NEXUS First Time Applications Information and Processing Timelines
 

So, I applied and paid for my NEXUS application online. GOES told me to check back every few days to find out when my appointment is set.

Here are my questions:

1) How long does it usually take to get the appointment?

2) Do I have any leeway in setting the appointment? I live in L.A. and am in Canada about once a month, so I would prefer to set the appointment during one of those trips.

3) Related to 1 and 2. I will be up in about 2 weeks. Will it be possible to get an appointment in Toronto by then?

It took me 3 months to get my appointment, but have had a few friends go to the Nexus office as a stand by and hope that a few people have forgotten their appointments. It worked for some of them, but not all. Good luck

I applied online. Can I still do a walk up? One thing to note is I'm coming from the US side, so it will be the Canadians doing my interview. My girlfriend, a Canadian, said it took here a few weeks, but a few years ago when applications were heavy.

Also, am I able to set the time and place?

You can try, but they'll tell you to make an appointment.

Actually, there will be someone from CBP to interview you as well as someone from the CBSA.

Not sure anything has changed. I believe that the 'wait time' is still a few weeks at airport locations.

Yes and you have to schedule online. You can also do your interview in Seattle if you find yourself there; they usually have a much shorter wait.

1) Is the CBP interview mostly perfunctory?

2) The only places close to the border I plan on being are in BUF and SW Ontario. Basically, IAG/YYZ/BUF are the options. Anyone know which is the fastest?

Neither was very long for me.

Why not wait for your conditional approval and then use the online scheduling feature to see for yourself what appointments are available at each location and when.

1) My GF (Canadian) said her interview took all of 2 minutes. I'm guessing my Middle Eastern name is going to get me profiled a plenty, despite 5 straight years of elite status and the trust of the State Bar of California.

2) Yes, I should wait for that, but it is more fun to bug you guys. :p Any clue how long conditional approval usually takes?

10 days max if there is no problem, IMO.

I had to wait about 3 weeks or so, but I was fairly selective when I wanted to do the appointment. The interview was pretty short, but they spend several minutes advising you of the responsibility to update information, etc.

Not that anyone cares, but approval came through today and I was able to schedule for next Friday. Thanks for all the help

interesting. I am in the same boat, as I applied Sunday and haven't heard yet. Hopefully in the next couple days then. I thought the turnaround times would be closer to that for GE, but 10 days isn't too bad.

Yeah, it wasn't bad at all. I just wish YYZ would have had an earlier appointment, because we're now going to spend the night in Niagara Falls before I interview at the IAG center at the Whirlpool Bridge.

My wife, my son, and I applied online on Jan 6. On Jan 14 my son's and my application were conditionally approved. Still waiting for my wife's. Not sure why it's taking longer but it's not like it has been a long wait by any means. Going to do the 2 interviews later this week and hopefully hers is approved in the meantime and she can get in for the interview too.

For those who have both, can I apply for Global Entry now or should I wait till after the NEXUS interview?

I presume you should apply after you get approved for NEXUS, since you won't have to pay an extra fee. Also, it seems that approval for GE is then same-day from most accounts.

Well, I received my conditional approval yesterday (1/22) after applying on 1/10. Overall, it fits into the "about 10 days" turnaround time.

Now, the letter says that I should get iris scans if I plan to use NEXUS for air travel (which I do), but it doesn't say which locations have the iris scan. On the CBP website, it says iris scan is no longer operational in the US. Does that mean I have to go to a Canadian center to get an iris scan?

Here's the skinny on that. I found out, rather inconveniently, at my interview at the Whirlpool Bridge facility in Niagara Falls, NY that they don't have IRIS. If I had gone to Ft. Erie, which is at the Peace Bridge on the Canadian side, they would have had it. That means I have to go to Ft. Erie or YYZ to get the scan done, which I will probably do next time I'm up here or next time I fly into a Canadian airport (which won't be till CATSA starts getting reasonable).

The interview process was pretty straightforward and reasonable (for once). I was approved pretty easily. What did blow was the fact that they don't give you your card at the NEXUS enrollment center anymore. The RFID cards are sent from the NEXUS HQ in Vermont, so we weren't able just to hop over the Whirlpool Bridge and won't be able to use NEXUS when I head back to LAX on Monday. That said, it is apparently a 7-10 day turn around, which strikes me as Vermont programing the card right away and popping it in the mail the next working day.

The nice side effect is that I am already also enrolled in Global Entry. All the people saying how fast it is were absolutely right.

Do Nexus first. Global Entry will then be free and the approval takes a few minutes.

Thanks for that info... I'm going to try to schedule at YYZ or Ft. Erie, then. Did they ask you for utility/mortgage bill or was driver license enough? Did you have to show them your vehicle registration and/or title?

I think the letter did not mention anything about a 7-10 day turnaround for getting the card. In fact, they make it sound like it will be issued right there, after your photo is taken. So :td: for not getting your card at your interview

Driver license, passport and the NEXUS letter were the only things I took.

I totally agree on the letter and the website making mention of an immediate card issuance. I fully expected that to be the case on Friday, and my GF and I were pretty annoyed having to trace up river to cross at Queenston/Lewiston. That the new cards have been out for around a year and they haven't changed the info is kind of lame.

thanks again - I was able to schedule an interview at Ft. Erie for today. I'm going to take a print out of a bank statement, too, just in case. Will report back later today.

Back from my interview. I was approved! :)

The staff were very professional and glad to answer any questions I had. I was encouraged to apply for Global Entry, too.

As for documents, all they looked at were my passport and driver license. They did not ask for the letter, proof of residency, or vehicle registration. According to the staff, the NEXUS card is no longer linked to a vehicle, so you can use any vehicle (e.g., rental cars).

I too was told that the card would arrive in the mail and would have to activate it online before use. Oh well.

I was actually scheduled for an appointment around midday, but I just walked in as the center opened at 8 AM and was accomodated promptly.

EDIT: Also, the NEXUS membership expires on my birthday, but it lasts basically 6 years because I recently had my birthday.

Oh yeah, pics or it didn't happen ;), so:

http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/z...3b9ed7b9-2.jpg
Fort Erie CBSA

http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/z...c86d63a6-1.jpg
Stuck in line on the way back :(

They changed the vehicle thing because people got really frustrated having to call a NEXUS center every time they had a rental car.

The Ft. Erie center looks much more modern than the little shack at the Whirlpool Bridge. I'm still kicking myself over the IRIS thing, especially since the card isn't instant anymore and we had to drive up to the Q/L.

BTW, I believe the reason the DL is all you need is that it counts as proof of residency as long as you certify that said address is your current residence (as it is with me).

The funny thing about Global Entry is that I could theoretically use it sooner than NEXUS Air, as it doesn't require an IRIS scan or a NEXUS card.

NEXUS interview
 

1. I applied 2/11 and was conditionally approved 2/25 so 2 weeks for me.
2. Yes, you choose from any of the available time slots at an interview centre on the online scheduling system availed to you after conditional approval.
3. Depends on the aforementioned.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

Thanks for the help Richard, but I have had my card for about a month and a half now.

I went over to LAX to get my CBP sticker and tour of the GE machine. I flew into YYZ on Friday and had my IRIS scan done. The line CSBA agent was skeptical that I could even get my card assigned without the IRIS scan, and the guy in the NEXUS office (which is still marked "CanPass Air") said the line agents are sometimes confused about these things. He and I then had a conversation about Olympic hockey.

same here. I'm hoping this post may jinx it and cause it to update.

I applied for both Nexus and GE, could that be a delaying factor?

Applied for NEXUS and GE via GOES on 7/19/11. Received conditional approval today, 8/22/11. I can now schedule an interview appointment at NEXUS centers.

This took longer than I would have expected. I'm not sure why, maybe the combination of Nexus and GE? I've had a lot of stamps in my passport, but nothing too out of the ordinary, I wouldn't think.

It's possible NEXUS delays it. I'm wondering how long NEXUS applications average before approval. Those require 2 different countries to approve you, so maybe that's the contributing factor

Mr sjl & I applied to NEXUS on 7/23. Since we had a trip to Detroit to visit his family from 9/2-9/7, I figured we could schedule the interviews then. Well, that didn't happen...still pending. The website says "If your application status is not updated within eight weeks, please contact the CBP Ombudsman at [email protected]" 11 days to go...

What now??
 

Just got the email of conditional approval this morning. I checked the interview centers and was excited when I saw 2 locations in Canada that are on my cruise route at the beginning of next month. However...when I checked the interview times, there were none available during my times in port.

It says the interviews need to scheduled within 30 days. Any suggestions how to deal with this other than having to buy another air ticket to the nearest location considering I already reached 1K 2012 based on remaining flights this year...

One Data Point for Nexus
 

Our GE was approved within about 3 weeks last year; this year NEXUS approval took almost exactly the 8 weeks, form July-Sept.

Nexus application processing time
 

I've just received a conditional approval for NEXUS and tried to schedule an interview on-line. I live near Ottawa, so YOW is the logical centre to use, but the first available interview is July 12. I am (unfortunately) at YYZ quite a lot, so I tried that centre next. There are no interviews available period at YYZ.

Is this normal? Can I just drop by the YOW centre and be interviewed? Or am I going to have to wait until July 12?

Thanks

You can't just drop in, that's for sure!

You can wait until July 12th, or choose another enrollment certer. I did my interview in Seattle, and I think they aren't that busy on account of not being on the border. I was lucky to be traveling there.

I had a similar issue with SEA, dates were 4-6 weeks out. I kept checking the calendar for cancelations, people tend to cancel 1-5 days out if they are going to cancel and found two appointments, one for 2/21(too soon) which was the next day and at 10:00 AM the week of the 27th. I took the one for next week. No appointments the rest of February, not a single one in March to mid April. Check frequently, you may luck out.

Try Detroit. That never looked busy when I was scheduling my appointment...

I was able to make my appt. in Detroit within a week of my conditional approval, but keep in mind that the Nexus interview site is at the foot of the Ambassador bridge near downtown, not at DTW. Also keep in mind that the Detroit Nexus site does not do iris scans, so once you get your Nexus card you'll have to go somewhere else, like YYZ, for the iris scan, although an iris scan for a Nexus card holder does not require an appt. (you can just do it on a walk-in basis - we drove from Detroit to Toronto to visit friends and stopped at YYZ and the whole process, including parking the car in short term parking, only took 30 min.).

That was my experience also as my first available interview date was 3+ months in the future so accepted it and then checked every day for a week or so and found another time pop up with about 10 days notice so grabbed it.

There is a Megathread in the AC forum on the topic in case OP wants to wade through it. ;) Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. After trying for more than a week, I managed to get an interview at YOW for the end of April. I will continue trying -- maybe I can get one even sooner.

Nexus - Much longer than anticipated - still waiting
 

Hi all,

I paid for and filled out my Nexus application via the GOES website... On February 27, 2012... I have been checking the GOES site daily and am still pending approval... I sent an e-mail to GOES Ombudsman, as indicated, and was told that the current wait is longer due to many applications recieved recently. A colleague, went through the internet, and paid 250$ and got her appointment within 5 business days. So in my opinion, it has nothing to do with the current demand... it has alot to do with how much you are paying.

It is going on 9 weeks, and I am still pending review.

I was really hoping to have it before going away in June, on business... it is not looking good.

Oh, well...live and learn.

Well that's discouraging. I am already an approved Global Entry member and applied to add Nexus at the GOES site on 3/26. It's still "pending review". Ridiculous that it's taking so long.