flightsim98

I applied for NEXUS today with a Chinese passport and Canadian Permanent Resident status, and I was told that the program won't be many benefits to me because apparently, I have to "go through the regular line to stamp my visa." I thought I can use the kiosk with my NEXUS card regardless since I'll pass by a border agent to show my passport anyway? What exactly can I do with my NEXUS if I have to be in the regular line when going to the US all the time anyway? There's nothing about this on the official website, at least none that I can find. If anyone has experience with this, please do share it with me. I have a tight 2-hour connection in Atlanta, and I have to go through customs because my flight leaves after the pre-clearance at YVR closes, I thought having NEXUS would let me go through the Global Entry kiosks, not wait out the regular non-US Citizen line. Thanks in advance for all the inputs!


VVVVVV SOLUTION BELOW VVVVVV

I recently asked a questions about this, and here is the definitive method of doing it, confirmed by multiple officials.
NOTE: IF YOU HAVE A PASSPORT FOR THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM, THIS DOES NOT APPLY.

My experience:
The relevant procedure to prepare for using NEXUS at airports:
1. Enter the U.S. with your visa at a LAND BORDER. Very important, LAND BORDER.
2. You will be told to pull into secondary inspection, where you will request and be issued an I-94, declaring your visitor status in the U.S. Time required for doing this depends on the line-up, once you get to an official, it should be as simple as waiting for them to complete the paperwork. The I-94 is a piece of paper they will staple onto a page in your passport.
3. Go to a NEXUS office to have them link the I-94 number to your NEXUS card, it does not matter if it's an office in Canada or the U.S.; whether it's a NEXUS office or a Global Entry office does not matter either.
4. Make sure you have fingerprints on file and your iris scanned. If you have a fresh NEXUS card, you should be fine. If you have an older NEXUS card, I have no knowledge of how they did things back then, so it might pay to double check.
5. You can now use the Global Entry lanes going into the U.S. and NEXUS lanes going into Canada. Note two things:
i. Your I-94 has an expiration date printed on it, it is only valid for roughly 6 months and expires on the printed date. You have to repeat steps 1-4 to set up a new one that's then valid for another 6 months.
ii. The steps I experienced at airports were: Going into the US: Scan passport, answer questions on the machine, scan fingerprints, take receipt to an officer, answer questions from the officer (present all documents they ask for), and enter the U.S.
Coming into Canada: Scan NEXUS card, scan iris, answer questions on the machine, take receipt to an officer, (I wasn't asked anything or asked to present any documents), enter Canada.

A couple of asides:
1) I never received a reply for my email sent to the official email address asking about this matter, so everything below comes from collecting bits of information from everywhere.
2) Two-hours international - domestic connection in Atlanta is absurd, DO NOT ATTEMPT WITHOUT NEXUS! With NEXUS, it's more reasonable but still relies on the inbound flight being smack on time.

Hope this is helpful!

reclusive46

If you have a regular B Visa, the CBP agent is talking out of their .... You can use the global entry kiosk just fine.

flightsim98

Yes, I have a B1/B2 visa valid for another 8 years. Can I use the GE kiosks at Atlanta though? I know I can use the NEXUS kiosk at Canadian Pre-Clearance, but not sure if I can use the American one on arrival. Just in case it's useful, as a Chinese citizen with a B1/B2 visa, I have to do EVUS to provide my information, which I have done. I really need the shorter line offered by NEXUS at the GE kiosk for my two-hour connection through Atlanta.

TWA884

A similar question was asked and answered in the The NEXUS Information Thread:

flightsim98

Yes, I did come across that. However, the answer was given by someone with a US PR card. That means he can enjoy the same privileges as US citizens, the same way I enjoy the same privileges at customs as Canadian citizens. He mentioned that he scans his PR card, which means the NEXUS is somewhat irrelevant. If he only scans his American PR card, what do I scan? The Canadian PR card? Then what's the point of the NEXUS card? Also, I no longer have an I-94, my last travel to the US was March last year.

Nayef

You use the NEXUS card for travel by land or sea (if they have NEXUS lanes/facilities). It also has your known traveler number and you can use it as an ID to travel domestically within the US and Canada. Even though you can't use it on a kiosk (in the US anyway), it's still proof that you have NEXUS privileges. I'd wager you should be able to use your Canadian PR card in GE kiosks in US airports, but I'd rather someone else verify that piece of information.

Smiley90

I have NEXUS as a Canadian PR holder with a foreign passport. You present your foreign passport at the GE kiosks in the US and it works flawlessly.

The agent was possibly talking about NEXUS land-entry, where even with valid NEXUS you still need to get a US entry visa approved and stamped and paid for every 3 months (for my Swiss passport at least it's 3 months not sure about you). Otherwise works fine.

flightsim98

Does this matter if you don't travel frequently? The I-94 visa status for entry has expired for me a long time ago. Does going through GE kiosks automatically assign me a B2 status for my I-94 the same way a normal lane agent does?

Smiley90

Not an issue for GE - You get waived through automatically. That's only an issue for land crossings.

For flights you just got to the GE kiosk, put in your passport and you're good.

EDIT: just make sure you have your ESTA.

flightsim98

I actually can't do ESTA because PR China isn't one of the Visa Waiver Program countries. I have to do something called EVUS, which only applies to Chinese citizens holding ten-year B1/B2 visas. I take it if I can't do ESTA then I don't need to do it for GE kiosks.

Smiley90

Interesting. They told me I needed to always have my ESTA up to date to use my Nexus, but I never considered people who aren't even ESTA-eligible. Let me know what happens but yes, just make sure you bring your passport for the GE kiosks. Then click like two buttons and that's it.

flightsim98

p2r2t

I recently got my Nexus approved (had my interview approx 2 weeks ago) as an Indian citizen with Canadian PR and US B1/B2 visa. This is what I was told at the interview-

(1) Land Border: If I don't have a valid I-94 then I can still use the nexus lane but I have to inform the officer that I need to go in and get my I-94 (pay 6 USD and valid for 6 months). Not doing this can get me in trouble as I would be entering without a valid I-94. On the other hand, if I already have a valid I-94, then there is no need to link it with nexus if I am using only land border nexus lane. I have to always carry my passport and PR card along with my nexus card and have the passport with I-94 page open so that the officer in the lane can check it if required.

(2) Air travel: If I don't have a valid I-94 linked with Nexus card then I can't use global entry kiosk as I would have to get my passport stamped and that would require going to see a officer at the booth. But if I have a valid I-94 and I went to the Nexus office to get it linked with my nexus card then I can use the global entry lane and I have to use the B1/B2 visa to login.

My experience so far:
US side: I used my nexus card to enter US by land on Friday and I already had a valid I-94 form attached to my passport but not linked with my nexus card. I had my passport open showing the I-94 page and the officer took a quick glance at it and asked me if I had anything to declare and reason of visit and waived me through. The entire process took few seconds and had no issues at all.

Canadian side: Returning to Canada, used the nexus lane and officer asked me if i had anything to declare and waived me through without asking to see any documents.

Smiley90

2) Has literally never happened to me. I've used the GE kiosk several times without an up-to-date I-94 (since I don't enter the US via land very often) and I've never had any issues.

See:

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/i-94

"Foreign visitors to the U.S. arriving via air or sea no longer need to complete paper Customs and Border Protection Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record or Form I-94W Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure Record. Those who need to prove their legal-visitor status�to employers, schools/universities or government agencies�can access their CBP arrival/departure record information online.CBP now gathers travelers� arrival/departure information automatically from their electronic travel records. Because advance information is only transmitted for air and sea travelers, CBP will still issue a paper form I-94 at land border ports of entry"

I believe the I-94 is automatically "pre-completed" for you and you're free to use the GE kiosk.

Nayef

I should actually ask about the inverse situation (mine) because I haven't been able to test it out yet.

I have NEXUS and I'm a US permanent resident and I have my eTA. Next month I'm flying to Montreal and I'm wondering which document I have to use on NEXUS machines. Has anyone in my situation been through this recently?

EDIT: This site seems to suggest that I'd have to use the actual NEXUS card in the kiosk in Canada, unlike entering the US where I have to use my green card.

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nex...n-eng.html#can