Good idea. My recent IAD experience:
1) Passport control was slammed...looked like a solid 30-45 minute+ wait. Flew past with GE.
2) Baggage took 30 minutes to start arriving. Lost all of my GE advantage.
3) 40 person line to exit customs hall...backed up all the way to passport control. Flew past with the GE exit line.
4) I lose again at security. 45 minutes-1 hour to get through security. Major stress for everyone in line. People crying about missing flights. No pre-check. No elite line.

I may try pretty hard to avoid this mid-field mess the next time I transit in IAD. Re-checking bags would be much faster.

I didn't realize what a transfer through IAD would entail. My flight from Europe arrives 7:30 pm on a Sunday, and departs for YYZ at 9:55 pm. 2 1/2 hours should be enough, no?

Hi Jacquelyn,

2 1/2 hours is enough in normal circumstances. I presume you have Nexus since you're posting in this thread? That speeds things a bit. It's just the mid-field security that can be abominable. Hopefully by 7:30 PM the mid-day rush of landings is over. Not a lot of connections that late, so I'd be fine.

I just don't recommend dilly-dallying. After re-clearing security you've got to get over to Terminal A which can be a bit of a hike.

I can't seem to find an answer for this in this massive thread, so I'll just ask and hopefully someone knows the answer.

For an EDL renewal, does NEXUS need to be updated? I can't do it on GOES, but I'm wondering if I can do it over the phone, can fax them a copy of my license, or if I need to stop in.

Thanks.

I've gone to the nearest Nexus office every time I've updated my DL. They definitely need to be informed, but I've always done it in person. Maybe someone else has had experience over the phone.

Even for a normal DL? My wife renewed her's back in March and we didn't bother because it was just a normal license.

We have an early flight coming up in August so I should be able to squeeze in a visit to the YYZ office in person anyway.

Yes you need to go in to update any driver license that is new in person, for some reason it can not be done through GOES like the passport.

UPDATE on renewal.

So after many months waiting for our interview for our renewals we had it yesterday. All 3 of us had to have an interview despite no changes except for my son who is 7 now instead of 2.

Staff at YEG were great, very pleasant both Canadian and US. As it turns out I can not read passport expiry dates, I assured my wife that they expired in May 2015 and not 2013! Well it turns out I was a bit dyslexic with the dates!!! Thankfully we were not travelling anywhere after they expired in May or in the near future! This was a zero issue for renewal interview, just enter new passport info in GOES or drop in.

7 year old able to get fingerprinted for GE, but he just could not get his iris scanned, to wiggly - but agent said come back in 6 months and give it another go.

I had a similar experience to astroflyer. I arrived in IAD via NRT on UA. NRT was pretty bad; I had to hightail it and ran over a few people along the way.

Flew through GE in IAD, but was stopped cold at the security chokepoint. Honestly, it took about 30, maybe 40 minutes. I can't think of enough expletives to holler. Thank goodness I didn't have to collect any luggage.

Had to go to Concourse A After that mini-jaunt through the tunnels, had to go to the extreme end of the concourse to get to the RJ boarding gates.

So, 2.5 hours in theory is good, but if your flight is delayed, you could run into other similarly-delayed flights. Good luck!

My advice is to go through SFO, where they have GE and an elite line. Will experience ORD later this summer; hoping that's better than IAD.

What's EWR like, for international arrivals?

Unless something has changed, they track the expiry of all documents linked to your account. So, yes, as 7E7 points out, you need to update in person. Also, you might want to make sure that both the US and Canadian authorities confirm that they updated you info.

The first time I updated my DL at YUL, I handed it over to the Canadian agent working the reception desk. She disappeared, came back and sent me on my way. 2 YEARS LATER when I went to update my passport at the same office, I handed it over to the Canadian agent working the reception desk. She disappeared, and an American agent came out yelling at me about an expired driver's licence. The same one that had been updated 2 years prior.

It's amazing that these people work in the same office yet can't seem to be in sync...

Yes you are so right! That happened to me too, I forgot about it until you reminded me!

Approved today. 9 weeks from renewal application submission. The best news was that my renewal was approved with no in person visit required. Just extended the expiration date and they are sending me a new Nexus card in the mail.

Not sure if anyone here on FT can help, will be driving from YVR to SEA in two weeks to fly out of SEA. I understand that there are 4 crossings between YVR and SEA but not all of them have Nexus lane. Will be driving through close to noon (peak time) wondering if any FTers have advice as to which crossing to use. Yes, everyone in the car will have Nexus.

Hard to predict. Your choice will of course be either Peace Arch or Pacific Highway. Even the NEXUS lane can get pretty long at Peace Arch; I've been through Pacific Highway only once in the Nexus lane, with no line at all.

Peace Arch is larger and in my view more pleasant. Wait times can change quickly but you can check here before you leave YVR:

http://apps.cbp.gov/bwt/index.asp

At the moment (12:25 pm on a Friday), this shows a 10 min wait at Peace Arch and a 5 minute wait at Pacific Highway.

Partner and I both had our interviews this morning, was quick and pleasant (YVR) and we were both fingerprinted, iris scanned, and told to expect the card in 7-10 days.

I received an update on the GOES site with my approval notification within 30 minutes of leaving; his still says "Interview Pending." :/

The Nexus office in YVR is open 7 days per week, so would it be, in this forum's opinion, too soon to go ask if perhaps it was missed/forgotten/etc this Sunday if GOES hasn't been updated by then?