The only time I could ever see myself in a situation where I might go between Canada-US without passport is if I'm in the Niagara region and decided to pop over to the US side real quick, in which case NEXUS is 100% valid without a passport. I'm never randomly showing up at YYZ and catching a flight.

So honestly, just carry your passport. I too wish that passports could somehow be a plastic card you can easily keep in your wallet, but they aren't. They're still not difficult to take with you when you KNOW you're going to need it.

Hi All,

I went on-line to renew my Nexus, and I see there are now THREE Toronto locations. Well, sort of... There is the Pearson Int'l Airport location and two others simply labeled as "Toronto A" and "Toronto B". No addresses provided, but I can make an appointment at one of them; however, I am hesitant as I do not know the street address.
Anyone have any info on "Toronto A" and "Toronto B"

Thanks.

Newman

I don't think it's a big deal for any land crossing, especially of modest distance. I don't take my passport when I go from Saskatchewan to the Dakotas; I use NEXUS. No problems in either direction.

The US accepts all WHTI-compliant ID for entry, and NEXUS is compliant. Canada does not require a passport for re-entry, just proof of Canadian citizenship, and the NEXUS card documents my Canadian citizenship (plus the border officer can check my passport record by using the lookup record of my NEXUS card).

If there were any chance I might have to fly home or might cross another border, I will always take my passport, but a NEXUS card is perfectly adequate for crossing into the US and staying in the border region (or vice versa).

Doesn't hurt to make the appointment; you can always change it later. I'd make the appointment at one, see if a street address shows up in your instructions, and if not, either call the number provided or change to another.

"Doesn't hurt to make the appointment; you can always change it later. I'd make the appointment at one, see if a street address shows up in your instructions, and if not, either call the number provided or change to another."

I just noticed it today for the first time. I was hoping someone would have info on these 2 new Toronto locations. I really don't want to cancel my current appointment before I know the skinny on these 2 locations.

Newman

Ah; thought you were dealing with a new application with no appointment scheduled yet.

There is a new type of GE kiosk now installed at YYZ T3, not sure about T1. This one does not issue the receipt, just the form that is handed in. It also permits a single touch to answer all questions if "No" on the first and another subsequent screen, instead of having to respond to each one.

Wish Canada would dump the retina scan kiosks. The eye focus seldom gets it on the first go round, and I'm now finding I am reject more times than accepted. (I'm told certain eye colours -- like green -- increase the chance of non-recognition.) Never rejected by GE.

It isn't a burden, but it isn't needed when crossing by land. The instruction manual for my wifi router is not a burden either and I don't bring it for the same reason. Since I've got my Nexus, I've NEVER brought my passport when crossing by land, because it is not required per WHTI:

http://www.dhs.gov/crossing-us-borders
http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/lang_eng/index.html
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/whti-ivho/ls-tm-eng.html

Travelling by air is different. You are required to carry your passport or other document along with your NEXUS.

What form is handed in? GE does not require the user to complete a 6059B, so, without a receipt, the user has nothing to hand to the officers.

You may be disturbed to learn that CBP is exploring adding iris recognition to the GE kiosks, much like that used by NEXUS.

Agree, but sometimes it's unavoidable. Had to send my passport to get a visa for India earlier this month. During the only window I had, I did a quick trip to YUL. Had no problem using just NEXUS as ID in DEN, CLE or YUL, with TSA, CTSA, CBP or airline GAs.

Indeed I am disturbed. I doubt that the iris scan machines that we use in NEXUS would be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. I am deaf and use a cochlear implant sound processor and at best can hear a voice has been used, not what the voice has said. The CI is an FM radio, so of course it is off while flying and I usually leave it off when by myself or with Mr Flyquiet who is also deaf. In the 5% of cases when I have it on by the time I reach Customs, I can hear the machine making a voice. I was told by NEXUS intake that the voice is telling you positioning instructions. However the voice occurs whether I am doing it wrong or I am doing it right. It also seems to say when the eye scan is accepted and it is time to proceed to the touch screen. Well, that just sucks. I just kind of bob and weave while staring open-eyed at the geometric shapes and stealing glances to see if the touch screen has become a questionnaire. The geometric shapes are not at all intuitive directional cues and I would be embarrassed to be in the human factors engineering / interface design team responsible for these, if indeed there was one.
I am not opposed to iris scans, but there are significant design changes that need to be made to accommodate the 4% of the population that is deaf or has sufficient hearing loss that disembodied voices make no sense.
I love the GE machines.
Please feel free to make "ADA-noncompliant" noises if you get wind of any plan to adopt these NEXUS machines for GE.

Hi _ I used to use this site about 10 years ago ... Wanted to post re Nexus , could not find my old account info. Anyhow , its good to be back.
For all YYZ'ers .... I just confirmed that the new enrollment Center listed simply as Toronto A and Toronto B are in fact in Pearson ! People must have been complaining about the wait time , they opened these new centers , temporarily. So book appointments now , they have as early as Jan 30th.

I've only played around with the sample machine at YYZ when I applied, but does it always show the two circles you're supposed to put around your eyes? I would think it would stop displaying those after it got a successful scan, and therefore indicate that you should turn your attention to the screen.

I know it's also not ideal, but if you're travelling with someone else, perhaps they could tap you on the shoulder to alert you of the success.

If GE does start to use iris scans though, I doubt they'll use the same kiosks NEXUS currently uses. They'll likely opt for a different model. This is just a guess though.

I am always alone at NEXUS, and usually travelling alone in general but any travel companions I have are non NEXUS.
The eye circles continued to be there even after the survey launched up. I believe even the lighty-uppy things kept displaying something too, but as I say, none of the signals are intuitive. Fortunately I eventually caught the change in the adjacent screen in my peripheral vision and moved to the second screen. Had I not, I would have been wrestling with the eye mirrors even longer than I was.

Currently, GE machines spit out two cards - 1) A declaration that you hand to the officer and 2) a receipt that you keep. Sounds like the new machines don't spit out #2. I'm happy to hear this. I never know what to do with that receipt. It's full of private data, so I'm hesitant to put it in a bin.