@NEXUS

Keep it SIMPLE!

The government agencies responsible for border crossings are large, beaurocratic, and slow. They create multiple web sites with long, complicated URLs that no one can remember let alone tell to their friends. When they make updates, they often leave old information still published(!).

Now you can help!

Pass along word to your border-crossing friends that the following user-friendly and easy to remember web sites direct them straight to what they need:

Nexus Pass:

Border Crossing Traffic Webcams:

Official Government Websites in US and Canada

Link to us from your community and team websites, to help spread the word, and we will keep these pages simple and linking direct to the various government pages you need to simply get where you want to go!

Apply for a Canadian Border Nexus Pass Online in 2022

Without a Nexus pass, you may find yourself waitign in line for hours or traveling a mini-road trip around Blaine, Ferndale, or Bellingham, WA searching for a hotel. Your vacation plans are disrupted, you miss your San Juan Cruise or Vancouver tour... all because you failed to obtain the Nexus Pass in advance of your family vacation.

Save your Pacific Northwest vacation! You can now apply for your Nexus border pass online, using the Nexus online application.

What does a Nexus Card Look Like?

The Nexus Card is a Trusted Traveler Card, and a valid border document. That means it is the ONLY document you need to cross the US border (since you are simply required to have 1 valid border document). Below is an official sample Nexus card, from and back.

Front of Nexus Card

sample card

Back of Nexus Card

sample card

How Much Is Nexus Trusted Traveler Card?

In 2022, the current fee is $50 and it is per person. For expedited vehicle/pedestrian entrance into U.S. or Canada, every person in the vehicle (also known as "conveyance") must have their own Nexus card. The Nexus pass also provides for expedited marine entry into U.S. from Canada (by boat or perhaps swimming).

At airports, there are expedited lines/queues for those privielged enough to have registered Nexus cards. Card holder have access to TSA PreCheck® expedited security lanes at airports within the U.S. and U.S territories for U.S. Citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents and Canadian citizens.

IMPORTANT! Remember, every person in a group must be registered with a valid Nexus pass! This is a common mistake some make -- driving up to a border crossing with someone in the car who is NOT registered with thir own Nexus pass can be a violation that causes ALL of the Nexus-pass holders in the car to lose their Nexus cards!

The Google Nexus One Smart Phone

The Nexus One was an Android-driven cell phone from Google. It had the same name as the Nexus pass ("Nexus"). There is not yet an app for using your smartphone to display a Nexus Pass at the border (neither Android nor iPhone). If you are looking for information on the Google Android-based Nexus One Cell Phone, try this Wikipedia link.

This site is not about smart phones nor the Android operating system, but if you travel across the border to Canada, you may need a special cell phone calling plan if you don't want to be charged exhorbitant roaming fees. Canadian cell companies are notorious for how aggressively they try to capture cell phones operating near the border, so that consumers might connect to Canadian towers and be forced to pay roaming charges.

How to Renew a Nexus Card

Visit this website to renew a Nexus Trusted Traveler Card.

US Border Crossing Rules

If you use a Nexus Pass to cross the US Canadian border, you must follow specific border crossing rules and regulations from Homeland Security. BEWARE: That page is for general information only. They still publish ANOTHER page seemingly dedicated to the Nexus Card program, but it, too is an obsolete web page (!) https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry. The new website is https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov.

Check Border Wait Times, Border Traffic

You can check the border traffic back ups online before you go. Visit the Canadian Border Wait Times page or the US Border wait times page.

The Truth About Nexus

Not everyone is happy with Nexus. Below are comments from individuals and families who are participating in the Nexus program or who have participated on the past and were denied the privilege of continuing. We'd love to hear your stories, too so send them by email to info at this domain.

It is amazingly easy to cause the border police to take away your Nexus cards and ban you from participating in the Nexus system. There are many rules, and even one small violation can cause them to revoke your privileges (no, they don't refund your fee). Listen carefully to the rules and read all of the materials they give you, and then still it is best to be extra cautious because they take away Nexus very, very often and don't always even give any explanation. Go here to get Nexus

Last year we were very frustrated by the Nexus system. As you approach the border, you have to make sure you are positioned so you can move into the Nexus lane as soon as it becomes accessible. If we knew it was always on the right or left, that would not be terribly difficult but they keep changing the lanes and moving the Nexus. Sometimes after waiting in the long backups and getting close, we discovered we were too many lanes away and couldn't cross the backed up traffic to get to the Nexus lane. That was very frustrating. Also the Nexus lane has a light that is very dim and not visible from far away. We can hardly tell if it is lit (Nexus is open) or not (Nexus is closed). If you make the mistake of thinking it is open, only to find it closed, the people in the lined up cars treat you as if you were trying to cheat and cut the line. They simply won't let you back in. We once waited for an hour before someone would allow us to re-enter the regular line. There is a discussion forum full of similar stores here. Go here to get Nexus

Many of our friends with Nexus passes don't know this, but we have had some very stern reproaches from Nexus border guards on this one, including a promise that if we let this happen we will lose our Nexus cards. The Nexus rules include a requirement that you do not have anything in your car that belongs to someone who is not in your car. That sounds fair at first, but is actually very difficult for a family to comply with. If my son leaves his sweater in the back seat or in the trunk, and I go through Nexus alone in the car, they can take away my Nexus for violating this rule. The border guard told me that if my husband drives through the Nexus lane alone and they decide to spot-check his car and find my lipstick in the glove compartment, they will cancel his Nexus! We decided it was worth the effort to keep our car cleaned out during hockey season, to avoid this trouble. It is a total hassle for us and we're close to deciding the Nexus convenience is not worth it. Go here to get Nexus

If the border control people decide that a member of your family is not worthy of being a "trusted traveler" (even one that doesn't live with you), they may also decide you are not trustworthy and revoke your Nexus pass privileges. They don't have to tell you anything. They simply notify you that your Nexus has been cancelled, and you are ineligible for re-applying. It happened to a close friend, who eventually discovered the reason and argued to no avail. A family member had a problem with a cross-border business dealing and the government decided the whole family could no longer be trusted. Go here to get Nexus

One small violation of any rule and you can lose your Nexus pass, making you ineligible to ever re-apply for it. When beef was prohibited (it is now cleared), we crossed the border with a car trash bag that included a half-eaten Wendy's hamburger. That was enough to cause an alarm at the crossing. We were waiting for our Nexus pass approval at that time, and were told that in we had been Nexus card holders they would have cancelled the Nexus for that mistake. Go here to get Nexus

The Nexus Pass can only be used in the designated Nexus Lanes at the border, which are not always open. Check the schedule carefully, because we found that many if not most times we wished we could bypass the border backup traffic, the Nexus lane was closed and we had to wait with everyone else even though we had paid for Nexus and complied with all of the rules. Go here to get Nexus

This may be related to the construction projects at the Pacific Truck Crossing and Peace Arch, but we find that the traffic backup almost always blocks access to the Nexus lane. We spend forever stuck with everyone else in regular border backups, until we were 6 or 7 cars away from the check point and can finally drive in the Nexus lane. That's not howit is supposed to work, but that is how they have it set up right now. Go here to get Nexus

Even with Nexus passes, you are required to have all of your documentation ready (passports, drivers license or original birth certificates, etc) with you in case they decide to check your papers. So don't think that the photo ID Nexus pass replaces your need to carry the required documents. We were told that if we are checked and don't have everything, they will cancel our Nexus passes. Go here to get Nexus

New nexus Card Interview Centers

There are updated physical offices and addresses for the border services agency adminsitrative offices, which includes Nexus card interview locations:

Blaine, Washington Nexus Card Center

9901 Pacific Highway, Blaine, WA 98230

Seattle, Washington Nexus Card Center

7277 Perimeter Road, Room 116, Seattle, WA, 98108

Downtown Vancouver Nexus Card Center

1611 Main Street, 4th Floor, Vancouver, B.C. V6A 2W5

Sweetgrass, Montana Nexus Card Center

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 39825 Interstate 15, Sweetgrass, Montana 59484

New Nexus Cards Mailed

NEXUS Trusted Traveler program members are receiving a new NEXUS card with enhanced R.F.I.D. security features. The new nexus cards require activation. See Nexus Card Activation page for important details.

New Nexus Cards to be Issued

"NEXUS members will be receiving a new NEXUS card with enhanced security features. To ensure that you receive your card and that your NEXUS privileges continue without interruption, please update or confirm your mailing address see this web page."

What is Nexus? Official Explanation

"The NEXUS program allows pre-screened travelers expedited processing when entering the United States and Canada. Program members use dedicated processing lanes at designated northern border ports of entry, NEXUS kiosks when entering Canada by air and Global Entry kiosks when entering the United States via Canadian Preclearance airports. NEXUS members also receive expedited processing at marine reporting locations."