Thanks for the confirmation. Something didn't seem right when he told me that.

I was wondering something the other day about the "Why do you want NEXUS?" question at the interview....

Is "because we want to speed up the border crossing process" an acceptable answer for that? Because that's pretty much the only reason I can think of why we and pretty much anyone would want NEXUS. We plan to use NEXUS 3 times per month or so for day trips to Plattsburgh/Champlain NY for grocery/general shopping. In this case the "convenience" of skipping the lines and not having to take wait time in consideration is the main advantage of NEXUS for us.

It seems that's the only question requiring a little more thinking that's being almost systematically asked during the interview.

Yes.

When we went in, all I said for all of us was "Becauae we vacation 3-4x per year in California with our kids and anything that helps custom process times is worth it".

Got my NEXUS card in the mail yesterday...

Had Global Entry already. Here's what my timeline looked like as a US applicant:

3/3 Applied
5/5 Conditional Approval
7/26 Interview at YYZ (first available)
7/26 Approved
7/30 Card arrives in mail

My answer was that I was worried there would be more security incidents that might tighten up airport security and result in more stringent Customs procedures, and that having NEXUS would hopefully make things easier if that should happen.

The US agent who asked me that was perfectly satisfied with the answer. The Canadian agent never did ask me.

We simply said our time savings were worth way more than the $50 they were charging at the time.

Pretty much anything about speeding up crossings is acceptable. Just don't mention business trips, even if that's the main reason you're applying - you're just inviting further questions and more opportunities to be declined.

Hey again all.

I have one more question, which I'm not sure if it was brought up somewhere in the 325 pages of this thread or not.. I will ask anyway!

We frequently go to Buffalo for day trips, but are always under the 24 hr exemption. 9/10 times we can claim an amount such as $200 or $250 (once we got through with over $600 even though we were only there for 5 hours maybe) and they will allow us back in without paying any duty.

In the case of NEXUS, I feel like we'll get taxed 100% of the time, because if we fill out the TDC with the amounts, there's no reason for them NOT to charge us. Is this a fair assumption?

I think in this case I may use it to expedite crossing into the US, but probably better to return using the regular lanes and hope to slip under the radar of a lazy customs officer!

You can always make a verbal declaration if you prefer. The agent will send you in to pay your duty and tax in this case, or wave you through if he/she chooses to waive the tax.

Using the TDC guarantees that you'll pay tax, but will quicken up your border stop in a much larger percentage of the cases.

If you want to roll the dice and see if you'll have to pay, and don't mind risking the time in favour of possibly saving the money, just do a verbal declaration.

air travel documents for dual national
 

I am a Canadian/Mexican dual national, and I am interested in opinions about whether it is necessary to travel with both passports under the NEXUS programme. Both passports are documented in my file. I will travel into the US and Canada as Canadian, but it is not clear to me if I am required in principle to have both documents with me when if I use NEXUS/GE. I asked this question to the CBSA agent in my enrollment centre, but he gave me some muddled answer relating to the need to have an I94 issued under my Mexican passport, which I of course knew already. My general understanding is that I need to have with me the Canadian passport only when travelling by air, but I am curious to know what other dual nationals think -- should I carry my Mexican passport as well because it is on file?

Further, after approval my Mexican passport is listed in my GOES account as the eligibility document, even though I declared my Canadian passport for that purpose in my application. Again, the CBSA agent that I talked to by phone said that this is ok, "...because I need to have a B1/B2 visa to travel to the US with my Mexican passport". However, the CBP officer was not interested in seeing my B1/B2 visa in an expired Mexican passport during the interview.

No need to carry both documents, just use the Canadian passport.

So what would happen when my I94 expires?

Thanks for your help. So what would happen if I need to get an I94? My actual I94 expires soon, so that means I have to get a new stamp on the new one.

I am not sure about NEXUS, but GE seems to print an I-94. I found the following earlier post:

It is best to ask this question during your interview or by calling an enrollment centre.

Althought I haven't come across the problem in the last couple of years, there have been times when the wait to cross back into Canada (especially on Sunday night) has been 1-2 hours at all of the bridges. In this case, I would be happy to use the TDC and pay the $25 of tax (likely just HST) on $200 of purchases to avoid waiting that amount of time sitting in my car in line without bathroom access (especially with kids). If lineups are shorter, it probably is worthwhile using a regular crossing to chance that they will just wave you through. I haven't yet made a verbal declaration when over my exemption at Nexus to see if they use the same discretion to wave you through like at a regular crossings.