That's the point, it was caught in the screening; that's why they pointed him and the list of questions and said "start at #15". I have really have no idea why they didn't just decline an interview, though its not the only rejection I've seen at an enrollment centre. When I got my initial card at YYZ there was a women rejected for failing the residency requirement. From what I heard, it seemed like she had declared it all on the form, but rather than refuse the interview they brought her in to confirm everything before denying her.

Anyone else seen anything similar.

I guess we know why interview appointments are so hard to get at some locations. Too busy rejecting people in person :D

I don't come back with more than 50 cigars and after 48 hours which is the limit. And cigars are the one category of tobacco where if they are not duty paid there is no extra duty since nobody makes cigars in Canada.(unlike duty free cigarettes, bought in Canada before leaving which ironically are duty paid yet sold in a duty-free store - it is really HST paid and maybe excise taxes free, I digress)

So they are not dutiable anyway and they include them in the TDC exception - they do with liquor under the limit too as well don't they? From what I read all liquor is going to send you to the cashier even under your exemption. Or if you have one bottle do you not mention it on the TDC? Maybe that is what I am missing.

The security/background check delay appears to be down to couple of weeks now.

I imagine while many people might find that, some individuals, depending on their status or history may take longer to get through the background check process.

Speaking from the airport experience:

1) You fill out the standard form on the airplane (http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...s/e311-eng.pdf)
2) In Part C, you say if you exceeded your limit in any way (so it would be a no if you only had 750ml of wine or under 50 cigars and hadn't gone over your $ limit).
3a) If no, it just prints a normal card and you go to the exit.
3b) If yes, it asks if you are going to use a TDC or the cashier. If you are over your alcohol/tobacco exemption, it is my understanding that you can't use a TDC and therefore must choose Cashier.

Quite possible. I have seen little detail on the security check process, so it may well vary by individual.

But the overall trend has been to much quicker check times, to few weeks this year from the few months it took when I got my Nexus.

The entire process took less than two weeks for me and Mrs GG at YOW. The longest part was their assessment ( security check) of my application. The rest was done on site and quite efficiently.

You took the words out of my mouth!

I applied for NEXUS two weeks ago and got my "schedule an interview within 30 days" notification this morning. I'm going to be in YOW and YYZ in a month and I figured I'll do the interviews then. Earliest available appt at YOW: Oct 18th. Earliest available at YYZ: Oct 21st.

Ugh. I think I'll take a trip up to Seattle - appointments available this week, or maybe Vancouver - also openings this week...

Good point. I am never importing commercial goods so I wasn't looking for it.
See http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexu...terre-eng.html

If anyone is ever transiting through YHZ and are waiting for Nexus interview, you really should try there. I've scheduled 3 separate times for family members over the past few months and there has always been an opportunity to go next day after conditional approval. They're wide open most times.

A few questions...

I will be flying US-YEG-US early next month. I will be there for almost a week.

1.) Do I have enough time to get a NEXUS card and do the interview in YEG? I'm based out of SFO so getting to a border town is difficult.

2.) My understanding is that I should get to YEG 2-2.5hrs prior to departure for the security dance and customs/immigration. What sort of time savings am I looking at if I have NEXUS?

3.) It looks like Global Entry and NEXUS both expire in 5 years. Aside from the difficulty in hitting up a border town (or airport) for the interview, the only other difference I can see is $100 for GE vs. $50 NEXUS. Please let me know if there are any other differences I am missing.

Thanks!

No.

You might be able to get your conditional approval quickly if you sign up on the Global Online Enrollment System (a.k.a. GOES) and there are no hiccups in your background check process.

After your conditional approval, you might get lucky and get an interview appointment that suits your time frame during your visit to Edmonton. Even though, you would need to wait a couple of weeks to get your NEXUS card in the mail. You must have your NEXUS card with you in order to use the system.

All that said, it's worth pursuing, you just would not get the NEXUS benefits on that trip.


I went through Edmonton once, and it was in the height of the Canadian oversize baggage limit nonsense earlier this year. All said and done, the trip was on a Saturday morning, it took about 35 minutes to clear, including mandatory pat-down and manual baggage inspection.

I don't know if two hours is necessary, but certainly at least 90 minutes (most check-in times for Canada to U.S. flights close 60-75 minutes prior to departure time). Other FTers may have a different suggestion.


Get NEXUS first. Once you're a card-carrying member, you can get the GE thing for free. Global Entry has nothing to do with the Canadians, it's all US CBP.

Get NEXUS, then after you get the card in the mail, go back to that GOES system and enroll for Global Entry. You will likely get conditional approval in a matter of one or two business days. You can do the interview thing for Global Entry in San Francisco (no, you can't do your NEXUS thing, or a part of it, in San Francisco). No membership card for GE, but they will put a "CBP" sticker on the back of your Passport for quick ID purposes.

Good luck.

Blarg. How long does the conditional approval last for? I might be back in YYZ or SEA in a few months, but none of it is planned yet.

Thanks Shirley.

I'm planning to call the CBSA this week to try to get a general feel for this issue before applying, but I just wanted to see if the braintrust here knows if this would warrant an automatic denial.

In February of this year, I had mistakenly made a false declaration, as I had some kind of simulated pork-flavoured snack from Japan (it was a gift, I wasn't planning to eat it, and I forgot to throw it away - oops) in my luggage. Well, I was searched and they found this item and after a lengthy delay of supposedly having the packaging translated, I was written up on Form BSF156. The Refusal Reason was Prohibited Under Regulations and the Action Taken was Seized and Destroyed.

I have since re-entered Canada on numerous occasions without any further hassles. According to the "I Declare" guide,

A record of infractions is kept in the CBSA computer system. If you have an infraction record, you may have to undergo a more detailed examination on future trips. You may also become ineligible for the NEXUS and CANPASS programs.

So I'm wondering that since I've been through several times without any mention of my false declaration, maybe they didn't bother enter into the system or I still somehow have some hope of being approved?

Thank you