I'm confused by your post.. You mention TDC, which is a declaration card when entering Canada (By land, if I'm not mistaken). You also mention the "crappy new machines", which I can only assume you mean the newer NEXUS kiosks, but again this is only used when entering Canada.

It also seems like you may be talking about the blue form most travelers to the US have to fill in. In which case, if you're using a Global Entry kiosk then no, you don't need to fill one in.

I use TDC to refer to both US and Canada cards. Customs Declaration Card (or CDC) is the same acronym as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.

And, no, there are/were crappy new machines at YYZ when you cross back into the US that are not GE kiosks, but don't look like the traditional NEXUS kiosks either.

In any case, I believe I used a NEXUS machine and not a GE machine at YUL, but still did not have to turn in a TDC.

Stop using TDC. It's not the appropriate acronym in this case and only serves to confuse the matter. See Kiraly's reply to see what TDC means.

A Canadian TDC (Traveller's Declaration Card) for Nexus cardholders is completely different from the customs declaration card for regular entry into Canada. It's a declaration of goods purchased for tax and duty entering Canada by land (kinda like a Purchase Order). It used to be used for all Nexus crossings before moving to verbal declarations, and looks like this:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...s/e601-eng.pdf

Compared to the Canadian regular customs declaration form:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...s/e311-eng.pdf

For what's it's worth, the US CBP calls it Customs Declaration FORM 6059B

http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizen...claration-form

Problem using Nexus
 

Hello,

My wife and I are new Canadian nexus card users. Both of us applied, received our acceptance letter, and have done interview, eye scan and finger printing.

We used our cards at YYZ preclearnce. I got through with no issues. My wife was flagged for secondary screening. Seems she had a shoplifting charge when she visited the U.S. over 36 years ago. Paid a fine and thought that was that.

So....shouldn't this have been caught in the initial screening for the nexus and denied acceptance then? And with nexus tied to her passport will she always be flagged from now on? Will she have the same issues on return to Canada?

She has never had a problem in the past going the regular border clearance route. We are hoping she at least can go back to that with no hassles.

Any thoughts, suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Global Entry cards have radio frequency identification, which enables their use at SENTRI and NEXUS expedited travel lanes entering the U.S. Global Entry cards are not valid for entry into Canada via the NEXUS lanes and kiosks.

I would like to use the NEXUS lane to enter Canada. NEXUS just seems like a mini-Global Entry program. Does CBP waive the NEXUS application fee for Global Entry members?

No

One should do the opposite, apply for NEXUS ($50 for both NEXUS AND Global Entry) instead of just GE, but one has to visit a Canadian airport/border to do the interview though, that's usually the issue

NEXUS has all the benefits of GlobalEntry plus other benefits (being able to use it to enter Canada), so if anything, GE is a mini-NEXUS.

They would have seen it during the Nexus screening, but may have decided it wasn't enough to prevent you entering the program; can't say for sure. Very specific individual questions like this are quite difficult to answer with any certainty.

I was sent to secondary once very shortly after getting my Nexus card (I believe it was the first time in an airport as well). In my case it was a cursory can I see in your bag OK thanks . . .

So I would suggest you see what happens next time. My suspicion is there won't be any more trips to secondary for a while.

Nexus is a joint US-Canada trusted traveler program. global entry is a U.S.-only, CBP initiative. The U.S.-side of Nexus is basically the same as GE - the background check is the same on the U.S. Side, and both use GoES for application. nexus requires you to clear the background check, etc. process of both US and Canada, and requires you to complete an interview at a Nexus office where both US and Canadian authorities are there to approve.

Nexus fee isn't waived for GE members - in fact, it is the opposite so to speak - Nexus members receive GE privileges at no extra cost. So better to apply for Nexus first. If you do apply, I'd suggest asking the U.S. agent who to handle he two memberships - but hopefully there would be a way to drop your GE so to speak in favor to keep Nexus (once approved) so that your GE is in sync with the Nexus membership and you'd only have to do the one renewal.

Business travel - laptop
 

Hello,

I've attempted to go through all 615 pages, but couldn't get through it all. From how I read the CBSA website, if I'm travelling with a company laptop, that is a commercial good and I should go through the regular line both going into the US and returning to Canada instead of using my NEXUS card. Do I have that correct?

Thanks!

Wondering whether anyone else has had a similar experience …

My family arrived back in Canada at YYZ T3 earlier this month. This is our first time using our cards at a kiosk coming into Canada. We all had iris scans done as part of our approval interviews. I was the first to approach a kiosk. It took several times for me to figure out where to look for the iris scan, and in the end, I was denied use of the kiosk (it said something about me being an unauthorized user). We were all tired after traveling so instead of having someone else try the kiosk, we all moved to the regular lines and got through using our passports. Unfortunately, we picked the lines with machines, so there wasn't an agent for us to talk to about what happened to me.

I'm wondering whether I need to go into the office to find out why I was considered an unauthorized user of my Nexus card, or whether I should assume it was just a fussy kiosk machine. I wear rigid gas permeable contact lenses, and I wonder if those might have interfered with the iris scan. No one else was using the Nexus kiosks when we arrived, and we didn't see anyone around to help at the time. We far more often cross the border by car than by plane, so it's likely that if there is something wrong, it will be picked up on our next car trip, but who knows.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

According to http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...eng.html#a04_1

While it does say "their own personal use", I kind of interpret that as for business use as well, seeing as it's being used by you personally (and not for sale).

That is how I would take it anyway. You may feel differently.

When I went for the interview a few years ago, the CBSA agent told me that the only exceptions to the commercial goods restriction were a work computer (plus peripherals, such as a power cord and mouse) and light paperwork (e.g. business cards or a few printouts). However, I have not seen that officially published online anywhere.

Since joining Nexus, I have been referred to secondary twice when entering the US. I declared my work computer both times, and neither CBP officer cared. YMMV.

Probably the latter. The machines seem to give you an unauthorized user error after either enough failed attempts or an attempt that just barely caught the image but not well enough to match. I had a similar experience the first time I used one of the new machines at YYC, but after I got the error on that kiosk, I tried the next machine over and had no problems.