As an American, I’ve never really had to deal with flying through customs for my flights to Vegas, or Miami. Now that I’ve moved to Canada, I had the very unpleasant experience of sitting through customs, just to get on a flight to LA. Steven just breezed through and went to the Maple Leaf Lounge (Jerk). As I stood and waited an hour to get through customs, and another 40 minutes in security I realized how essential a NEXUS Card and Global Entry is.
Rewind to when I first moved to Canada. Multiple people told me that I should invest in NEXUS because I will be flying/driving to the states often. Nexus is basically a card that has special lines at border crossings, and at airports to bypass customs. Saves a LOT of time waiting to talk to a customs agent. So in November I went to to the GOES website and applied. It’s a pretty extensive application, but basically the end result is you are considered a “Trusted Traveler” meaning, that both Canada and the US are trusting you to declare all of your purchases, not smuggle drugs, and not commit crimes in their countries. After you complete the application, you have to wait a couple days before scheduling an interview. There are only a couple places to interview at. I originally scheduled mine at the nearest, which is the Toronto Airport. Closest appointment....April 21st! There are so many interviews they schedule that it is MONTHS AND MONTHS in advance. But alas, that’s how long it takes so I just rolled with it.
Being the antsy person that I am, I continually checked the website to see if there was a closer interview date. I also checked other interview offices to see if they had a closer one as well. No dice for a couple months. A couple days before we left for LA, I happened to check and see that Buffalo had one available on February 5th (which is my birthday, you missed it, I like cake). We rescheduled and decided to do a quick trip.
For the interview you need your passport, proof of residency (lease, mortgage, utility bill), and I needed my work visa. You need to interview with a Canadian and American customs officer (Because both countries are trusting you). The interview was standard, “Do you know customs laws?” “Have you ever done drugs?” “Why are you getting a NEXUS?” Then they scan your retinas and take your finger prints. Oh I forgot to mention, the difference between Global Entry and NEXUS. NEXUS is only between Canada and the US and it uses your retinas to prove your identity, and Global Entry is for entering the US from any other country using your fingerprints. You automatically get Global Entry for free when you get a NEXUS. I had to ask for Global Entry during my US interview, apparently they don’t just GIVE it to you.
My interview went smoothly and only took about 30-40 minutes, including my eye scan and fingerprints. Here’s the kicker, you get it for 5 years after your next birthday. Meaning, if your birthday is in June and you get a NEXUS in January, you get January thru June, then 5 years from your June birthday you have to renew. Because I did my interview ON my birthday, I’ll technically get mine for 6 years. So if you can, plan to have your interview RIGHT after your birthday.
