Applying for Nexus

[marisabuzz]

My family has recently been back and forth to Buffalo several times during the year because we order things to our CBS mailbox that we can't order in Canada or costs an arm and a leg to ship here. Since we are now DVC owners, we thought that it was the tipping point to finally applying for Nexus.

Has anyone recently gone through the process or are currently in the process? What has it been like? What's the current wait time?

 

[Madame]

My family has recently been back and forth to Buffalo several times during the year because we order things to our CBS mailbox that we can't order in Canada or costs an arm and a leg to ship here. Since we are now DVC owners, we thought that it was the tipping point to finally applying for Nexus.

Has anyone recently gone through the process or are currently in the process? What has it been like? What's the current wait time?

All 5 of us did right before Christmas. Applied late Nov. interview at customs on the US side right before New Years Eve day. I want to say the 29th of Dec - it was the first day that worked for us as we went to WDW over X-Mas.

Interview took 1/2 hr for all 5. Answered a few questions, quick pic. Got our cards in the mail a few wks later.

On another note, I won't travel to the US without it again. A few wks ago we went for lunch outside Detroit, but had my mil - no Nexus - with us. So no Nexus line for us.

My DH mistakenly thought the Tigers were away... Not so much... We hit the game traffic on the way over (tunnel) - 45 minutes & a damn guard change (took 30 mins no joke). Hit it again on the way back (bridge) over an hr. People without a Nexus card are no longer allowed to cross the border with me .

 

[xlxo]

On the West Coast.... love Nexus.

• $50 for 5 years? It's less than $1 a month.
• When not driving a hybrid..... being in line for 5 minutes or a few hours we'll justifies the gas savings.
• sometimes the border officer appears to be challenging your identification. With your picture and fingerprints pre-collected, I find the questions to be much more friendlier and quicker (especially on busy times)
• Check the border crossing times for Nexus vs regular lines. Sometimes the Nexus lines are longer than the regular lanes.
• it used to take 5 months to process an application..... it's like 5 weeks or less for a family member last year

 

[jtdl]

At lot depends on the interviewing office. I sent in my renewal, had approval to schedule my interview about a week later but first available interview time was 2 months later. Had my 5 minute interview, basically just a picture taken for renewal, and received new card the next week.

 

[marisabuzz]

Thanks for all the tips and pointers. We received our conditional approval notices yesterday and are now looking to schedule our interviews. Does anyone know how we can go about setting an appointment as a family? I don't want to have to make four separate trips, unless that's the only way we can go about doing it.

 

[tinkerone]

Thanks for all the tips and pointers. We received our conditional approval notices yesterday and are now looking to schedule our interviews. Does anyone know how we can go about setting an appointment as a family? I don't want to have to make four separate trips, unless that's the only way we can go about doing it.

When you call to make the appointments you just need to let them know how many it is for and they will tell you when the first avalible time is for all of you to go together. sometimes its quicker to do them individually but for the convenience of having them all together its probably worth the wait.

 

[marisabuzz]

When you call to make the appointments you just need to let them know how many it is for and they will tell you when the first avalible time is for all of you to go together. sometimes its quicker to do them individually but for the convenience of having them all together its probably worth the wait.

Thanks, everywhere I have read said that I can't call to make an appointment. I must do it online. I booked interviews on three separate days (I booked mine and DHs the same day). I was able to call the enrollment centre at Pearson. They said that I can come in as a family but I need to book four time slots on the same day (does not have to be consecutive time slots). The next available day with four open time slots at any of the centres close to me (Pearson, Niagara, and Buffalo) is mid-August . Our next trip to Florida is end of August so that won't do. I guess I'll keep my individual appointments for now and pray for a cancellation on one of our days.

 

[tinkerone]

I called and made my appointments, the only issue I had was the person who answered the phone said they only made appointments over the phone between 3 and 3:30 so I had to call back.
did you try calling all of the three centres to see if you could book them over the phone? I would call and ask, nothing to lose.

ETA--My appointment was in Lansdown and it was only a few weeks ago so my information is recent.

 

[FigmentSpark]

You could take the whole family on the day that you have 2 appts, and mention that they are there and ready to be interviewed, if there's time. If not, you can bring them back the next day.

 

[marisabuzz]

After seeing the last couple of posts, I thought I'd log in to see if by chance there were open appointments. I was able to book my DH's and DD's appointments the same day as my DS (DS had the earliest appointment). I also changed my appointment to be the day before (Fri). That's fine for me because I work across from Pearson. I'll still try to look for an open spot the next day. But Yay!

 

[uandmfan]

We plan on applying for a nexus in Ottawa on early fall. Our kids will be 5 and 2. Will they need to be interviewed too? Or be at the appointment? Our trip is in Feb.

Thanks

 

[marisabuzz]

We plan on applying for a nexus in Ottawa on early fall. Our kids will be 5 and 2. Will they need to be interviewed too? Or be at the appointment? Our trip is in Feb.

Thanks

From what I have read, if you want to use Nexus everyone you are travelling with needs to have Nexus. So if you are travelling with your children and want to use Nexus, you and your children (and everyone else in your party) must have Nexus.

My kids are currently 4 and 2 yo and I have applied for Nexus for them. They each have their own interviews scheduled but they will be taken as a family with my husband as they all have the same interview date.

 

[Starwind]

We plan on applying for a nexus in Ottawa on early fall. Our kids will be 5 and 2. Will they need to be interviewed too? Or be at the appointment? Our trip is in Feb.

Thanks

Yes; though I don't know what kinds of questions they woudl ask them. But they do need to be in person because at least their picture needs to be taken. Not sure how young they do the iris scan and fingerprints.

I did mine in Ottawa last year; it was pretty quick and easy aside from having to pay to park at the airport. I did have to ask an employee how to FIND the Nexus office -- it is on the level that you actually go through domestic security screening on, tucked in behind the escalator along the wall.

SW

 

[MSS91]

We live in Buffalo and applied for the Nexus because of going to Canada / for TSA pre-check. If you're flying out of Buffalo, the pre-check is nice but most of the time, security lines aren't that long. It maybe saves you 5-10 minutes. The REAL life saver is when you're coming back from Disney at the Orlando Airport!!! There is never a line at the TSA pre-check, which easily can save you a half hour on a typical day.

It is true that EVERYONE in your party has to have pre-check and another tip is to MAKE SURE IT SAYS PRE-CHECK ON YOUR BOARDING PASS WHEN YOU PRINT IT. We had an incident once flying out of Tampa where our TSA pre-check designation didn't show up on the boarding passes, and even though we had our Nexus cards, they made us go into the regular security line. It was super annoying.

 

[dis_guy]

We had our NEXUS interviews in Edmonton at YEG. I was able to get a quick interview about a week out, but DW had to book one a few months away. We brought all her paperwork along to my interview, "just in case." I asked if we could both be interviewed at my appointment and they just said "Of course, we won't make you come back again for that!" I know frequent flyers who have just dropped by an office in whatever airport they were at and gotten interviews without appointments. I suppose it all depends on the particular officer you get.

 

[Muskrat191]

The kids need to go to the interview to be photographed. My kids (2 and 4 at the time) were not fingerprinted and cannot get an iris scan. Even if the kids have passports, bring their birth certificates. Since kids can enter at land or sea crossings with only a birth certificate, the Nexus card will be valid for land/sea crossings if their passport expires as long as they have the birth certificate on record. ( We've had no trouble entering the US by land using my oldest's Nexus card even though her passport has expired.)

Once you have the Nexus cards, if heading to Buffalo, don't forget about the Whirlpool bridge. It is Nexus-only, and I've never seen a line up of more than a few cars. You do need to put money on your Nexus card before going Canada-bound, as that is the only way to pay the toll on the Whirlpool bridge. (The kiosk to add money is adjacent to the bridge.)

 

[marisabuzz]

Thanks again for all the tips! Keep 'me coming!

I chanced looking at schedules yesterday morning and there were times open for the day that the rest of my family was booked for interviews, so I switched to that day. Whew! At least we will all get to do it together in one trip.

My kids (2 and 4 at the time) were not fingerprinted and cannot get an iris scan. Even if the kids have passports, bring their birth certificates. Since kids can enter at land or sea crossings with only a birth certificate, the Nexus card will be valid for land/sea crossings if their passport expires as long as they have the birth certificate on record. ( We've had no trouble entering the US by land using my oldest's Nexus card even though her passport has expired.)

Once you have the Nexus cards, if heading to Buffalo, don't forget about the Whirlpool bridge. It is Nexus-only, and I've never seen a line up of more than a few cars. You do need to put money on your Nexus card before going Canada-bound, as that is the only way to pay the toll on the Whirlpool bridge. (The kiosk to add money is adjacent to the bridge.)

Wow! All of this I didn't know. I'm thankful you shared. Had no idea that the Whirlpool Bridge is Nexus only.

 

[marisabuzz]

My DH mistakenly thought the Tigers were away... Not so much... We hit the game traffic on the way over (tunnel) - 45 minutes & a damn guard change (took 30 mins no joke). Hit it again on the way back (bridge) over an hr. People without a Nexus card are no longer allowed to cross the border with me .

I just retread that. Lol. That must have stunk.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Has anyone used Nexus for domestic travel? I noticed there is a Nexus line at security at Pearson and people seemed to suggest that you can use that line, even if you're only going on a domestic flight.

 

[dis_guy]

Has anyone used Nexus for domestic travel? I noticed there is a Nexus line at security at Pearson and people seemed to suggest that you can use that line, even if you're only going on a domestic flight.

True. You can use the NEXUS line for domestic travel. The last time I did there was no advantage as there were only a few in the regular line.