overnight transit in JFK
 

Travelling on a Canadian passport from YYZ with an 12-hour overnight layover in JFK connecting to HKG. I've transit in the US before and only need to put in the customs declaration form that I'll be transit for an outbound flight from the US.

The US Embassy website stated that you're required to provide your US address where you'll be staying the 1st night unless you're connecting to a flight within 8 hours.

I don't intend to get a hotel for my overnight stay but instead use the money I've saved on a hotel for drinks and food in Manhattan. Could this be a potential problem with INS?

I would argue that the point of NEXUS is to allow trusted travelers to cross the border quickly, which (a) makes those travelers happy, and (b) allows officers more time with the rest of the people who don't have the background check.

Having to produce your passport on occasion is an entirely separate issue...

If I had no address to write in, I'd simply put down "in transit."

The problem I see, and it happens on both sides of the border, is that line agents who don't deal with NEXUS a lot generally don't seem to know the rules. Aside from the poor treatment I received at YYZ, I also had the CBP agent at LAX who did my GE training not know that people who go NEXUS to GE don't need appointments or to carry their GE acceptances with them and be a bit of a jerk over it.

Do you have a reference for this, because I can't find one and was led to believe by my interviewing CBSA officer that since Canada started recognizing the NEXUS card as a primary citizenship document, carrying a passport for any NEXUS related travel is unnecessary. I still carry my passport in my travel wallet as a backup in case I lose or have my regular wallet stolen, as it contains my NEXUS card.

See http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexu...uveid-eng.html.

(bolding is mine)

It is possible that this information is obsolete, but my understanding is that it is still accurate.

A summary of this information is also available on the Nexus homepage, the last point on the top box on the right hand side of the page. Also available in the text of the email sent out to some Nexus members, available in post 1487, which specifically states land and marine crossings only. Ignorance of the rules, of course, is not an excuse for not following them, and any member not carrying a passport traveling by air can (and should) be removed from the program.

And no, this information is not obsolete. Just because we are members of Nexus, still doesn't make it any less stupid to travel to a foreign country by air, without a passport, IMO. In fact, most airlines, including AC everytime I've traveled with them in the last couple of years, require an actual passport at check in, not just a Nexus card.

A NEXUS card is intended for entering Canada from the US and the US from Canada only. The US will not allow entry from other countries with a NEXUS card for anyone (US citizens and permanent residents can register for Global Entry on their passport instead). While Canada allows NEXUS holders who arrive by air from anywhere to use the NEXUS system, the US arrivals are not isolated so it cannot be ascertained as to a person's point of departure. So NEXUS holders need a passport in any case in air travel into Canada.

Thanks to those who pointed out the rule.

I suppose that makes a tiny bit of sense, but it still doesn't in the case of US citizens using their NEXUS cards to enter Canada. Given that it is accepted as proof of citizenship and as an entry document for land or water, I don't see why we would need a passport too.

[QUOTE=N1120A;13881511]The problem I see, and it happens on both sides of the border, is that line agents who don't deal with NEXUS a lot generally don't seem to know the rules. Aside from the poor treatment I received at YYZ, I also had the CBP agent at LAX who did my GE training not know that people who go NEXUS to GE don't need appointments or to carry their GE acceptances with them and be a bit of a jerk over it.

This was the point I was making - that there is a bit of haziness about the NEXUS program at the front end.

I do always carry my passport (actually in my briefcase at all times), so it wasn't an issue to pull it out, and I did. Trust me, I travel enough that I know not to get smart with a border officer - but that doesn't mean that you can't politely ask a reasonable question, which I did.

Not so. My previous NEXUS card expired this past Mar 17 (not even close to my birthday). The new one expires in 5 years plus the few months to my birthday.

I was a very early (beta) CANPASS adopter and the membership, as you correctly point out, expired on the anniversary date of the signup, not on a birthday.

CB

Okay, let me try it this way. Everyone entering Canada by air needs a passport, even if they have a NEXUS card. This is because when you enter Canada you have not been pre-cleared and are not isolated and therefore you are mixed in with people entering from anywhere in the world when you arrive at immigration. In addition, the US demands a passport for re-entry so admission to Canada for a person from the US is done with the understanding that the person can leave.

Write whatever you want...a random hotel in Manhattan will do--or write the location you intend to start drinking :D

Hmmm ..... All nexus machines in person t1 were down at 1pm .... Fortunately not very busy

Heh (re: drinking).

I would never lie - putting a random hotel is lying.

Simply state "Connecting to flight UA xxx at JFK Airport Terminal X" if you're staying at the airport.

When we went to Disney we simply put Disneyland as the location and I moved hotel three times! In Hawaii I stated Beach and moved once! :p