My wife needed a new one due to a name change, and the Canadian agent told me she should just stop by and they would order one for her, no appointment needed.

Pretty much ditto at ORD out of YQR on Monday. Last off the plane, plus potty break, plus checked bag to get off the carousel; still first of my flight out of the Customs hall. Nice.

Any benefit for GE members at AUA? I believe they do US Customs pre-clearance there.

That's the entire problem with the customs law in this and other countries... the absurdist ambiguities that have been inserted by people who have their own agendas. (Not that it is any way the fault of people on the front line.)

If I drive my car to Seattle, and back, am I "importing" my car into Canada when I come home? I wouldn't think so.

If I take my tools to Australia, and back, am I "importing" them when I bring them home? I wouldn't think so.

So while I might have goods (tools) that under some circumstances might be considered commercial goods, because I'm not actually "importing" them (I'm repatriating them) it would appear that they aren't really commercial goods in this sense or instance. But what would the CBSA agent say?

At least at the YVR enrollment office there seems to be some common sense. I've been repeated and explicitly instructed, by several different uniformed personnel, that I should check the NO box for commercial goods (including tools), circle the word "tools", and write in "ORIGIN IN CANADA" on the declaration card, and answer NO to the questions on the kiosk.

I've been using NEXUS since the very beginning (after all the zeros, my actual NEXUS number is in the 2-digits) and have never had a problem. But I still wonder about the fine print.

'Course my ace in the hole is that even if I am importing the tools, it's not "for sale or for any commercial, industrial, occupational, institutional or other like use." I'm simply bringing them home. In that regard I would expect that it's the same if I purchased some tools in Bellingham that I would use in my home workshop for hobby purposes.


As far as crossing into the US, I've been explicitly told by US agents at the Blaine border crossing that I can bring my tools into the US through the NEXUS lane so long as I'm not intending to use them in the US. This was handy when I was travelling to Europe ex-SEA, but I suppose would also be allowed if I simply left my tools in the trunk of my car while I popped across the border to buy gas. (But in the interest of "ease of use" I empty my trunk before crossing.)


At the YVR enrollment centre, the US agents suggested I simply answer yes on the kiosk which will direct me to the crew line. I've not tried this, nor do I think I will.


Nevertheless, the absurdity of so much customs law remains. I still expect to read somewhere that "for the purposes of this act, a telephone is not considered a telephone" or words to that effect.

Furthermore, the "regulation" quoted above makes no reference to tools, only to "goods". In common commercial language "goods" usually means "stuff for sale" which normally wouldn't include tools (unless of course they were being imported to be sold.)

So if the word "tools" doesn't appear in the regulation, why does it appear on the declaration card? It would seem to be someone's interpretation of the definition of a word, that may or may not be in line with the common usage of the word.

You raise an interesting question: How does the Act define "import"? A simple question should have a simple answer, right? Let's go to the interpretation section of the Customs Act:

Entirely unambiguous, right? :)

4 questions regarding NEXUS. I am considering applying because it seems to deliver more value than Global Entry, at half the price.

1. I don't cross the border that much really. Could this cause problems at the interview?

2. If I apply now, could I feasibly get an interview in a month? I will be in Vancouver then on business so it is a good time to get the interview done - I don't live close to the border.

3. If I can't get an interview by June is there a time limit within which one must schedule one? I will be in Detroit in August so I could do it then too.

4. You can use the GE kiosks even when not coming from Canada right?

Thanks folks.

1: No. I just did my interview on Sunday. I've been in Canada once in the past 5 years. They didn't ask about it.

2/3: I was able to schedule my interview as of March 23. I scheduled it for May 1. The system would have let me gone out further, but that was when I was at a border. Some locations have a long wait, so I do not think August would be a problem. Plus, there is the option to reschedule it.

4: You will not see Global Entry kiosks when coming from Canada. You will see NEXUS kiosks. But yes, you can use the Global Entry kiosks too.

BillJ

Great, thanks for the tips. Just submitted my application.

[QUOTE=wcj1;16335355]4: You will not see Global Entry kiosks when coming from Canada. You will see NEXUS kiosks. But yes, you can use the Global Entry kiosks too./QUOTE]

Depends on the Canadian airport. e.g. no US preclearance at YQR, so on my YQR-ORD-FLL flight on Monday, I used GE at ORD to enter the US.

[QUOTE=PhotoJim;16341723]I was going to mention this. The bigger Canadian airports have pre-clearance, and these airports are the ones in Canada that have by far the majority of flights to the US. But smaller airports such as YQR, YXE, YXU, YQB (are there more?) have flights to the US, but don't have pre-clearance. These flights arrive into the US as any other international flight, and clear at US customs at the arrival airport. You can use GE in these cases.

Ali,
Don't worry anymore. The NSEERS program has discontinued as of April 27, 2011 and you may apply for your NEXUS card and you are confident that the application will not be denied.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...waiver/p/0/c/0

Any Canadians have or know if you can cross whirlpool bridge for on day of interview, since it's nexus cards only?

My frien advised the whirlpool interivew is more straight forward then the other enrollment centres, but I would prefer to go to ft.erie since I won't have to cross and can get my iris scan, how is ft.erie?
Did a search, think I saw one tough interview at ft.erie so far.

The Whirlpool Bridge is for NEXUS cards and you do not have one. I would highly recommend against that, unless you want to give them a reason to deny your application.

I did Ft Erie at the beginning of the month. It was fine/no big deal. I assume it is one of those things where it just depends who you get.

BillJ

I did my interview at the Whirlpool Bridge, and crossed at the Rainbow Bridge without any delay. I was able to get an appointment virtually next day. I did my iris scan at YYZ, again without delay (well, a few minutes).