Canada, U.S. to Offer More Nexus Interview Options to Help Clear Applicant Backlog

A motorist scans a Nexus card as another speaks with a Canada Border Services Agency officer at a primary inspection booth at the Douglas-Peace Arch border crossing in Surrey, B.C., on Feb. 5, 2020. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Canada and the United States will be offering more Nexus interview options to help clear a large backlog of applications, says the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

“In order to address the significant backlog in NEXUS applications, CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] and CBSA have increased the number of interview appointments available to applicants by extending hours of service at enrollment centers in the United States and expanding the locations where interviews are conducted on the land border,” reads a joint statement from the CBSA and U.S. Department of Homeland Security published on Jan. 10.

The Nexus program speeds up cross-border travel between Canada and the U.S. by allowing “low-risk, pre-approved travellers” to use dedicated Nexus border gates free of long lineups. Nexus memberships are valid for 5 years.

The CBSA also says Nexus application approvals have been accelerated for 80 percent of applicants and that since Oct. 1, 2022, the CBP and CBSA have processed a combined 203,000 enrollments.

However, the number of backlogged Nexus applications is still in the hundreds of thousands, says Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.

“[Backlog numbers are] at somewhere between 220,000 to 240,000. And we hope to reduce and dramatically eradicate that backlog,” he told reporters in Mexico City on Jan. 10 while attending the North American Leaders Summit.

CBSA also says it expects a new Nexus enrollment option for air travellers to be available by this spring.

“Details for this new interview option will be available shortly from CBP and CBSA. In the meantime, applicants may continue to take advantage of existing options for interviews,” CBSA wrote in its joint statement.

The announcement comes less than two months after CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said that Canada and the U.S. were exploring “shorter-term measures” to reduce the Nexus backlog.

“Canada and the U.S. continue discussions about the reopening of Canadian enrolment centres and are pursuing solutions to address the current backlog,” she said in November 2022.

Purdy also said nearly 50,000 renewed or replacement Nexus cards were issued by CBSA and CBP between Oct. 6 and Nov. 5, 2022.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.