The official word is to remove glasses and contacts for your initial scan, but that you can leave them on when travelling and using the kiosk.

I've had good results at the kiosk with contact lenses on, but not so much with glasses. That seems reasonable –.I have -5.75 lenses and with the distance between the lens and my eyes I can imagine the photo getting a little distorted.

Couple of questions on Nexus and expired documents.

I am a US Nexus member, as are my kids (ages 10 and 13). We live in NJ. I travel to Canada on business reasonably often, usually via Billy Bishop, with no enrollment center handy.

1. Most of the DL expiry questions seem to involve Canadian DLs. When my US DL (non-EDL) expires next year, should I go out of my way to make a trip to Pearson? I'd do that for a passport, but hadn't thought to do that for an NJ DL.

2. For the kids, we primarily use the Global Entry benefit and we only rarely go to Canada as a family. When their passports expire, can I bring them to an enrollment center for updating, or does the document holder (i.e. the kid) have to be physically present? We've got a few years, but wondering what to look forward to.

Thanks!

I went in to GOES to see what they had, and found that my DL was the very old, three-years expired one. I updated it in the system just now. FWIW, no one has stopped me on many, many international trips between then and now. Perhaps, as a non-EDL, it was only used for initial registration and isn't terribly relevant. For now, no plans to stop in to a Canadian enrollment center.

Still wondering whether I can present my kids' passports for renewal or whether they need to be present, though.

No issues here. Took some getting used too but basically I leave my glasses on and open my eyes as wide as they go and seems to work with some back and forth i.e step closer, move back.

I guess I'll have to try it again another time.

Don't know if its different on the land border, but IME, my wife's PR card somehow got knocked out of her GE profile, and foiund out when the GE machine gave her an issue with it. When talking to the CBP guy at the booth, we asked whether scanning the passport/PR card notified them that she had GE, and he said no.

Take them off - that's the easy solution.

IME, it depends on the coatings on the lenses. I've successfully had my old glasses work, but my last pair didn't. I upgraded to HD lenses and got the premium anti-reflective coating, so my guess is that, at least for me, one of those prevented the machine from reading it. Not sure if there is a change with the new machines, though.

Also, I know its semantics, but I believe Nexus uses an iris scan, not a retina scan.

Answers to 2 questions:

Eyeglasses - take them off for your initial scan (they will tell you to, anyhow) and then take them off again at each airport scan. Even at the GE machines that don't really do a retinal (almost typed "rectal"...) scan. Has worked for me forever.

Driver's Licence - I was told by CBP at my last renewal that they haven't cared about DLs, what car you drive, etc. for years now. So I have not updated any of that info since then and it hasn't gotten me into trouble anywhere.

I have to take my contacts out for the iris scan (rigid lenses, not soft), so I just pop them out on my way to the machine and take my glasses off for the actual scan. Once out of the room, I put my lenses back in. A bit of a pain, but worth it to use the Nexus system.

In my personal experience, and from what others have said/done, I never remove my contacts (soft) for any of the scans. If I'm wearing glasses, I just lift them up for the retinal scan.

For the initial iris scan, no contacts are allowed…something I missed in the letter. They also don't have contact cases anymore…something about a pinkeye outbreak. So I went home from the airport without any contacts a bit blind ;)

[QUOTE=hazcaddy;24014514]Answers to 2 questions:

Eyeglasses - take them off for your initial scan (they will tell you to, anyhow) and then take them off again at each airport scan. Even at the GE machines that don't really do a retinal (almost typed "rectal"...) scan. Has worked for me forever.

Neither Nexus nor GE machines do a retinal scans. Nexus machines use an iris scan - semantics for some, perhaps, but there is a difference. GE machines only take a regular picture - there is absolutely no need to remove glasses for the GE picture.

When I went for the initial appointment, the HSecurity guys said I could leave my lenses in for the original scan, but only if they were soft. He (she? can't remember) said soft lenses could be worn for the iris scans, but not the rigid gas permeable ones.

That is obviously out of date info, as there are no more NEXUS kiosks left at US preclearance at any Canadian airports. They are all GE only.


Again, out of date info, as no US airports have ever had NEXUS facilities in them (GE only), and as I said, the NEXUS machines have all been removed from US preclearance at Canadian airports (GE only).

The two pages you linked above predate the page that I linked with the updated information about the NEXUS card being a suitable alternative to the passport for air travel. That page was a fairly recent addition (March 2014 I believe.)

By that argument, this 3-day-old press release would be the most accurate statement of the CBP's document requirements.

Note that it says "All travelers must have a passport for international air travel."

Anyone with any knowledge or data points on passport renewals for kids? Can I bring their updated passports to an enrollment office, or do the kids need to come as well?

Sigh... three way conflicting and contradictory information from CBP.


"All travelers must have a passport for international air travel."

contradicts

"Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the NEXUS card has been approved as an alternative to the passport for air, land, and sea travel into the United States for US and Canadian citizens."

which also contradicts

"NEXUS cards will only be accepted [by air] in conjunction with the NEXUS program at designated NEXUS sites." (but there are no longer any designated NEXUS sites for entering the USA by air, so this effectively says that the NEXUS card is not valid at all for entering the USA by air.)

It's just so frustrating how much conflicting, constantly changing, and contradictory information is put out there by CBP and CBSA about the NEXUS program.