Mr. Bean

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?

N1120A

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.

kayak-dan

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

Mr. Bean

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 for not getting your card at your interview

N1120A

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.

Mr. Bean

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.

Mr. Bean

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:


Fort Erie CBSA


Stuck in line on the way back

N1120A

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.

Richard Chen

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!

N1120A

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.

BTA

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?

BTA

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.

joshwex90

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

sjl

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...

sjl

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...