Here's How To Apply For Nexus In 2023 & You Can Get Across The Canada-US Border Fast
Get ready, cross-border travellers!
Cars at the Canada-U.S. Border.
There's some good news on the horizon for Canadians and Americans hoping to apply for NEXUS in 2023 and cross the U.S.-Canada border a little faster.
The United States and Canada have announced that they will be providing new alternatives for people hoping to apply for the border crossing fast-track program, in an attempt to address the major backlog of NEXUS applications.
The joint statement by Canada and the United States says that the changes to the program will make it so that "every qualified U.S. and Canadian traveller has the opportunity to benefit from the facilitated travel that NEXUS brings."
Here's a look at everything you need to know right now:
What is NEXUS?
The NEXUS program is a way for pre-approved and low-risk travellers to get across the 49th parallel easier and more quickly.
To take advantage of the service, you must apply, go through an interview process and be formally deemed eligible by border officials.
Once you've gone through that, you get a fast track whenever you're crossing the U.S.-Canada border via land, air or sea.
What changes are coming to NEXUS in 2023?
Per the statement by the Canada Border Security Agency (CBSA) and the U.S. Customs Border Protection (CBP), the agencies are hoping to get through the backlog of people wanting NEXUS certification by extending operating hours at U.S. enrollment centres, thus adding more available interview appointments.
The number of available interviews will also expand because the agencies will be adding more places along the land border where they can take place.
Since October 2022, the border agencies have also created an accelerated application for those who are reapplying, which has amounted to 203,000 new NEXUS approvals since the rule change.
Along with these changes, travellers will get more opportunities to apply for NEXUS in the spring with reopened enrolment centres in Canada and new interview options in Canadian airports for departing travellers – more details about the latter of the two will be available soon.
But for now, prospective NEXUS members will have to continue to go through the process at U.S. centres, even if they live in Canada.
How to apply for NEXUS in Canada
If you are eligible, the CBSA lays out a four-step process to apply for NEXUS.
First, they ask you to look over the different privacy statements for the U.S. and Canada, including one from the F.B.I.
Then, they ask you to review the terms and conditions of being a NEXUS member.
After you've done the reading, you have to go online and pay the US$50 fee and submit your application.
Eventually, they will ask you to schedule an appointment to be interviewed by the CBP and CBSA, which is subject to availability and has been a factor in the massive backlog experienced by the program.
In the interview, they will verify your identity and documentation, ensure you meet all requirements and more.
Once the interview is conducted and everything is filed, you should hear back within 30 business days.
So, for any Canadians looking to be expressed through their next border crossing into the U.S., it seems that 2023 could be the year to make it happen.
Good luck, travellers!