Nexus

[mc2]

Just a side note - anyone else find that the security process is totally different depending on your airport (especially in Canada)? As an OP already mentioned, we were under the impression that if you had the card and went through the process, you weren't supposed to have to be taking shoes off, laptops out, etc... In other words, one of the advertised benefits is expedited screening. But when we fly out of YHZ and go through US pre-clearance, we all still have to take off our shoes, take out laptops, etc... In other airports we haven't had to. I've even attempted to ask the CBP and USBP people about it at the airport but never got a clear answer. No one seems to know - they bounced me to 3 different agencies. The card has worked wonders flying back from MCO or other major US airports, and has actually saved us a ton of time even flying within Canada when security lines were backed up. We just seem to have a different experience every time we fly out of YHZ, and I haven't quite managed to figure out why that is, or what we should be expecting because of the card.

Just wondered if we were alone in the "figure out as we go" category.

 

[montrealdisneylovers]

Funny that you posted this now as I had a similar thinking. Flew to FLL in December and back from MCO. Nexus worked great and saved a lot of time. Jan 10th flew YUL to Maui with connection through YVR. No problem YUL. Ran to make my connection in YVR and was surprised to be told there was no Nexus line for prescreening or US customs. Had to wait in long line, remove shoes etc. I was very disappointed with the whole process. It would be nice to know that major Canadian airports were consistent.

 

[kiford]

Crap, that I missed . I may not get this in place for May after all.

We filed our paperwork at the beginning of October (2013) hoping to have it in time for our early December trip. While we were in WDW, we got notification that our application had been accepted and that we had to book an interview. Logged on immediately and the earliest time (at Pearson) was March 31. Assume that it's possible to be as long as 5-6 months from the time of submission.

 

[stefanospops]

We filed our paperwork at the beginning of October (2013) hoping to have it in time for our early December trip. While we were in WDW, we got notification that our application had been accepted and that we had to book an interview. Logged on immediately and the earliest time (at Pearson) was March 31. Assume that it's possible to be as long as 5-6 months from the time of submission.

We enrolled on September 7, 2014 and found an appointment at the Peace Bridge in November. However, they had a huge blitz at Pearson Airport for the last two weeks of October and we had our interview on October 17, 2015. Had the cards within a week or so. Check the GOES site often as appointments do open up. They have done these blitzes in Vancouver as well.

 

[blizzard]

I probably have a record for quickest turn around - I applied online on January 1, and received my card in the mail today! (2 weeks)

I got conditional approval on January 6, and by Fastpass stalking the interview site, managed to get an interview the next day. (YYC was booking for the last week of May, but people cancel all the time, and it is a real time booking system so it just takes some patience to get what you need)

I'm not sure if all approvals are going that quickly, or if previous security clearances put me in a different (quicker) bin. I Thought 2 weeks from start to end was pretty outstanding service.

 

[mab2012]

I don't find it worth it for crossing the border by car. You can't get to the Nexus line until you get about 7 cars away...and even then it is sometimes difficult to get to if all or most lanes are open.

That's just my experience. Also...when it is that busy at the border the Nexus line often takes non-Nexus cars from the lane beside...so you might get ahead 4-5 cars or 5 minutes. It has never been worth it for us.

This. Although I think it depends on where you are crossing. OP usually flies from Syracuse, so presumably coming from Eastern Ontario. The Thousand Islands crossing does have NEXUS lanes, with limited opening times, but I think that at very busy times the bottleneck is too far back for the NEXUS lane to be of much help. There are no NEXUS lanes at Prescott/Ogdensburg.

Hours for the NEXUS lanes at Thousand Islands:

US-bound: 7 am - 5 pm M-F, 10 am - 2 pm weekends
Canada-bound: 6 - 8 am and 4 - 6 pm M-F, closed weekends

I've been considering NEXUS for some time, but I don't often travel alone, so it's really only helpful if my whole family has it. I don't have any great objection to handing the government(s) biometric data for myself, but my husband is not keen to do so (on principle), and neither of us are sure we want to make that decision on behalf of our children.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

This. Although I think it depends on where you are crossing. OP usually flies from Syracuse, so presumably coming from Eastern Ontario. The Thousand Islands crossing does have NEXUS lanes, with limited opening times, but I think that at very busy times the bottleneck is too far back for the NEXUS lane to be of much help. There are no NEXUS lanes at Prescott/Ogdensburg.

Hours for the NEXUS lanes at Thousand Islands:

US-bound: 7 am - 5 pm M-F, 10 am - 2 pm weekends
Canada-bound: 6 - 8 am and 4 - 6 pm M-F, closed weekends

Good food for thought. You are correct that Syracuse is our preferred airport to fly from, and those Nexus lane hours are surprisingly restrictive. I guess I won't be in any panic to get this in place for May, as we will be crossing outside of the Nexus lane hours anyway.

That said, its still not an idea that's completely off the table just yet. With our plunging Canadian dollar, its quite possible that we'll be flying from Toronto for our coming trips (though it pains me to say that). It sounds like it WOULD be beneficial if we are flying in and out of Pearson. But the above info buys me some additional thinking time while I mull over the value of the card.

 

[dis_guy]

Hi all. I just thought I'd add my recent NEXUS experience to those already shared here.

Over Christmas, DW and I decided it was time to apply. I'd had trouble getting the online application to take our address (we're rural) so we filled out paper ones and mailed them away on Jan 2. A week later, I got a call from the NEXUS Centre asking a question about my application and all was then good to go. Just this past Wednesday, our invitations to an interview came and I booked my appt for the very next Sunday (today). DW was not so lucky as her interview offer was for June 28. This was for the Edmonton Enrolment Centre.

So this morning we head off to Edmonton and the airport, figuring we'd take all of DW's info along, just in case. The Canadian agent was great and said that they'd process us at the same time to avoid the long wait until June. So after a few questions at the counter and having our irises recorded, pictures and fingerprints taken and a brief description of the program by the US agent, she asked if we had any questions. I replied, "no" and asked if the interview was next. They both laughed and told us that was the whole thing and we were approved.

I was expecting some more formal questions in another room perhaps and have a demonstration of the kiosks at least. But no, I was told to just remember that the US Global Entry kiosks use fingerprints with no paper declaration and the Canadian ones used the iris photo and needed the paper declaration form. That was about it.

So, all in all, a very straight forward process and we should have our cards in a week or so. I was surprised to learn that our Global Entry access is effective immediately and our NEXUS access has to have the card activated first. I had not read that anywhere before.

 

[torontodisneyfan]

We love our NEXUS cards and can't imagine traveling without it! I especially love the looks we get from everyone struggling with bags, strollers and kids in the regular line-up for security at MCO while walk down the always-empty TSA Pre-check line directly to security.

Also, we usually fly out of Buffalo and when returning home the Canadian Border Security agents seem to treat us nicer than before we had our NEXUS cards. Over Christmas when we returned from WDW, the agent asked where we had been and if we had fun! No questions about limits or what we had bought or anything!

 

[bankr63]

We love our NEXUS cards and can't imagine traveling without it! I especially love the looks we get from everyone struggling with bags, strollers and kids in the regular line-up for security at MCO while walk down the always-empty TSA Pre-check line directly to security.

Also, we usually fly out of Buffalo and when returning home the Canadian Border Security agents seem to treat us nicer than before we had our NEXUS cards. Over Christmas when we returned from WDW, the agent asked where we had been and if we had fun! No questions about limits or what we had bought or anything!

Just smile and tell them it's the new Disney FastPass Plus Plus. Everyone will want it. Even if they have to reserve 600 days in advance...

 

[dis_guy]

Just smile and tell them it's the new Disney FastPass Plus Plus. Everyone will want it. Even if they have to reserve 600 days in advance...

Lol. Oddly enough DW is referring to NEXUS as a "customs fast pass".

 

[C&B Young]

Also, we usually fly out of Buffalo and when returning home the Canadian Border Security agents seem to treat us nicer than before we had our NEXUS cards. Over Christmas when we returned from WDW, the agent asked where we had been and if we had fun! No questions about limits or what we had bought or anything!

Is this when crossing back over the border by land? We haven't done a land crossing yet but during our interview they made it sound like you had to do a verbal declaration of how long you've bee gone, what goods you're declaring, etc. all unprompted by the border agent, it's made us a bit nervous about having the cards now.

 

[torontodisneyfan]

Is this when crossing back over the border by land? We haven't done a land crossing yet but during our interview they made it sound like you had to do a verbal declaration of how long you've bee gone, what goods you're declaring, etc. all unprompted by the border agent, it's made us a bit nervous about having the cards now.

yes, by land. We have crossed 5 or 6 times and never been questioned and never had to verbally declare. We have never been over our limits and would have been truthful if we were, but never had to....

 

[rjan67]

They will usually prompt you for the questions. On occasion I just get a "see ya" but usually it's just "total value" followed by "alcohol or tobacco". Today I got that and "purpose of your trip". Varies day to day.

 

[minnie56]

While overall I like my Nexus having had for over 7 years now ...I must say, 4 of us returned last night from MCO , 3 of us had Nexus and 1 didn't. The one that didn't, was through immigration at Pearson before us and waiting at the baggage carousel for us...

 

[montrealdisneylovers]

While overall I like my Nexus having had for over 7 years now ...I must say, 4 of us returned last night from MCO , 3 of us had Nexus and 1 didn't. The one that didn't, was through immigration at Pearson before us and waiting at the baggage carousel for us...

We just got our Nexus in the fall. Used it out of Montreal at customs and to get through security with less hassle. Coming home from MCO we used it for pre check in Orlando. Upon arrival in Montreal we noticed the regular customs empty and Nexus kiosks busy. We opted to go through regular customs. Nice to have the flexibility!!

 

[minnie56]

It is and it did make security in MCO easy...oddly enough immigration was busy last night so the fact it took us longer still ..is bewildering.

 

[C&B Young]

yes, by land. We have crossed 5 or 6 times and never been questioned and never had to verbally declare. We have never been over our limits and would have been truthful if we were, but never had to....

They will usually prompt you for the questions. On occasion I just get a "see ya" but usually it's just "total value" followed by "alcohol or tobacco". Today I got that and "purpose of your trip". Varies day to day.

Thanks, you guys! It sounds a lot less intimidating than we feared, just like regular non-Nexus crossings.

 

[hcortesis]

We just got our Nexus in the fall. Used it out of Montreal at customs and to get through security with less hassle. Coming home from MCO we used it for pre check in Orlando. Upon arrival in Montreal we noticed the regular customs empty and Nexus kiosks busy. We opted to go through regular customs. Nice to have the flexibility!!

Can you please explain the "pre check" in Orlando. We have had Nexus for many years and have never used it in Orlando. We print our boarding passes at our resort. Should we enter our Nexus numbers when checking in online?

 

[stefanospops]

Can you please explain the "pre check" in Orlando. We have had Nexus for many years and have never used it in Orlando. We print our boarding passes at our resort. Should we enter our Nexus numbers when checking in online?

Yes. When you book your tickets there is a section for trusted traveler. Enter your card number there and you get an expedited line through security at MCO and BUF, although we have never had a real issue getting through security in BUF. We will be doing this for the first time when we leave in a week.