Mar 3, 2013, 10:24 pm
Last edit by: TWA884
Current NEXUS Information messages can be found in the following thread:
The NEXUS Information Thread
The NEXUS Information Thread
Welcome to the Travel Safety/Security Trusted Travelers Forum Nexus Information Wiki! This resource will appear at the top of every page within this thread to help users learn more about this program.
About NEXUS
NEXUS is designed to expedite the border clearance process for low-risk, pre-approved travellers into Canada and the United States.
The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) are cooperating in this joint venture to simplify border crossing for members while enhancing security.
Program benefits
If you are approved to participate in NEXUS, you will receive a membership identification card to use when entering Canada or the United States at all designated NEXUS air, land and marine ports of entry.
Membership will enable airline passengers to save time by:
- using automated self-serve kiosks in dedicated areas at designated international airports;
- using NEXUS/SENTRI lanes at land crossings when/where available. NEXUS lanes entering Canada will likely have a constant red traffic signal. This is to discourage non-NEXUS members from using the lane. Canada-bound NEXUS land crossing operating hours. All occupants must have NEXUS cards when using NEXUS lane entering Canada. At some locations, the NEXUS lane, the inspection booth is not staffed but there should be a call button. When entering US in a NEXUS/SENTRI lane, all occupants must carry either NEXUS, Global Entry, or SENTRI cards (or any combination thereof). Notable exception is Whirlpool Bridge which requires a NEXUS card to open the toll gate on the Canadian side to cross to the US..
- As of 17 MAY 2017 - NEXUS members no longer need to complete a paper CBSA Declaration Card (Form E311) when using a NEXUS self-serve kiosk at any Canadian airport where NEXUS is available. (Refer to post #10421)
- using the Trusted Traveller Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) Security Line at major and select medium-sized Canadian airports to expedite airport pre boarding security screening. For detailed information, please visit the CATSA Web site.
Join NEXUS
Here are the steps for becoming a member. There is a non-refundable processing fee of CAN$50 or US$50 per applicant for a five-year membership card.
About NEXUS
Eligibility
How to apply
Enrolment process
Key points about the program as found by forum members:
- NEXUS cardholders must advise of ANY changes to their vital information such as passport numbers/validity, visa status, legal names, primary residence, criminal convictions, and employment if it impacts your eligibility in the program.
- It's normal to find the first in-person NEXUS interview to be months into the future, but a little patience and regular checks on the TTP website almost always yields an interview date much sooner.
- Each person who wants to participate in the NEXUS program must fill out a separate application form. There is no fee for applicants under the age of 18.
- If traveling with non-NEXUS family members NEXUS cardholders are required to use the regular customs lines.
- There is a zero tolerance policy and membership can be terminated for infractions including not having your NEXUS card on you and using the NEXUS lane and not declaring items on your customs declaration card, though members have reported some leniency being granted for such infractions in the past.
- Private companies may offer services for submitting your application and charge an additional processing fee but these extra charges are not part of the official NEXUS application fee. Expedited services offered by such companies will not assist in speeding up the application process.
Updating Passport with Canada for NEXUS
As per CBSA website, updates to passport information can be handled on TTP.
Please note that NEXUS members are not required to report to an Enrolment Centre to update or change their passport information with the CBSA.
Some FT members don't trust instructions provided by CBSA and recommend the following:
Call the Canadian Processing Centre with responsibility for residents of the United States:
After going through the phone tree to reach a Nexus representative, advise them that you need to update your US passport with Canada.
The representative will give you an email address and instructions to scan your updated passport picture page (include your trusted traveler number on the scan) and then email it to a particular email address. I was advised to put the representative's name in the email message so that he could process the update on the Canadian side. He confirmed that any passport update in TTP does not reach Canada. NOTE: FT members have been able to enter Canada without any issues by updating passport online only.
He specifically requested that only the telephone number be posted (and not the email address).
In case the telephone number doesn't work, here's the webpage where the phone number is posted: Canada Border Services Agency - NEXUS - General Information
- 800-842-7647 --- Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm (Eastern Time)
After going through the phone tree to reach a Nexus representative, advise them that you need to update your US passport with Canada.
The representative will give you an email address and instructions to scan your updated passport picture page (include your trusted traveler number on the scan) and then email it to a particular email address. I was advised to put the representative's name in the email message so that he could process the update on the Canadian side. He confirmed that any passport update in TTP does not reach Canada. NOTE: FT members have been able to enter Canada without any issues by updating passport online only.
He specifically requested that only the telephone number be posted (and not the email address).
In case the telephone number doesn't work, here's the webpage where the phone number is posted: Canada Border Services Agency - NEXUS - General Information
US citizens/residents who have both Global Entry and NEXUS cards and who renew the Global Entry membership whilst their NEXUS card is active, will not be able to renew the NEXUS card until after it expires. The option to do so disappears from the TTP website.
Dear mxzblftspk,
Your NEXUS membership is not set to expire until July 11 2016.
As an approved NEXUS member, you added Global Entry for an additional $100. When you completed your Global Entry application, you received a Global Entry card. When you activated the Global Entry Card, your NEXUS Card was deactivated and the option to renew NEXUS was removed from your account.
If you wish to renew NEXUS, you will have to wait for your NEXUS membership to expire. Once it expires, you will have the option within your TTP online account to renew NEXUS. After you follow all of the steps to become a NEXUS member again, including the completion of an interview at a NEXUS Enrollment Center near the Canadian border, you will receive a new NEXUS card and will have Global Entry benefits at no additional cost.
When your Global Entry account expires 5 years after your application, do not renew it. Global Entry benefits are included with your NEXUS membership.
It is our goal to provide you the best information we have in response to your question. If you follow the information provided in our response, and still need assistance, please reply to this email and we will investigate how we may further assist you.
Thank you again for contacting the CBP INFO Center.
Sincerely,
CBP INFO Center
Your NEXUS membership is not set to expire until July 11 2016.
As an approved NEXUS member, you added Global Entry for an additional $100. When you completed your Global Entry application, you received a Global Entry card. When you activated the Global Entry Card, your NEXUS Card was deactivated and the option to renew NEXUS was removed from your account.
If you wish to renew NEXUS, you will have to wait for your NEXUS membership to expire. Once it expires, you will have the option within your TTP online account to renew NEXUS. After you follow all of the steps to become a NEXUS member again, including the completion of an interview at a NEXUS Enrollment Center near the Canadian border, you will receive a new NEXUS card and will have Global Entry benefits at no additional cost.
When your Global Entry account expires 5 years after your application, do not renew it. Global Entry benefits are included with your NEXUS membership.
It is our goal to provide you the best information we have in response to your question. If you follow the information provided in our response, and still need assistance, please reply to this email and we will investigate how we may further assist you.
Thank you again for contacting the CBP INFO Center.
Sincerely,
CBP INFO Center
Archived: The NEXUS Information Thread
Oct 5, 2010, 3:38 pm
#1966
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: YVR SFO
Programs: UA G
Posts: 4,866
If I am approved after my interview, can I get my GE approval without having to get my eyes scanned? My interview is at an urban location.
Oct 5, 2010, 6:19 pm
#1967
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: YVR
Programs: Aeroplan E25, Amtrak Guest Rewards, Bonvoy Lifetime Gold, Delta Skymiles Silver, HHonors Gold, Nexus
Posts: 502
Yes, but you will only be able to use Nexus to cross the border by land. If you decide you want to use it at an airport, you will need to go through immigration as normal, and then head to the Nexus office to have your eyes scanned.
Oct 5, 2010, 6:24 pm
#1968
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: YVR
Programs: Aeroplan E25, Amtrak Guest Rewards, Bonvoy Lifetime Gold, Delta Skymiles Silver, HHonors Gold, Nexus
Posts: 502
So before I knew anything about FT, or did any sort of due diligence as a newbie flyer about 6.5 years ago... I had a INSPASS which I used (ignorantly) on a weekend to travel somewhere for vacation - this was when it was code yellow - so after I had my prints scanned and I walked through the little automatic gate that opens for you in the customs hall at the old YYZ T2 (aka former transborder terminal building)... a US agent stopped me and asked me where I was going and I told him the truth as I didn't think anything of it - he then directed me to one of the regular booths where another agent scolded me for 10 seconds, took my INSPASS (I pleaded my ignorance, which is absolutely no excuse, but was certainly the truth at the time) but didn't ask for my I-94 multiple entry VISA which was stapled to my passport. He let me through in any case. I never had any issues crossing the border following that... a "blip" on the radar so to speak. Upon my next entry into the US the following week, I stopped and politely told another US agent my situation and he said that I can go into the office and speak with someone and it shouldn't be a problem to get it back per se - I didn't have time at that moment as I had to catch a flight, and didn't bother getting it back anyway. Shortly after that it went code orange for a really long time and then the INSPASS system was terminated.
Question: Should I or should I not mention this at all? I'm afraid that if I mention it they'll red flag me, but if I don't they'll red flag me. To me, it wasn't a big deal at all, more of a "nuisance".
To add: when the officer took my card, he just took it and dumped it aside and didn't enter anything into his computer.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I tried reading this entire thread, but my eyes glazed over after 200 posts of over 1,500!
Question: Should I or should I not mention this at all? I'm afraid that if I mention it they'll red flag me, but if I don't they'll red flag me. To me, it wasn't a big deal at all, more of a "nuisance".
To add: when the officer took my card, he just took it and dumped it aside and didn't enter anything into his computer.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I tried reading this entire thread, but my eyes glazed over after 200 posts of over 1,500!
I left the country within a week of the letter. (I was actually leaving anyway.) I had gotten hassled several times crossing in to Canada, because of this issue. No one ever believed that it was a mistake as I claimed. I eventually applied for Nexus, brought along the receipt as proof that it was a mistake, and was approved without an issue.
The funny part is that one of the Canadian officers that gave me a hassle when I was crossing the border, was the agent that took the Canadian part of my interview.
Oct 5, 2010, 7:13 pm
#1969
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: YVR SFO
Programs: UA G
Posts: 4,866
What about applying for Global Entry? Can I do the automatic-approval Global Entry app without an eye scan?
Oct 5, 2010, 7:25 pm
#1970
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: YVR
Programs: Aeroplan E25, Amtrak Guest Rewards, Bonvoy Lifetime Gold, Delta Skymiles Silver, HHonors Gold, Nexus
Posts: 502
I'm not very familiar with that program, since I only fly between the US and Canada, and have no need for GE.Perhaps someone else can answer your question.
Oct 5, 2010, 7:33 pm
#1971
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: YVR
Programs: AC Elite, AA Advantage, BA
Posts: 102
Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't
And, you can't get the IRIS scan at Blaine. You can, however, get it done at YVR as a walk-in.
Oct 5, 2010, 8:27 pm
#1972
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 14,891
So before I knew anything about FT, or did any sort of due diligence as a newbie flyer about 6.5 years ago... I had a INSPASS which I used (ignorantly) on a weekend to travel somewhere for vacation - this was when it was code yellow - so after I had my prints scanned and I walked through the little automatic gate that opens for you in the customs hall at the old YYZ T2 (aka former transborder terminal building)... a US agent stopped me and asked me where I was going and I told him the truth as I didn't think anything of it - he then directed me to one of the regular booths where another agent scolded me for 10 seconds, took my INSPASS (I pleaded my ignorance, which is absolutely no excuse, but was certainly the truth at the time) but didn't ask for my I-94 multiple entry VISA which was stapled to my passport. He let me through in any case. I never had any issues crossing the border following that... a "blip" on the radar so to speak. Upon my next entry into the US the following week, I stopped and politely told another US agent my situation and he said that I can go into the office and speak with someone and it shouldn't be a problem to get it back per se - I didn't have time at that moment as I had to catch a flight, and didn't bother getting it back anyway. Shortly after that it went code orange for a really long time and then the INSPASS system was terminated.
Question: Should I or should I not mention this at all? I'm afraid that if I mention it they'll red flag me, but if I don't they'll red flag me. To me, it wasn't a big deal at all, more of a "nuisance".
To add: when the officer took my card, he just took it and dumped it aside and didn't enter anything into his computer.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I tried reading this entire thread, but my eyes glazed over after 200 posts of over 1,500!
Question: Should I or should I not mention this at all? I'm afraid that if I mention it they'll red flag me, but if I don't they'll red flag me. To me, it wasn't a big deal at all, more of a "nuisance".
To add: when the officer took my card, he just took it and dumped it aside and didn't enter anything into his computer.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I tried reading this entire thread, but my eyes glazed over after 200 posts of over 1,500!
Let me put it to you this way. If you were an officer who was evaluating someone applying to be part of a trusted traveler program, and found out they lied on their application, or even just left out information that is specifically being asked about, would you likely allow them to join?
I don't remember the time period referred to on the question about any customs/immigration violations on the Nexus application, but if this event happened within that time period, you should definitely mention it. It goes to your honesty. Could it prevent you from getting Nexus. It's possible. But if you leave it out, and they know about it anyway, were your chances of being approved any better. No - they would be far, far worse.
Oct 5, 2010, 11:07 pm
#1973
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: YVR
Programs: AC SE 2MM; UA MP Premier Silver; Marriott Bonvoy LT Titanium Elite; Radisson; Avis PC
Posts: 35,255
Thanks for the replies. I told them everything. It was fine. Process was pretty smooth. From applying on GOES to getting approved, less than one month! ^
Oct 8, 2010, 1:19 am
#1975
Join Date: Oct 2002
Programs: United Premier 1K
Posts: 1,230
I went through US immigration at YVR last Saturday with my Nexus card. The agent beside the machines was pulling everyone over after they had received their "slip" from the machine in order to do a secondary check of their account.
He asked for my Nexus card, and then asked for my drivers license. He noted that my drivers license did not match the one in their system, since it renewed in June. He sent me into secondary. After waiting 20 minutes, another agent saw me and asked me "you do want to keep your Nexus Card, right?". She said there was now one strike against me, and that I would lose my card if I get another one. I need to go to a Nexus office before I use the card again to update my Drivers License info.
I wasn't going to question it, and I'll do as told, but it seems a little crazy. A Drivers License isn't a prerequisite for a Nexus card. It never even crossed my mind that I needed to notify them when I renewed the license.
Btw, it seemed like a lot of Nexus users were also being pulled into secondary, so they must have been doing some sort of blitz that day.
He asked for my Nexus card, and then asked for my drivers license. He noted that my drivers license did not match the one in their system, since it renewed in June. He sent me into secondary. After waiting 20 minutes, another agent saw me and asked me "you do want to keep your Nexus Card, right?". She said there was now one strike against me, and that I would lose my card if I get another one. I need to go to a Nexus office before I use the card again to update my Drivers License info.
I wasn't going to question it, and I'll do as told, but it seems a little crazy. A Drivers License isn't a prerequisite for a Nexus card. It never even crossed my mind that I needed to notify them when I renewed the license.
Btw, it seemed like a lot of Nexus users were also being pulled into secondary, so they must have been doing some sort of blitz that day.
Oct 8, 2010, 9:09 am
#1976
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: YQR
Programs: NEXUS; alas, no status anymore.
Posts: 1,181
That driver's license thing does seem a bit crazy. We have annual licenses here in Saskatchewan, and the nearest NEXUS office is in Winnipeg.
I'll have to stop at the NEXUS office in Fort Erie and give them the updated info on my way to Buffalo in a couple of weeks.
I'll have to stop at the NEXUS office in Fort Erie and give them the updated info on my way to Buffalo in a couple of weeks.
Oct 8, 2010, 9:10 am
#1977
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: YVR SFO
Programs: UA G
Posts: 4,866
Do you even need to carry your DL? I don't bring mine when I'm going to countries where I won't be driving.
Also, is this not something you can update online or over the phone? It seems silly to make a pit stop just to update DL info.
Also, is this not something you can update online or over the phone? It seems silly to make a pit stop just to update DL info.
Oct 8, 2010, 10:45 am
#1978
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: YVR
Programs: AC E75, SPG Plat, HH peon-by-choice (ex Gold)
Posts: 8,090
Yes, it's something that can be done online.
FWIW, Nexus does state it's your responsibility to update any of the info on the Nexus website.
After hearing all the horror stories of people's Nexus cards taken away for seemingly insignificant events, I'm pretty anal about updating my info.
FWIW, Nexus does state it's your responsibility to update any of the info on the Nexus website.
After hearing all the horror stories of people's Nexus cards taken away for seemingly insignificant events, I'm pretty anal about updating my info.
Oct 8, 2010, 3:59 pm
#1980
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Vancouver, BC
Programs: AE, SPG, HH
Posts: 340
Question for y'all, I'll be flying yxe - ord in the next coupla months. It'll be the first time I hit up the US since having my nexus card. Can I use the crew line in ORD assuming they don't have a nexus kiosk?