June 7 2022
Interviewed November 18 2022
Received Card December 2022
Father
Applied July 24 2022
Conditional Approval Feb 7 2023
Mother
Applied April 26 2022
Still Pending
Truly all over the place, although I imagine given that I'm Canadian-born and young, there's less to comb through.
Aug 8, 2023 | 10:43 pm
#2426
Join Date: Jul 2023
Posts: 11
Also, I got the option to choose between an in-person interview and a remote interview, but no dates were available for remote interviews. Do all NEXUS applicants get the option to select a remote interview these days or is it only some people? I have Global Entry, if that helps.
Aug 8, 2023 | 11:01 pm
#2427
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 24,803
Also, I got the option to choose between an in-person interview and a remote interview, but no dates were available for remote interviews. Do all NEXUS applicants get the option to select a remote interview these days or is it only some people? I have Global Entry, if that helps.
Please refer to the following thread:
Aug 8, 2023 | 11:06 pm
#2428
Join Date: Jul 2023
Posts: 11
(Had to take out the link from the quote because I haven't made enough posts to be able to share URLs.)
Aug 8, 2023 | 11:11 pm
#2429
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 24,803
There are some reports in this thread and elsewhere in the Trusted Travelers forum of Global Entry members who applied for NEXUS and received final approval of their applications without being interviewed.
Aug 12, 2023 | 6:12 pm
#2430
Join Date: Sep 2016
Programs: TSA Pre, Global Entry
Posts: 11
Data point
Applied January 2022
Conditional approval April 2023
Full approval August 2023
Interview at YVR. Canadian portion before security, US portion after, meaning you need a boarding pass and flight out. I arrived 15 minutes early for mine and finished in about 35-40 minutes. Mostly verification questions. Hope this helps!
Conditional approval April 2023
Full approval August 2023
Interview at YVR. Canadian portion before security, US portion after, meaning you need a boarding pass and flight out. I arrived 15 minutes early for mine and finished in about 35-40 minutes. Mostly verification questions. Hope this helps!