:( Good luck!

Just an update for those wondering about processing times:

Applied: Nov. 20
Conditional approval: Dec. 10
Interview: Scheduled for Jan. 9 (no openings at YYZ any earlier than that)

Interesting experience today, for the 1st time with 3 years of Nexus.

I did the eyeballs, answered the questions (no and no), and then the machine did a long slow processing with a blue bar crossing the screen (processing ....) ... and then a message that I could not be processed.

I went to the first customs agent near the machine, saying that Nexus didn't like me today (or something to that effect). Gave my card, passport, paper dedication. She told me to go back and try another machine.

I went to another machine. Eyeball, no, no. This time, a fairly instant messag that I should see the first available primary inspection agent.

So I went back to the same person. "Really, Nexus doesn't like me today." Some simple questions, simple answers, and on I went.

So, was this my first ever "Primary"? (I've heard of people headed to Secondary, which I've had a few times going into the US, but never a "Primary".)

Or was I caught up in some type of system crash?

when I came into YVR from LHR yesterday, it didn't like me either. Everything looked OK to start with but then it went into an endless question loop that wouldn't even let me cancel the process. Finally it cancelled, tried again and didn't like me. I cancelled and let the next guy have that machine. He did OK. I went to another machine and I did OK (like normal).

Think the machines must be getting an early start on the holidays and have begun drinking earlier than usual . . .

I'm going to go with that answer. I used GE this morning in YYC - the first machine timed out trying to take my picture after reading my passport, so I went to the second machine, and it timed out trying to read my fingerprints. Usually the GE machines are pretty solid compared the NEXUS machines. I like the thought that the machines in the holiday spirit.

The funniest part of the experience is that when I went to the CBP officer to tell him that the machines didn't work. He said he had to check in the system to see whether I had been flagged for a random secondary inspection. Evidently there has been pattern of people getting the secondary code on the cards (the 'X' on GE or the RR on NEXUS) and just pocketing the card and telling the officer the machine was down.

He said they were finding out after the fact that the person should have gone to secondary, so now they are starting to check more consistently at the desk before they let you go. It took about 20 seconds and the interaction with the officer was painless.

I would not want to get caught in that lie.

Stupid question, but when did they open a Nexus lane at Lansdowne/Alex Bay? Earliest mention here is Feb/12, though I found references online to the Lansdowne enrollment centre opening in Dec/09. I went looking and it's listed on Nexus.gc.ca as "Northern Ontario/Michigan" which of course it isn't on either side of the border. I haven't crossed there in years, and remember it being a fairly tight crossing because it's a bridge so more limited than a land crossing like Lacolle/Champlain. Google satellite photo shows it's 2 lanes approaching (same as A15/I87 obviously) but that it widens relatively close to inspection, so it would seem easy to get stuck in a crowd waiting to get to the Nexus lane. I realize the Nexus lanes are only open 4hr/day (morning and evening rush hours).

Also post #5329 mentions not going for an interview on renewal. Was there a date when that officially happened? I did go for an interview, it was incredibly short and I'm wondering if it was right before the change or if I may have let the old one lapse before "renewing".

Thanks!
=aw

Which is what I found so funny. People are trying save themselves a few minutes in secondary (which is all I've ever spent when I get the random inspection), and likely end up losing their NEXUS (and potential CBP red flag) in the end when CBP catches them. Crazy.

Secondary for Nexus/GE is usually just cursory (i.e. They are bored) check anyways. Not scary and not worth the risk of losing your TT status.

jesus just be honest!

Wow, looks like YYZ is completely backed up until April for interview slots, and even when one becomes available in GOES it gets taken in a split second. I managed to luck out and switch my interview time to someone's cancellation this coming Monday.

They really need to add more staff at Toronto, the backlog is horrendous.

The NEXUS Information Thread
 

Speaking of secondary, we got it coming back from our RTW earlier this year at YUL. Agent went through everything. She was very polite and even though she spent almost an hour going through every single item, including all receipts, it did not feel that long. She did small chat while doing her job and even shared some of her trip experiences ( hint, hint to US customs agents ).

She mentioned that because we were Nexus users the procedure indicates they must go through everything. We did not go over our allowance and also we kept all receipts (well, most). That helped a lot.

Actually, I seem to recall people posting a while back that YYZ were booking May so April may be an improvement. But I could also be mis-remembering.

The staffing issue is an interesting one. When I was there, I was seen on the dot. It was like THEY were waiting for ME. It's very good service when you are there having your appointment, but if they allow more time per appointment than they actually need, it means the waiting time to GET the appointment goes up. I hope everyone has the same luck with finding a cancellation!

We did our interview a couple of years ago at Fort Erie, so things may have changed, but we were the better part of an hour early for our appointment (we had run out of things to do to kill time :) ) and yet were seen right away. The Canadian agent was busy but the US one came up, addressed us by name (guessing he had our photos from the passports) and took us immediately.

I just applied for Global Entry on GOES. Will I need to do a separate application for NEXUS as well when GE is approved?

NEXUS is half the price and definitely includes GE. Why didn't you go that route if you know you want NEXUS?