Wise Chaldean

If you book a cross-border Amtrak ticket and want to travel with NEXUS as your only ID and travel document, call Amtrak to book or to correct the "Type of ID Document" portion of your online booking. The list of ID options online does not include Trusted Traveler documents like NEXUS, but an Amtrak CSR can enter it if you call.

seawolf

Bring your passport when entering US by air.

While NEXUS card will activate kiosks in Canadian Preclerance locations, it may or may not work at non-Canadian Preclearance. And even if it works, technically it would be violating 8 CFR 212.1 (a)(1)(i) or 22 CFR 53.2 (b)(4)(i) because non-Canadian Preclerance ports of entry don’t have NEXUS Air kiosks. If you are not even using GE kiosk at a non-Canadian Preclerance location with no passport (what you refer to booth), I think you are risking secondary inspection and maybe get drummed out of the program.

Even at Canadian Preclearance, CBP may ask for passport anyway.

Furthermore, many airlines won’t even let you board with only a Trusted Traveler card.

dustman81

You can use the Global Entry kiosks when entering the US from any country, just use your passport. You are required to carry your passport if you travel by air, including to Canada. CBSA and CBP can ask you for your passport at any time, and if you don't have it, kiss NEXUS good-bye.

reclusive46

Last time I checked, you don't need your passport.

"Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), the NEXUS card has been approved as an alternative to the passport for air travel into the United States for U.S. and Canadian citizens. However, if you are traveling without a passport we advise that you contact the airline first. "

greglvnv

Except that many airlines will not let you check in at the kiosk or board the flight with just a Nexus.

rnsn

I routinely travel between the US and Canada by air with just my NEXUS card. That being said, YMMV depending on the airline or airport you're flying out of. Air Canada and WestJet tend to be an effortless experience as their check-in kiosks seem to have NEXUS as an option at check-in and showing your NEXUS card at boarding isn't an issue. The NEXUS card does seem to cause heartburn in general for most US-based carriers though. I'm not sure why this is. I have ultimately been able to travel with just the NEXUS card, but sometimes I contemplate whether the stress of having to explain to an airline or airport employee that the NEXUS card is valid for air to/from Canada is worth the hassle.

Though when I was at YYC preclearance for a flight to LAX a few weeks ago, it was US CBP that insisted on seeing my passport (despite the fact I checked in for my flight with my NEXUS card and used the Global Entry kiosk with my NEXUS card). FWIW though the guy was asking for everyone's passport who did GE. I genuinely didn't remember if I had even brought my passport. After telling the officer that I had arrived at YYC on my NEXUS card without having to present my passport and that I usually don't bring my passport when flying to Canada, he insisted that I must have my passport. Luckily found it at the bottom of my bag. Not sure what would've happened in this situation if I couldn't produce my passport.

As an aside, it drives me crazy to use Global Entry just to end up having to queue for a CBP officer right afterward to ask me 20 questions . I think to myself "I may as well have just used the regular line instead of GE if I'm gonna have to talk to a CBP officer anyway"

reclusive46

While I've never had any issues with just using my nexus card at YYC (although admittedly I use my passport half the time as I'm often just transiting the US), I can sympathize with the questioning. For some reason every time I get asked what my country of birth is, despite the fact my Canadian passport says where and I have a pretty obvious British accent (and I am white).

Wise Chaldean

The issue here is how immigration officers interpret the Documentation section of the NEXUS program's Terms & Conditions. For entering Canada, the T&C are available on the CBSA website's NEXUS T&C page. This section can be interpreted to mean that you must carry backup proof of citizenship / admissibility and photo ID when traveling on a NEXUS card. This need not be a passport -- it could be a birth/citizenship certificate and a driver's license, for example. Whatever backup documents you use, minimize the likelihood of trouble by making sure they are listed in the travel documents section of your NEXUS account on the TTP website. If your backup documents are not part of your original application, then in addition to updating them on the TTP website, you will need to call CBSA at 800-842-7647 to report the update and arrange to send them copies of the added/revised documents. For some reason, they don't get updates submitted online.

I don't know if similar Terms & Conditions exist for entering the US on NEXUS via a Canadian preclearance airport. I would assume so, though they aren't listed in 22 CFR 53. I realize that it's often less of a hassle to simply show a passport when requested. But on behalf of those of us NEXUS members who don't have a passport and don't need one, I would encourage you, my fellow travelers, to take the names of officers who make unwarranted requests for passports and report the incident to CBP online at the CBP Info Center. CBP officers have so many rules to remember that they often make an honest -- though sometimes aggressive, careless, and obstinate -- mistake. The best way to solve this is not by face-to-face confrontation, but by letting CBP or CBSA know when officers seem to be unaware of or disregarding the rules. Then the agency can undertake an internal education campaign. It takes time, but it can work, as I've witnessed over years of writing to CBP and CBSA about how to improve their communication -- especially the clarity, consistency, and correctness of what is published on their websites and told to officers. Many officers are still hazy on NEXUS rules. So be a model NEXUS traveler and be informed, polite, and pro-active. Despite the way a few unpleasant officers may behave, most are doing their best at a difficult and often tedious job. Neither CBP nor CBSA wants officers to waste their resources interrogating low-risk Trusted Travelers.

seawolf

The benefit of not having to carry passport is minimal and not worth the time/effort required to convince airline/CBP otherwise.

seawolf

Wise Chaldean

It's nice to be able to fly between the US and Canada even when your passport is being renewed or at a consulate for visa processing. The more we practice passport-free travel, the less likely it is to be a problem when we need it.

seawolf

Majority of the time and majority of NEXUS members don't have their passports caught up in these situations. If you were general public and not enrolled in NEXUS, you would have had to plan around your passport not being available in those situations to begin with.

Keep in mind that the reason we enrolled in NEXUS is not because we saw it as a passport substitute; we enrolled because it saves time. I'm not seeing why the majority of NEXUS members should subject themselves to delays at check-in, CBP examination, and boarding just to cater to the minority who don't have their passports available.

Furthermore, if your passport is being renewed, you should not be using NEXUS as you run the risk of using it with a profile containing an expired/cancelled travel document which is a violation of the program.

ptownca

110% Agreed. NEXUS is not about passport free travel, it is about trusted travelers, who should know the rules and do the right thing. The benefits of being a NEXUS traveler from the US far far outweigh the very mild inconvenience of carrying your passport as well. You must always approach having NEXUS status as a privilege IMO and I mention this is in most interactions especially with Canadian officials as someone coming from the states. This has stood me in good stead with them.

iamflyer

While I agree that NEXUS isn't about passport free travel for most people, I also think it's unacceptable for CBP to require passports contrary to their official policy and have no problem with people complaining when they do so. DHS specifically made an exemption to passport requirements for NEXUS cards and should be expected to uphold the rules as stated in the CFR or go through the process and remove the exemption.

seawolf

No one's reported that passport is actually required by CBP at Preclearance locations in Canada; it's only been asked for.

I haven't see any reports of what happens if you actually don't have it in possession.