I wouldn't expect a pre-clearance facility at YTZ for the foreseeable future. Porter had already requested one and been denied by US CBP (believe not enough traffic was the reason) maybe a couple of years ago. CBP was already not willing to increase staff at non-US locations for the past few years (AFAIK), and now with the sequester still on, IMO there's no way they'll even think about opening new ones.

They really need an increase in staff at other locations first - some US stations are noted for long waits at peak times (I've heard IAD can be 1 hour+ after international arrival at peak times), not to mention YYZ pre-clearance, which usually looks like a 30-60 minute wait (I zip by for the kiosks).

As for minors, I do believe that the fingerprint requirement can be waived for minors enrolled in GE - at least I've seen reports of it somewhere. Have you tried calling a GE office to enquire. Even if not, if everyone in your party is enrolled in GE (including the minor), you should be able to go to the crew line instead of waiting in the regular customs line.

I just did a land crossing at Blaine with a friend who does not have NEXUS.

CBP officer demanded my passport, because I'm a Canadian citizen living in the US. Apparently his computer wasn't good enough? Now, since I had flown into YVR yesterday, I did have my passport, but no one ever told me I'd need a passport for land crossings.

Is this common, and something that should have been told to me when I got my TN?

For Canadians, they say a WHTI compliant document is supposedly acceptable. http://www.dhs.gov/crossing-us-borders

I wouldn't even go near the border without my passport though.

If you're living in the US it won't be because of the TN, so he probably wanted to see under what visa you do live there.

TN are for Canadians living in Canada travelling to the US for work who do not intend to establish a domicile there, i.e. "long-term commuters".

Since the TN is stamped into your passport and the clients are named on the I-86 attached to your passport, I can see why a CBP officer would want to see it.

He 'lives' there under the TN, which is perfectly acceptable. The only provision with a TN is you must have the intention of returning to Canada when the TN expires (or you choose to no longer renew it).

If the I-94 associated with the TN status is attached to your NEXUS profile, CBP should see it.

I'm not sure what the officers see when they pull up your Nexus card. I'm in the parallel situation where I have a work permit for Canada as a US citizen. Several times at land crossings, I've been asked for my passport with work permit stapled in so they can verify my right to work in Canada.

I don't really think it's a good idea to ever cross the border without it.

I should clarify.

I am a Canadian citizen, working in SFO on TN status.
On Friday, I flew SFO-YVR to begin a vacation.
On Saturday, I drove YVR-SEA as part of that vacation, entering the US on what I presume is a B2 (pleasure visitor) visa. TN was not part of this. The questioning arose because he asked us where we live. My friend said Saskatchewan, and I said San Francisco. The CBP officer seemed irritated that a Canadian citizen claimed to live in SFO, and wanted proof that I was allowed to do that, even though it had nothing to do with my current trip.

Tomorrow, I will be flying YVR-SFO, entering on TN again. But I'll be doing this through GE, so I can avoid the hassle.

I don't ever plan to cross the border without my passport, but I think they should either:
a) Stop saying NEXUS is good enough for land crossing
or b) Train their officers that NEXUS is good enough for land crossing

I also don't understand how I had no issue doing mileage runs that crossed the Canada/US border 8 times in 4 days, but driving down to Seattle once was a huge deal.

Funny, those CBP agents at Peace Arch or Pacific crossing are extremely paranoid and insecure! it's hit and miss with them. I have had to jump out of the nexus lane at times as it was worse then the regular lanes.

You cant confuse those guys, as soon as you confuse them, they start asking stupid questions and the state of the US education system becomes very evident.

All these guys want to hear is that you are crossing to buy gas, fly out of Bellingham or are going shopping!

See, this is like the poster upthread who is going to school in the US, was vacationing in Canada, and got dinged for duty from outlet shopping in Bflo despite a plan to return to US after the end of the vacation.

I don't think you're on a B2*. I think you are on the TN, because it has not expired or been cancelled. Just because you're not at work that day or travelling for work purposes, you're still on the visa and it accounts for your place of residence. I think it is travelling with a Canadian resident and/or in a car with Canadian plates that starts the confusion. I believe they think there should be no fraternization of citizens.

*I say I don't think you're on a B2, but Mr. Flyquiet has been given a B2 in his passport and he was born in Chicago, so go figure.

NEXUS is as good as a passport for land crossings. But if you need more than a passport to enter (i.e. visa), then NEXUS alone isn't enough. When you joined NEXUS you agreed to the following:

You must possess appropriate immigration documents (e.g. a work permit or a visa), if required, in addition to your NEXUS card.

Nothing about your experience is anything out of the ordinary.

I got my passport updated at global entry office at IAH yesterday. The customs officer told me that my NEXUS theoretically should be updated as well since the system is linked by GOES. Is this true?

When I log into my GOES account my passport information is updated, and since GE/NEXUS/SENTRI are all linked, theoretically it should be okay?

Can any Canadians verify for me?

:D
I love when the officers say "theoretically it should ..."
If the people with official access to information rely on us to confirm or deny their system performance, we are flying into a headwind!

The GE machine lets me select B1, B2, or TN. I have selected B2 on it in the past, and had no problems. I will be selecting TN later today.

I don't need proof of TN enter the US for a vacation. Only if I plan to work while I'm down there (which I didn't).

As a Canadian citizen you do need proof of TN if you enter the US and claim to be a US resident (which you did when you told him you lived in San Francisco). The fact that on this particular trip you were just going on vacation is not relevant.

I am not a US resident, nor have I ever claimed to be one.

And again, the proof is in my NEXUS record.