At least at Canadian pre-clearance airports, you can use your NEXUS card in the GE machine in place of your passport. Tried it out in July and worked like a charm.

There were some posts about this earlier, but only some of the GE machines support this - it's either the old or the new ones that don't.

I've received mixed answers from CBP on this one. Some CBP (MCO and DFW GE Enrollment Centers) have insisted that it is possible to have both GE and NEXUS simultaneously. CBP at the Ronald Reagan building in DC have said that it is not possible. I find the latter to be more credible, based on the accuracy of overall discussions with these different GE Enrollment Centers. Both systems (GE and NEXUS) are tied together through GOES, and I would assume that GE members who apply for NEXUS keep the same PASSID (or Trusted Traveler number). One major difference is that GE only requires vetting through US CBP, while NEXUS requires vetting through both US and CAN authorities.

The CBP agents in DC told me that NEXUS membership gives one the ability to use Global Entry kiosks, but it is NOT a Global Entry membership...just a reciprocity thing. In that respect, NEXUS does seem to offer more than GE; namely the benefit of expedited border crossings from the US to Canada, which GE does not offer.

In summary, given the conflicting answers, it seems sensible to just use the NEXUS card. I can't think of any tangible benefit of using the GE card, and there is a reasonable possibility it could complicate things.

Thank you all for this great information. I have a follow-up question if I may.

Can I use my passport card in place of the actual passport? Does it matter? I remember the Canadian officer told me that my passport is electronic. But I have no idea if the passport card is also electronic - and if that can be used in lieu of carrying around the actual passport (book).

Thanks for any info.

The card is not valid for air travel. If you're pulled into secondary and don't have your passport book, kiss your NEXUS membership goodbye.

That's old info. NEXUS cards are now valid for air travel between Canada and USA.

http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizen...ocs-air-travel
http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/eng/fly-smart#toc-tm-1-5

Am I missing something :confused: From the CTA link you provided:

Which, let's be honest, is the most reasonable advice when traveling abroad.

I believe "the card" that was being referred to was a passport card which absolutely isn't ok for air travel. http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...tion/card.html

The comment was in response to someone who hasn't done the iris scan, so in that specific case the NEXUS card also isn't good for air travel.

Not anymore. US CBP have already phased out all nexus kiosks in Canadian pre-clearance facilities and replaced them with GE kioaks only.

I added my vehicle registration information when I signed up, and when I went in for my interview, they told me it was not necessary, but since it was already there, they'd leave it on. I've seen others on this thread report actively being discouraged from adding vehicle info during the interview process. In any case, it is absolutely not necessary.

Walk-ins without appointments to an empty office may have no chance, but it doesn't hurt to call. As I reported a couple of months ago in this thread, a relative was able to make a change to a same-day appointment by phone, and we showed up a couple of hours later without issue. Granted, that was Sault Ste. Marie, which is not generally a hotbed of activity--but the point is that if they really are slow, they can schedule things by phone that you can't do online.

Yeah. I find the vehicle registration portion ridiculous only because I often cross the border w/ a rental vehicle (fly to/from YYZ, drive to ROC). In this last instance, I crossed into Canada at 1000 Islands and left at St.BdeL w/ my own vehicle. I almost always find myself hassled at Champlain because they either don't know or don't care. This, of course, is the same border crossing that once let a guy w/ infectious Super TB back into the US after being told he'd be refused admittance if he flew back to the US from Italy. Smh.

The new style GE kiosks accept NEXUS cards in lieu of passports.


The same link says that a NEXUS card can be used in lieu of a passport when traveling by air.

Even though NEXUS card are accepted for travel by air, I would still carry my passport just in case.

Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

For land or sea entry, yes. I doubt the passport card would be tied to Global Entry/NEXUS, as I can't think of any circumstance that would give you the chance to use the card for Global Entry (as mentioned by others, it is for land/sea entry only, and these entry points don't have GE).

IMHO, if you have NEXUS, you should just stick the passport card in a drawer. NEXUS is WHTI-compliant, and can be used in any scenario which you would use a passport card:

http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizen...ram-background

I also agree with those that have suggested carrying a passport in addition to NEXUS, even in scenarios where NEXUS should be good enough. From personal experience, it is easier to just present the passport when asked, rather than fight for what my interpretation of the rules are.

I suppose that's a recent change - I was refused entry two years ago for not carrying my passport.