Last week, I took the plunge and applied for my Nexus card, and had my first interview at Ottawa International Airport (@flyyow).
Have you applied for yours yet? If not, the process is quite straightforward so far.
Here’s how to do it:
- Start Online: Begin by visiting the U.S. government page via the Canadian government’s website. Make sure to avoid third-party handlers, as they aren’t necessary.
- Fill Out the Application: Once you’ve filled out the required information and paid the fee, you can schedule your first interview. There were plenty of date and time options available at the Ottawa airport location.
For more details, you can visit the official Nexus program page.
My husband, younger daughter, and I completed our first part of the interview last week at Ottawa airport. It took only 5-10 minutes and was mainly about verifying our documents. (Our older daughter will have to do hers at Toronto airport.) We waited until our youngest turned 18 so we could all go through the process together.
I mentioned this in my weekly Sunday newsletter for clients. (By the way, if you’re not subscribed yet, you can sign up for LUSH LIFE’s Newsletter here. Every Sunday morning, you’ll receive a travel newsletter packed with:
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It has different content than my LinkedIn newsletter.
One of my clients, who had been waiting months for an interview, asked how I got mine so quickly. I’m not sure if the process has sped up or if it depends on the option you select when applying. If you’re interested, here’s the link I shared with my client. My daughter completed our online application and scheduled our first interview at YOW. We’ll do the second part when we fly into the U.S. next.
You can read about the three interview options for Nexus here. We chose option #3.
It was great how quickly we got an interview. Border applications for land crossings can take up to a year, according to available dates.
Now that we’ve completed the Canadian part of the interview, the five-year status timer has started. I’ll need to do the U.S. part of the interview on a connecting flight to the States. After clearing security and going to the border check, I just need to inform them that I want to complete the second Nexus interview. The officer advised allowing at least four hours for the connection if passing through Toronto (YYZ) or Montreal (YUL), as you’ll need time for both normal security and the interview. Ottawa (YOW) has shorter lines but fewer direct flights to the U.S.
I’m looking forward to my second interview when I go to Las Vegas next month.
If you haven’t applied for Nexus yet, I highly recommend it.
#Nexus #Ottawa [email protected] #TravelAdvisor