seawolf

I agree with you that you can’t update until you have new document. But that is not the question.

The question is if the underlying travel document is cancelled/expired/lost, does it render NEXUS invalid in the interim? In other words, can NEXUS card serve as travel document by itself (eg similar to a passport or an EDL) or does its validity depends on the underlying citizenship and/or travel document(s)?

The following is from section 8.6 of CBSA ENF-29.

From the US side, a passport is not required if Canadian carries a valid NEXUS card. What is considered a valid NEXUS card from CBP perspective? A card that is not expired? Or is it more stringent that a card must be tied to a NEXUS profile containing a non-expired travel document? I don't know the answer to that question. My speculation is that a NEXUS card is not valid by itself (unlike a passport or EDL) and must be tied to a valid citizenship/travel document thus the general requirement of having to keep the NEXUS profile up to date to begin with. If NEXUS card was intended to be able to stand alone by itself, there would have been no document update requirement since the card itself contains almost all information found on a passport and also an expiry date.

I think the answer to ALW's question really comes down to the following questions:

1. Is NEXUS validity "only-as-valid" as underlying travel document on the NEXUS profile? If yes, then there is a risk ALW is essentially presenting themselves at CBP with an invalid NEXUS card due to underlying travel document being expired/cancelled/lost.
2. If yes to 1., during primary inspection, does CBP have capability to determine the real-time validity status of underlying NEXUS travel document and do they exercise on this capability?

Until we have more datapoints on these questions, I think it could go either way in terms of being admitted to US or being sent back to Canada.

CKDGM

In 2005 (the date of the ENF-29 document you linked), NEXUS still had separate programs for air, highway, and marine use. Much has changed since then including the implementation of the US's Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requirements. Any NEXUS card that hasn't yet expired must have been issued no later than 2012 (depending on the user's birthdate) and is therefore part of the fully WHTI-compliant single NEXUS program.

seawolf

CKDGM

The modes still exist, but there are no longer separate cards and programs for each mode.

seawolf

If applying with NEXUS with birth certificate/naturalization certificate, it still fits the NEXUS "only-as-valid" as underlying document model as those two underlying documents don't have an expiration date.

I think we just need ALW to make the trip to further FT understanding. LOL

Wise Chaldean

This much is clear: NEXUS membership is not contingent on underlying travel documents being unexpired. Ability to travel, however, may be. This is where CBP and CBSA guidance can be ambiguous. Here's the short version of what I've learned:

1. US and Canadian citizens who have only one nationality: your NEXUS card is valid for travel until the expiration date on the card, even if your passport has expired. If you submit a renewal application online before your NEXUS membership expires, you can continue to use your card as usual until the renewal is finalized, up to 6 months past the expiration date. This extension rule also applies to other US Trusted Traveler programs. You can find this information at CBP Info Center -- search for "membership renewals".

2. For all other NEXUS members (e.g. citizens of other countries), in order to travel with NEXUS, your passport must be valid, and you need to carry it when crossing borders. But expiration of your passport won't cause automatic cancellation of your NEXUS membership -- you'll just need to update your passport information on the TTP website before you next travel with NEXUS.

Background and rationale:

The CBP Info Center website, under Question #2 on the "Trusted Traveler Program Updates 2017" page, says: "Your Trusted Traveler membership date is not dependent on the passport expiration date. Membership will remain valid and active if the passport expires..."

So far, so good. The rest of the sentence is: "however, you will not be able to use your membership at kiosks and land crossings until you update your new passport in the new TTP system." Based on my experience, if that statement is true in any sense, it applies only to the Global Entry program (passport required for everyone) and to citizens of countries other than the US and Canada (e.g. a NEXUS member who is a citizen of Mexico or a Canadian dual citizen). For Americans and Canadians with only one nationality, there is no such thing as a valid NEXUS membership that you can't use to travel, confirmed by my own experience and conversation with numerous CBP and CBSA officers. That's because for American and Canadian citizens, no passport is required for NEXUS membership, and an expired passport proves citizenship at least as well as a birth certificate that never expires.

Except in the case of dual citizens, Americans and Canadians are by default deemed admissible to both Canada and the US by virtue of their citizenship -- it's just that the US and Canada have decided that for adults, a birth certificate is not a secure enough document to be accepted as proof of citizenship at ports of entry. Birth certificates are easily forged, don't include a current photo, and there is too much variety in them to expect border officers to differentiate between genuine and counterfeit. Given the rigorous background checks, ID requirements, and personal interview required for NEXUS membership, along with the NEXUS card's standard format and machine readability, both CBP (US) and CBSA (Canada) accept NEXUS cards as proof of citizenship (and therefore admissibility) for US and Canadian citizens, even if the only proof of citizenship supporting the membership is a birth certificate. When entering Canada, a NEXUS card can be used for entry via all modes of travel at all ports of entry. When entering the US, a NEXUS card is not valid for entry by air unless the border-crossing flight's origin is a Canadian airport with CBP preclearance facilities.

Examples of ways a US or Canadian citizen can travel with an unexpired NEXUS card, with no passport linked to their NEXUS membership, assuming they meet the carrier's own travel document requirements:

A. Fly to any airport in Canada from anywhere in the US. If the Canadian airport doesn't have NEXUS kiosks, present your NEXUS card to a CBSA officer.

B. Fly to any airport in the US from one of the Canadian airports with CBP preclearance facilities (currently 8 airports, soon to be 10)

C. Travel to the US or Canada via any land or marine port of entry, including land entry to the US from Mexico, and marine entry to the US or Canada from anywhere.

Caveats:

i. In addition to the NEXUS card, NEXUS travelers are supposed to carry with them backup photo ID and immigration/citizenship documents. For an American traveling to Canada, even by air, this can be a DL and birth certificate.

ii. Border officers have wide discretion to deny entry to non-citizens, even if the traveler presents all the required documents, including a valid passport and visa. The officer can simply say they think you're likely to overstay or that they suspect your documents are forged. So be polite and honest and play by the rules. Give them no reason to think you'll be anything but a law-abiding model visitor.

iii. Most NEXUS members have valid passports. If you do, by all means play it safe and carry it when you use NEXUS to travel. This thread exists in part to clarify what can and can't be done by NEXUS members when carrying a valid passport would be inconvenient or impossible (e.g. it's being renewed or in visa processing, or it's expired or lost or you don't have one). In my case, I have added my birth certificate to my NEXUS record to minimize the chance that the expiration of my passport will give border officers reason to impede my travel-by-NEXUS. Since I have an expired US passport, I'm obviously a citizen, so the addition of the birth certificate to my record is redundant. If, however, you are in a similar situation and don't have time to go to an enrollment center and add your birth certificate to your NEXUS record, know that your unexpired NEXUS card remains valid for travel. Just bring along your expired passport or birth/naturalization certificate and photo ID. Admission is never guaranteed, but don't hesitate to take advantage of the travel opportunities afforded by NEXUS without a passport.

Crazydre

According to the Timatic database, which is what airport check-in staff uses, NEXUS cards are only accepted when entering Canada from the US and the US from Canada. However, nowadays you can enter the US with only NEXUS even without preclearance (i.e. at a US airport). Apparently, though, Canadians doing this must use the "normal inspection lines" rather than Global Entry kiosks. Whether you can use Automated Passport Control (APC) kiosks, which is the default for Canadians at major airports, is unclear

seawolf

I'm not following.

Can you and are you allowed by regulation are two different things.

Example, can a GE kiosk at JFK be activated by a NEXUS card? Possibly yes. Is it complying with NEXUS rules or US CFR? No.

Can Canadian NEXUS member present a NEXUS card at regular inspection booth at JFK? It would go against passport requirement as passport exemption under 22 CFR 41.2 (a) (1) wouldn't apply.

Crazydre

Well, Timatic publishes actual practice. And it used to state, until fairly recently, that for the US, NEXUS was only accepted on its own at preclearance. That note has been removed, however, and it says Canadians NOT using preclearance must use "normal inspection lines" which however implies that the card can be used at immigration at US airports.

So to your Q "Can Canadian NEXUS member present a NEXUS card at regular inspection booth at JFK?" the answer is yes. Not saying all officers will be aware of it, but clearly IATA's government sources has told them this, and the CBP has told me via their contact centre as well.

seawolf

It should be noted that the most important aspect is passenger must be embarking from Canada; NEXUS members flying LHR-JFK would still need passport. The one airport where this comes to mind is YTZ.

However this still falls outside of passport exemption under US regulations so beware.

Crazydre

Correct! My friend is a naturalised US citizen and currently only holds a naturalisation certificate and a NEXUS card. He's soon flying Zurich-Montreal-San Fransisco in a single booking. He'll need the naturalisation certificate to board the flight to Canada, and then NEXUS for preclearance and to board the flight to the US.

As per Timatic, Canada accepts US birth/citizenship/naturalisation certificates regardless of where you fly from, but NEXUS only if flying from the US. The US only accepts NEXUS, and only if flying from Canada.

seawolf

I do not believe passenger transiting YUL will have access to NEXUS kiosk. I believe they are only accessible from landside YUL. YUL CBP is known to ask for passport and in this case, not only will passenger not have passport, they don't have a kiosk receipt either. Will passenger be able to clear CBP, yes but prepare to spend additional time being examined.

I would advise getting to ZRH early as airline would likely have to determine whether allow boarding as US citizens normally do not attempt to board a intercontinental flight with just a naturalization certificate follow by using a NEXUS card.

Seriously should consider getting US passport as a replacement cost of naturalization certificate if lost is $555. You should be able to get one same business day at US embassy/consulate which can be replaced with a regular 10-year in the US for no additional cost.

If passenger other passport is VWP, better off applying for ESTA and travelling with that passport and then using naturalization certificate/NEXUS route.

Please report back how the trip went.

Crazydre

Already e-mailed Swissport, the responsible ground handling Company in ZRH, who gave the OK.At YUL, AFAIK you don't clear Canadian transit immigration if in transit to the US, so although transiting Canada does require a document accepted to enter Canada, this will only be enforced by check-in staff at ZRH.

THe NEXUS card is valid works regardless of whether there are NEXUS kiosks or not. If they're that ignorant at YUL though, I guess I'll call them and check if they're aware of the rules.

After getting home, the concerned person isn't setting foot out of North America anytime soon, hence why he hasn't got a passport..

Wise Chaldean

It's official -- according to the US CBP Information Center, NEXUS members who are US or Canadian citizens may enter the US by air from ANY Canadian airport (with or without CBP pre-clearance) using a NEXUS card only -- no passport required. The information, updated March 23, 2018, is available in the "What Is Nexus?" entry on the CBP Information Center website (https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...-information):

Here is the relevant paragraph, verbatim:

"All Canadian Citizens entering the United States by AIR are required to present a valid passport, or a NEXUS card when departing from Canada. Please be advised that if arriving in the United States on a flight not pre-cleared by the CBP in Canada, Global entry kiosks cannot be used by passengers only holding a NEXUS card, and the regular inspection lanes have to be used."

seawolf

Stupid question but how’s that different than before this page was updated? US and Canadian who are members of NEXUS were passport exempt using NEXUS Air mode but that never stopped airlines from requiring passports.