Must be something about Vancouver. I arrived yvr today and all the nexus machines were broken/out of service except for one machine. That single machine nexus line was longer than the regular line.

I suspect they might be having software issues related to an upgrade or something? I was using one in T1 on Sunday at Pearson; it crashed just after finishing the questions and came up with a message to go see DHS. Nix that. I went to the next machine and it worked fine..... so I suspect that a series of software upgrades might be screwing something up and the code hasn't been updated. I've noticed this with greater frequency.

I'm sure the geek brain trust on this board could diagnose and fix them faster if they would let us at them ... than the DHS could.

:rolleyes:

I've used them a few times in YUL and YYZ in the past couple of weeks and they have almost always been down or very very slow. Yesterday, I hit the first machine in YUL heading to US, after the iris scan, a lady walked up to the machine next to me. She had her card in hand before I had answered the first question, and I am very quick on the draw.

You can go to any Global Entry office in the US to update your profile. I did just that at SFO and they did not require any documentation about my new employer.

An update on timelines for anyone applying, and for interviews in Toronto:

Application date: August 18
Notification to book appointment: today (October 2 - a Sunday, oddly)
First available YYZ appointment: Dec 22

My partner applied on August 16, received notification on Sep 29, and was able to get a cancellation appointment for Oct 3.

So it looks like the 6-7 week application timeline, and 11 weeks (!!) for appointments at YYZ.

It's worth the drive to Niagara Falls. Interview times are typically 2-3 weeks at the most for the Whirlpool bridge.

I applied on August 7th and just checked my status and it's still showing Pending Review! :eek: I hope that's not a bad sign!

The one issue with Niagara Falls is the lack of an iris camera. You will need to pop into Ft. Erie or YYZ to do that.

Not anymore. You do your Nexus interview on the US side. They then give you a free pass to cross the bridge (even though you don't have your NEXUS card yet). You go into the Canadian side and have your iris scan. In and out in less than 30 minutes for both sides.

TSA started its enhanced Trusted Traveler program at four US airports and in association with DL and AA who will refer their top tier elites to register for the program. Unfortunately, while GE and NEXUS/Sentry members are eligible to use these new security lanes, it only applies to US members:

www.tsa.gov/press/releases/2011/1004.shtm

Grumble. Do you think they will ever expand it to us non-US Nexus/GE members? Or do you think they will implement a similar program in Canadian airports?

Nah. They are just going to put in a 5,000km long fence, and use a bunch of Predator drones to catch the bad guys.

ALL Nexus machines at YYZ T1 were down at 420pm this afternoon.

Only the Global Entry machine was up, which I used to get through.

The regular line was significantly long. I saw one couple with Nexus walk back to the line, saying they wouldn't dare go in the crew line. (I would.)

This is making me wonder whether CBP is taking this initiative seriously. I'm going to call the Nexus office at Pearson next week, to point out the increasing frequency of this, and see if anyone actually even cares.

It might be time to begin escalating this by making some noise about it. After all, Harper and his govt team harp on about security, but if we can't see this basic initiative working right, it is not a good sign.

They have been down with increasing frequency in the last month and a half, at least IMHO.

We actually have that now at major Canadian airports. These are the NEXUS security lanes and it does what this US program is intended to do: direct pre-screened (i.e. security checks) low risk passengers quickly through a basic magnetometer instead of lumping them in lines with everyone else and randomly directing them to the scatter scanners.

Possibly when the US trial expands, non-US NEXUS/GE members will be able to use the lanes too.

I am wondering if this is not an American "plot"...the entry NEXUS kiosks have been working fine and it's only been the entry ones that have been down on a regular basis now. Perhaps the Americans want us to all take out GE and this is their way of hammering the message home!