Just say no.

YVR Int'l Arrivals
 

What's the deal with Nexus at the YVR international arrivals hall? Just tweeted the CBSA about it.

They've been up and down for months. On Friday, with all the Asia flights coming in, there was one machine working. All the others were timing out.

This has been going on forever...

If NEXUS is down you can proceed to the CBSA special services counter for clearance there.

My advice, though, if you have a Canadian passport, is to not bother with NEXUS at all when arriving at YVR. Join the regular line and use the automated passport scanner. In my experience it is faster than NEXUS.

The NEXUS machines are all being replaced; there was a letter to members about it six weeks ago. Hopefully the new machines will work most if not all of the time.

YYZ Terminal 3 to USA this morning on AA

4 NEXUS members (2 children), so we just used Special crew lane, had to fill out the blue form and scan fingerprints for non-Canadian

For security, they weren't really differentiating between NEXUS & non-NEXUS
and I asked if there's TSA PreCheck process (no shoes off, no laptop out), he laughed and said no @@ despite what other FlyerTalk thread confirms it is happening


Anyway, relatively, security was more annoying than the US custom officer then

I recommend for you to apply for GE and forget about NEXUS. Folks in Canada are very sensitive to issues like guns and narcotics. So any past history with these two things will make them reject your application even though marijuana is licensed in your state.

Yes, we're so sensitive that we're in danger of re-electing a mayor who indulges in that sort of thing...

For hockeygirl13, I don't see the down-side of applying for NEXUS as well as GE. it's $50. (GE alone is more $.) The conditional approval decision will clarify it for you. Applying is a long process and if you are not conditionally approved based on the Canadian decision, it doesn't add that much time in the overall scheme of things to resubmit to GE only and provide that reason.

That is more or less what I was thinking, as I know Canada is much more sensitive to such things (although I expect they'll legalize it before the US does).

Thanks, flyquiet. I may try that. Although I am currently thinking I'll wait a few weeks, as I should know by then if we're moving to Europe... If so, I'll really just need GE, as it's only my current proximity to Canada that interests me in Nexus.

Don't forget that if you sign up for NEXUS you'll need to visit an enrollment center that are only located close to the borders. Not sure if by your last sentence that you're in a border state or not or if you meant relatively close compared to Europe. Someone who lives in say California or Florida likely wouldn't opt for NEXUS over GE unless they travel a lot to Canada.

an update from NEXUS
 

Dear NEXUS Member,
Please be advised that, in an effort to improve the NEXUS program, the kiosks currently available in the U.S. pre-clearance areas at Canadian airports are being replaced with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Global Entry (GE) kiosks. Global Entry is a U.S. domestic trusted traveller program that offers expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk members. NEXUS members receive Global Entry benefits automatically, at no additional cost, and have access to the GE automated kiosks for entry into the U.S. at participating airports.
Expedited passage at a GE kiosk requires the NEXUS member to have their 10 fingerprints on file. If you have not already submitted your 10 prints, please visit a NEXUS or Global Entry (GE) Enrolment Center to have your fingerprints taken. An appointment is not necessary. If your fingerprints are not on file, you may still use the GE kiosk; however you will be referred to a CBP officer for additional verification.
Members entering into the United States, from Canada, can use either their NEXUS card or their registered passport at any of the eight international airports that offer US preclearance. In order to use the GE kiosks located within the United States, NEXUS members must have a valid registered passport on file. To update your passport information on line, please log into your Global Online Enrollment System (GOES) account at https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov/main/goes.
For additional information on the Global Entry program and more details on how to use the GE kiosk, please visit http://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-tr...s/global-entry.
Thank you.

I guess that's one way to preserve the "NEXUS card is valid for air travel when used with NEXUS kiosks" behavior without having to preserve the kiosks themselves.

Does this mean that we can use the nexus card with GE kiosks instead of passport?

By my reading of the letter, yes but only at the preclearance airports in Canada. (The letter says "any of the eight international airports that offer US preclearance" which presumably means the eight Canadian international airports that have it; DUB and SNN also have Global Entry kiosks....)

The phrasing "In order to use the GE kiosks located within the United States, NEXUS members must have a valid registered passport on file" is a bit ambiguous; technically it says you have to have the passport on file but not that you have to use it with the kiosk, but in practice I doubt any airline would let you board with just a NEXUS card. (Porter wanted to see my passport for YTZ-BOS.)

Just wanted to see if anybody had been successful accessing the GE lanes with a NEXUS card in New Zealand.

A friend of mine who lives in NZ mentioned that GE can use smartgate, but you need a GE card for the dragon to let you into the line. I signed up for GE before cards were part of the program (2009), but I do have a NEXUS card.

If nobody has any recent success, I'll post back on Saturday once I go through C&I.

For my experience, not all passports work at the GE kiosks at Pre-Clearance facilities in Canada. My Italian passport is being refused. I will try during next weekend with my card at pre-clearance facilities in Canada and with my passport at GE Kiosks elsewhere and will report back.

Unfortunately T3 has not introduced the streamlined security that exists at T1, which is rather ironic since except for WS, all the US airlines using the transborder wing are TSAPreCheck approved and their approved travellers will have that PreCheck logo on any US originating boarding passes. At T1, most travellers will be on AC, which of course is still not in the TSAPreCheck program, a few on UA or US. Crazy but that's CATSA!