Originally Posted by lcohen999 (Post 16174596)

The US guard had told us it was a violation to use Nexus if we have commercial goods with us and he could have taken away our Nexus cards.

I am just wondering if I caught a border guard on a bad day or have I been wrong all this time

Originally Posted by Toronto1970 (Post 16174613)

From http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexu...erien-eng.html

NEXUS members who present themselves for NEXUS passage when arriving in the United States must not have any commercial goods in their possession or in their baggage. Please note that personal computers and similar items carried by NEXUS members for their own personal use while on business trips are not defined commercial goods.

Originally Posted by cuz99 (Post 15920073)

I'm pretty sure this happened to my wife. I read earlier where someone said their name matched someone and flagged them to secondary. Well - I went through with my wife (her first time using her nexus) and she was flagged - it was not RR, so I thought she may be okay originally. We went in and we had a very helpful agent. She explained that the computers will do matches on many different attributes. If it finds a match to something, it will flag it and it's off to secondary. She said, in my wife's case it was her birthdate. Believe it or not, that matched someone they are looking for. (All she said.) She said every time she uses Nexus she will get this and to not use the machine next time and go to the crew line and explain the situation. It will be faster and save her the time. Helpful.

It appears their list to check against does not cross match with the Nexus data very well. I'm curious how they eliminate people from being suspects.

Originally Posted by Canuck57 (Post 16161969)

I paid $250 only to be rejected by DHS. The reason: Apparently, I had been visiting my girlfriend too often in the US already....so I became a "red flag" and was rejected. On two occasions (between January 16th and March 16th) I visited my girlfriend on a Thursday night, and drove back to Canada early on the following Monday, but DHS viewed this as visiting for 5 days on 2 occasions....and I was penalized.

Originally Posted by Derek (Post 16185294)

There's no way this is why you were rejected. You could cross the border every day if you like, this is no reason to reject your Nexus application. If they have reason to suspect you will be working illegally in the us, then this would be grounds for rejection. But it is an open border, Canadians are allowed into the US for max 6 months at a time, but that is the only restriction for visiting.

Originally Posted by jycnyc (Post 16197674)

How random is the RR? I've been using Nexus for the past 4 years or so and the last two times I got RR. 2 weekends ago, I got RR at YYZ. The Agent didn't search my bag, but only asked whether I had any food. I told him that I had half eaten M&Ms. He said I should have declared it. (give me a break) Anyhow, this weekend, I again got RR at YYZ at which time the agent went through my bag which was clean. So really, how random is the random referral?

Originally Posted by emcampbe (Post 16202365)

I've definitely had 2 (or maybe even 3) RR's in a row (can't remember if the third was in a row, or within a fairly short period of time). Then, nothing for a while.

As for your M&M's, technically, they are food, and unlike the Canadian declaration forms, which only ask about specific types of food (meat, dairy, etc.), the US forms ask about "food." M&M's do qualify as food. Not saying I agree with the policy of every little thing like that counting, but it's something you have to abide by (declare it, or not bring it). That's why I rarely bring food with me while crossing into the US.

Originally Posted by neuron (Post 16203411)

I have had similar experiences with RRs. Four in a row (all going into US) and then nothing since.

As for food -- everything needs to get declared. I had chocolates once and was told it needed to be declared and if I had not, the officer had the right to revoke my Nexus card. Frankly, going through secondary is much faster than the queue at YYZ and I would hate to lose my Nexus.

Originally Posted by tryinginvain (Post 16077546)

Sorry if this has been asked multiple times, but I searched here and google and couldn't get any sort of clear answer. I applied through GOES today, born in Canada and only lived in Canada so I don't think there's anything complicated in my file. I have a mini-RTW in late June (3 months from now) - is it likely everything will be done by then? I'm in Ottawa so I don't have far to go for the appt. I also should have some flexibility scheduling an appt as long as there are any openings.

Originally Posted by jycnyc (Post 16204863)

Is there a place where one could send comments / suggesting with resepct to the Nexus policies?

Originally Posted by CBSA

Thank you for your e-mail inquiry.

You must declare all goods when you arrive at the first Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) port of entry. Border services officers do conduct examinations of goods being imported or exported to verify declarations.

Canada has complex requirements, restrictions, and limits that apply to importing meat, eggs, dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables, and other food from around the world.

Along with Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for food safety and public health. We recommend that you contact the CFIA Import Service Centre before bringing food to Canada: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/toce.shtml

The CFIA also has the Automated Import Reference System tool, accessible at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/imp/airse.shtml. You can search for specific products in the "Find Commodity" field and go through the questions on origin and end use, amongst others, to find out whether your commodity is approved for import by the CFIA.

It is recommended that you contact CFIA directly for additional information at the following contact telephone number: 1-800-442-2342 or 1-613-225-2342.

Thank you for contacting the CBSA.




-----Original Message-----
From: RCyyz
Sent: April 6, 2011 12:44 PM
To: '[email protected]'
Subject: Do herbs count as plants? **1029**

Hello. I was wondering, as a personal traveller, am I able to bring back dried herbs such as oregano, parsley, curry powder without declaring them? (Subject to being within personal exemption limit of $750 if away for 7+ days of course.) Or do herbs count as "plants" and therefore need to be declared for inspection?

Specifically, can I bring back some dried Oregano (approximate value = $10) or should I declare it as a "plant"?

Thanks!

Regards,
RCyyz

Originally Posted by jycnyc (Post 16204863)

Is there a place where one could send comments / suggesting with resepct to the Nexus policies? Obviously, no policy is ever going to be perfect, but this kind of nitpicking is a serious waste of taxpayer dollars. Since I pay lots of taxes in the U.S., I should at least have some say in it. Personally, I think Nexus should rely on the user's intelligence and background history check that they did. Instead of lumping "food" - it should list unauthorized food categories like "fruits" or "nuts" or whatever it wants to disallow.

Originally Posted by Merlin666 (Post 15815669)

How does Nexus work for PR who use ESTA process? Is an ESTA required before application for Nexus, or would ESTA no longer be needed for visa waiver PR who are approved on Nexus? There seems to be some duplication ...