NEXUS/Global Entry Discussion Thread for AC Flyers

sounds like my experience, flew LAS-YVR on the 11:40am flight, and i was also in row 12 on the airbus a320 when we got off the plane there was about a group of 15 of us who all walked over to the nexus machines, and there a small line up, one of the YVR workers had to call out to us and ask if we all had nexus...

My experience has been it seems that if I choose to bypass a longer NEXUS queue, I either get a very chatty customs/immigration officer who wants to know my history of travel, yada, yada, yada, or if I choose a queue incorrectly I am behind those who never fill out their cards .. I will take my chances with those who cannot figure out how to press NO on the Nexus screen and think they are getting their photo taken in the iris scanner

Interesting to read that YVR had a lineup with about 6-8 Nexus Machines (based on last count when I was there in September). YYC problem is that there are only two machines for US CBP and another 2 for Canadian customs. YYC could easily use another 4-6 machines in Canadian customs and another 2-4 machines for US CBP.

The capital outlay for each terminal is not that much and return on investment is about 12-18 months. Based on my consulting experiences with two major airlines the following costs are approximate. The basic terminal is an IBM thinkpad that costs about 5k including the housing, computer, touch screen, etc. The iris scanner is a big ticket item that could cost another 5-8k (best guess). so I imagine the machines capital cost is somewhere between 10-12k. The capital outlay is about 100-120k for the machines requested above, about the cost of 2 agents (assuming a 50-60k inital year costs for salary, training, equipment, management overhead, etc.).

So the question becomes "how do we lobby to get more Nexus machines for YYC"?

My main concern is that no new machines will be installed until the new International terminal is completed. That still 4 years away and much too long.

I don't think the local US CBP and Canada Customs agents have much pull with the central offices in Ottawa and Washington. Perhaps a letter writing campaign to YYC Airport, US CBP and Canada Customs is in order. We could engage the local agents on the Nexus line to idnetify where the letters should be directed.

Local YYC MiPo users, who is up for a letter writing campaign?

My wife received her new passport 2 weeks ago and we updated the info in GOES immediately, the next day I suggested she head up to YYC because of the differing reports I have read online. So she went up, told them she had updated the information in GOES but wanted to check if she had to report it there also and was told she didn't have to report to the office as long as it was entered in GOES.

i went in today to YYZ US customs for my Global update to get fingerprints... my noon appointment was late and they finally found time to stop chatting with each other to take fingerprints at 1;20. UGH!

Well, workplace banter is important!

thanks, excellent saves me a trip to the nexus office. =)

I wish I knew how to post the pictures of a waiting room with 10 people and 6 agents hanging around talking and one doing yoga on the floor.

Probably best that you didn't take photos in that situation. I don't expect it would be worth the long term pain.

I'm starting to wonder if the program is becoming too popular. Noticing a lot of people who don't seem to have a clue on recognition.

If you cannot get it within two tries there should be an automatic referral to secondary.

some of the machines TOUCH dont work very well. I notice the 3rd machine at YYZ T1on the right has issues with its touch screen AVOID that machine.

I had my GE enrollment appointment last week - very quick, no tough questions (ever been arrested, denied entry, that sort of thing), fingerprinted and approved. The CBP agent confirmed that the only issue was missing fingerprints, since only two were taken back in the days of Canpass. He didn't seem to realize that one of the reasons I got Canpass, then Nexus, now GE is to avoid talking to his colleagues - got very chatty about Boston real estate.
He had no idea about the I94 issue, but had a slightly better informed colleague. Here's what he reported
GE machine does NOT spit out an I94, just a receipt. He did not know for sure, but he guessed that a Canadian holding an I94 would get an automatic referral to secondary. The reason is that you are supposed to surrender your I94 when leaving the US for any destination OTHER than Canada. Most ports with GE machines have pax arriving from other international destinations besides transborder, so CBP would want to verify that you were arriving from Canada. But he couldn't tell me what the outcome would be in either case (ie arriving transborder holding a valid I94 or arriving international holding a (by definition) invalid I94). The conclusion I take from this is that I will probably not ever use GE - there are two distinct bad outcomes possible - first, they give me a new I94 which is a pain since it requires updating with GOES (still in person, I think), or second, they consider this an abuse of NEXUS/GE since I have attempted to enter using invalid documents and I lose my privileges - this is a much bigger pain. My inclination therefore will be to use the regular line when I enter the US from intl or from a transborder origin that doesn't have preclearance - I can (legitimately) plead ignorance and avoid the second bad outcome. So there is really no point in my getting GE.
Please someone tell me how I have misunderstood the situation

Sym, you mentioned that you had a "Multiple Entry" stamp on your I-94. Does that not mean you should be able keep it while trave(l)ling internationally? I too dread having to redo I-94s every time and this may keep me from using GE. I am going to use it GE transborder (Mexico-USA), so I will see if that causes problems. Unfortunately, I have no non-NA travel for a month or so, so I cannot test how GE works until then.

Will let you know if they lock me up over the I-94!

Or not

here is another reminder why to get Nexus.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article...on-passengers-now-zipping-through-immigration

Disgruntled travellers who say they waited for up to three hours to reach understaffed and unprepared Immigration agents at Toronto’s international airport on Wednesday night exaggerated their claims according to the Canada Border Services Agency

It would have been interesting trying to push through one side of the line to get to the Nexus machines - I wonder how many dirty looks or angry people would be upset as you tried to make your way by....

If you can believe it, I had to convince family members to get Nexus -- they fly to the US once a month, and thought is was part of de riguer to queue!
<hey the smileys are a pastel shade now, what's up with that!>

Oh no -- you are blushing!

When I have 'cut the queue' to get to the machines, I hear- "I knew we should have gotten our NEXUS" more than anything negative...

LOVE my Nexus! I think in 3 (?) years, I've had to wait twice for a kiosk.

I waited last week. For about 20 seconds.

Last night, there was a very officious (bitchy) CBSA agent on the other side of the booths where the person looks at the cards to see if you need to go to immigration.

The lines always merge from the left and right at this location.

She would have none of it. Not for NEXUS members, people using the Special Services line or flight crews.

"Everyone is equal"
"You think NEXUS gives you special privileges? Go to the back of the line over there!"
"Get in line with everyone else"
"No, line up over there, everyone gets treated the same"

And on it went. People were not happy. While I was there, two guys (including me) and several flight crews got in arguments with her.

Yea that stupid line up with the customs cards is way out of touch with the rest of the system. In Europe and elsewhere you walk through the green or red zone. They now have nexus lines at security but CBSA won't do the same. Almost defeats the whole purpose of the card.

My understandng of that situation is that 11 or 12 agents called in sick and the supervision on duty didn't think to bring agents from T3 which was very quiet. Those are the people we pay our taxes for

That check is not really for customs cards, though, but for immigration. What they really need is a way to easily, clearly and securely send the people to immigration that need to go there.

As I recall, in the US the CBS agent will actually walk the person to the INS office, not sure that's any better. In AMS the immigration counter is to the side, but before the passport check booths. Haven't really paid enough attention at other airports!