Mar 3, 2013, 10:24 pm
Last edit by: TWA884
Current NEXUS Information messages can be found in the following thread:
The NEXUS Information Thread
The NEXUS Information Thread
Welcome to the Travel Safety/Security Trusted Travelers Forum Nexus Information Wiki! This resource will appear at the top of every page within this thread to help users learn more about this program.
About NEXUS
NEXUS is designed to expedite the border clearance process for low-risk, pre-approved travellers into Canada and the United States.
The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) are cooperating in this joint venture to simplify border crossing for members while enhancing security.
Program benefits
If you are approved to participate in NEXUS, you will receive a membership identification card to use when entering Canada or the United States at all designated NEXUS air, land and marine ports of entry.
Membership will enable airline passengers to save time by:
- using automated self-serve kiosks in dedicated areas at designated international airports;
- using NEXUS/SENTRI lanes at land crossings when/where available. NEXUS lanes entering Canada will likely have a constant red traffic signal. This is to discourage non-NEXUS members from using the lane. Canada-bound NEXUS land crossing operating hours. All occupants must have NEXUS cards when using NEXUS lane entering Canada. At some locations, the NEXUS lane, the inspection booth is not staffed but there should be a call button. When entering US in a NEXUS/SENTRI lane, all occupants must carry either NEXUS, Global Entry, or SENTRI cards (or any combination thereof). Notable exception is Whirlpool Bridge which requires a NEXUS card to open the toll gate on the Canadian side to cross to the US..
- As of 17 MAY 2017 - NEXUS members no longer need to complete a paper CBSA Declaration Card (Form E311) when using a NEXUS self-serve kiosk at any Canadian airport where NEXUS is available. (Refer to post #10421)
- using the Trusted Traveller Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) Security Line at major and select medium-sized Canadian airports to expedite airport pre boarding security screening. For detailed information, please visit the CATSA Web site.
Join NEXUS
Here are the steps for becoming a member. There is a non-refundable processing fee of CAN$50 or US$50 per applicant for a five-year membership card.
About NEXUS
Eligibility
How to apply
Enrolment process
Key points about the program as found by forum members:
- NEXUS cardholders must advise of ANY changes to their vital information such as passport numbers/validity, visa status, legal names, primary residence, criminal convictions, and employment if it impacts your eligibility in the program.
- It's normal to find the first in-person NEXUS interview to be months into the future, but a little patience and regular checks on the TTP website almost always yields an interview date much sooner.
- Each person who wants to participate in the NEXUS program must fill out a separate application form. There is no fee for applicants under the age of 18.
- If traveling with non-NEXUS family members NEXUS cardholders are required to use the regular customs lines.
- There is a zero tolerance policy and membership can be terminated for infractions including not having your NEXUS card on you and using the NEXUS lane and not declaring items on your customs declaration card, though members have reported some leniency being granted for such infractions in the past.
- Private companies may offer services for submitting your application and charge an additional processing fee but these extra charges are not part of the official NEXUS application fee. Expedited services offered by such companies will not assist in speeding up the application process.
Updating Passport with Canada for NEXUS
As per CBSA website, updates to passport information can be handled on TTP.
Please note that NEXUS members are not required to report to an Enrolment Centre to update or change their passport information with the CBSA.
Some FT members don't trust instructions provided by CBSA and recommend the following:
Call the Canadian Processing Centre with responsibility for residents of the United States:
After going through the phone tree to reach a Nexus representative, advise them that you need to update your US passport with Canada.
The representative will give you an email address and instructions to scan your updated passport picture page (include your trusted traveler number on the scan) and then email it to a particular email address. I was advised to put the representative's name in the email message so that he could process the update on the Canadian side. He confirmed that any passport update in TTP does not reach Canada. NOTE: FT members have been able to enter Canada without any issues by updating passport online only.
He specifically requested that only the telephone number be posted (and not the email address).
In case the telephone number doesn't work, here's the webpage where the phone number is posted: Canada Border Services Agency - NEXUS - General Information
- 800-842-7647 --- Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm (Eastern Time)
After going through the phone tree to reach a Nexus representative, advise them that you need to update your US passport with Canada.
The representative will give you an email address and instructions to scan your updated passport picture page (include your trusted traveler number on the scan) and then email it to a particular email address. I was advised to put the representative's name in the email message so that he could process the update on the Canadian side. He confirmed that any passport update in TTP does not reach Canada. NOTE: FT members have been able to enter Canada without any issues by updating passport online only.
He specifically requested that only the telephone number be posted (and not the email address).
In case the telephone number doesn't work, here's the webpage where the phone number is posted: Canada Border Services Agency - NEXUS - General Information
US citizens/residents who have both Global Entry and NEXUS cards and who renew the Global Entry membership whilst their NEXUS card is active, will not be able to renew the NEXUS card until after it expires. The option to do so disappears from the TTP website.
Dear mxzblftspk,
Your NEXUS membership is not set to expire until July 11 2016.
As an approved NEXUS member, you added Global Entry for an additional $100. When you completed your Global Entry application, you received a Global Entry card. When you activated the Global Entry Card, your NEXUS Card was deactivated and the option to renew NEXUS was removed from your account.
If you wish to renew NEXUS, you will have to wait for your NEXUS membership to expire. Once it expires, you will have the option within your TTP online account to renew NEXUS. After you follow all of the steps to become a NEXUS member again, including the completion of an interview at a NEXUS Enrollment Center near the Canadian border, you will receive a new NEXUS card and will have Global Entry benefits at no additional cost.
When your Global Entry account expires 5 years after your application, do not renew it. Global Entry benefits are included with your NEXUS membership.
It is our goal to provide you the best information we have in response to your question. If you follow the information provided in our response, and still need assistance, please reply to this email and we will investigate how we may further assist you.
Thank you again for contacting the CBP INFO Center.
Sincerely,
CBP INFO Center
Your NEXUS membership is not set to expire until July 11 2016.
As an approved NEXUS member, you added Global Entry for an additional $100. When you completed your Global Entry application, you received a Global Entry card. When you activated the Global Entry Card, your NEXUS Card was deactivated and the option to renew NEXUS was removed from your account.
If you wish to renew NEXUS, you will have to wait for your NEXUS membership to expire. Once it expires, you will have the option within your TTP online account to renew NEXUS. After you follow all of the steps to become a NEXUS member again, including the completion of an interview at a NEXUS Enrollment Center near the Canadian border, you will receive a new NEXUS card and will have Global Entry benefits at no additional cost.
When your Global Entry account expires 5 years after your application, do not renew it. Global Entry benefits are included with your NEXUS membership.
It is our goal to provide you the best information we have in response to your question. If you follow the information provided in our response, and still need assistance, please reply to this email and we will investigate how we may further assist you.
Thank you again for contacting the CBP INFO Center.
Sincerely,
CBP INFO Center
Archived: The NEXUS Information Thread
Jan 24, 2019, 10:27 pm
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: +61
Programs: SQ*PPS, QF-WP1 & LTG, VA-Gold, Marriott*LTT, Hilton*Gold, Accor*Platinum
Posts: 5,735
previously, know there were long lead times to schedule interviews (and the constant checking to try and find one in the next 1-2 days)... the fun that will be had with ~30 days of interviews now cancelled...
Jan 25, 2019, 6:39 pm
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kan@da
Programs: Anything with sweet spots
Posts: 1,790
Do babies/infants applying for Nexus get their fingerprint taken for use at the Gobal Entry US clearance machines in airports ? If not, what's the process of using the Nexus privileges for US immigration clearance at airports ?
Jan 25, 2019, 6:57 pm
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,615
Jan 28, 2019, 8:44 pm
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: CLE
Programs: NEXUS, MileagePlus Silver, Frontier Diamond, IHG Spire, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 263
I once saw an infant, possibly 12-18 months use GE with his parents and had fingerprints on file. Don't know how common this is, though.
Jan 30, 2019, 10:54 am
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: DTW
Posts: 234
If I drive across the border to Canada and buy an epi-pen, do I have to declare it when I return back to US? I have Nexus. Am I even allowed to bring it back to the US? I won't have a prescription for it since prescriptions aren't required in Canada for epipens.
Jan 30, 2019, 11:08 am
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: LAS - Las Vegas
Programs: Southwest
Posts: 131
Also, as a program aimed at frequent travelers, it shouldn't be an issue for the majority of true frequent travelers to find themselves at a port of entry. NEXUS offices are available at the eight busiest Canadian airports, which process the vast majority of intercontinental and ex-USA arrivals. The 9th busiest airport in Canada is YTZ, easy enough to get to YYZ. The 10th busiest is YYJ (Victoria, BC), which has just under 2M passengers a year total, most of which are flying in from elsewhere in Canada, from airports with NEXUS services. By comparison, YYZ had over eight times as many international passengers excluding USA, and six times as many passengers to/from USA as YYJ had total passengers. NEXUS is also present at the busiest land crossings. NEXUS is not aimed at, nor intended for, every single person who might cross the US/Canadian border. I have it despite living over 1000 miles from the border, as I have been to Canada roughly once a year since 2012; I would bet the number of NEXUS cardholders living here in Austin, a city of over 900,000 people with a daily nonstop to YYZ, is <1000, maybe even less than 500 or even less than 100.
The airline insisted I bring my passport with me to fly. I thought about arguing that Nexus is a WHTI document that made carrying a passport unnecessary, but conceded to their request so as not to be denied boarding.
Likewise, the CBP at YEG preclearance on the return trip asked to check my passport in addition to my Nexus. They did not hold me up any further, but it made me realize Nexus is not yet recognized as a substitute for the passport for air travel.
Jan 31, 2019, 9:55 am
Join Date: May 2010
Programs: Delta Kryptonium
Posts: 1,144
We live in Detroit, have Nexus, and drive across the border to Windsor all the time to get drugs (prescription & non-prescription). You are allowed to bring them back for personal use, no problem. We always declare what we have and in all the numerous times we've done it, only one time did the CBP agent even want to see the bag & receipt from the Walmart pharmacy.
Feb 1, 2019, 1:19 am
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: EY
Posts: 852
Walmarts/Pharmacies in Canada accept prescriptions from US doctors? I figured there would be tons of rules and regulations prohibiting that. I know I asked Walmart in the US if they would take a foreign prescription and they said it has to be from a US doctor.
Feb 1, 2019, 6:19 am
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Toronto
Posts: 484
I believe you are correct that pharmacies on either side of border will only accept prescriptions from doctors in their respective countries, but there is also a whole industry of doctors with licences in both countries who have setup practices in the US in order to prescribe drugs for their patients who can then have them filled in Canada where drug prices may be cheaper. This was more common about 10 years ago when Canadian mail-order pharmacies were more prevalent.
Feb 1, 2019, 10:11 am
Join Date: May 2010
Programs: Delta Kryptonium
Posts: 1,144
Take the U.S. prescription and go to one of the numerous walk-in clinics in Windsor and for US$35-$40 they will rewrite the U.S. prescription (be warned, there are a few that won't do it so you might have to go to more than one - or, you can call your pharmacy of choice before you go for a recommendation of the clinic near them that will). Another nice thing about Canadian pharmacies is that if your prescription is, for example, for 30 days with 6 refills you can get all 180 pills at once. The cost savings over the U.S. are significant for branded drugs (most generics, less difference) - for example, my wife's branded blood pressure drug is US$110 per month and C$35 (US$28) in Windsor (same drug, same packaging).
Feb 1, 2019, 11:56 am
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: YVR
Posts: 2,120
NOT true for British Columbia. If written 30 plus repeats we are not permitted to add it all together. Not to say all pharmacies adhere to this.
Feb 1, 2019, 1:33 pm
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,615
Moderator's Note: Topic Drift
Folks,
While some natural deviation from the topic of the thread and the subject area of the forum is obviously fine, how to get US prescriptions filled out in Canadian pharmacies is off-topic for both The NEXUS information Thread and the Travel Safety/Security Trusted Travelers forum.
If you wish to continue discussing that subject, please feel free do so in the following thread in the Canada forum:
Future off-topic messages will be summarily deleted without further notice.
Thank you for understanding,
TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator
While some natural deviation from the topic of the thread and the subject area of the forum is obviously fine, how to get US prescriptions filled out in Canadian pharmacies is off-topic for both The NEXUS information Thread and the Travel Safety/Security Trusted Travelers forum.
If you wish to continue discussing that subject, please feel free do so in the following thread in the Canada forum:
Future off-topic messages will be summarily deleted without further notice.
Thank you for understanding,
TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator
Feb 4, 2019, 11:48 am
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 46
Semi-answering my own question: after going 0 for 3 on being selected for TSA Pre, I gave TSA a call. They were able to submit a research request on my behalf and about a day later I got a reply. Turns out that even having Nexus does not over ride the residency/citizenship requirements - you still need to be Canadian/US citizen or US PR to get selected for TSA Pre.
Feb 5, 2019, 7:32 pm
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Canada
Posts: 37
You may ask why does the enrollment center continue to insist they don't get online updates (and thus update in person required) despite website indicating otherwise? I believe they are telling the truth in that they are not getting updates but misinformed about needing to update in person. Last year I included, in this thread, publicly available CBSA procedures for PoE examinations and those document indicate that primary inspection and secondary inspection officers have different level of access to IT systems. Privacy best practice recommends the access be given only to information that is required for the task. With that in mind, I believe that enrollment center have access to NEXUS application details but not subsequent updates because they don't need those passport detail updates for their job of assessing initial/renew NEXUS applications. CBSA agents in enrollment center are correct in saying they don't get online passport updates because they don't have for a need for it.
I am a Canadian in Canada and had the Nexus interview (first time) recently. And the Canadian officer specifically told me that online updates only go to the USA side, not to Canada.
Feb 8, 2019, 7:05 am
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 238
If Trusted Traveller screening lines are not available, you will receive front-of-the-line service in the queue but must follow regular divesting and screening procedures when using standard screening lines. (CATSA: Trusted Travellers)
EDIT: So my memory wasn't deceiving me, the CATSA website did previously list the queue-jumping locations.
Last edited by firequall; Feb 8, 2019 at 7:28 am