Henry J. Chang, Dentons LLP
The NEXUS program is a joint initiative of United States Customs and Border Protection (“USCBP”) and the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”), which enables pre-approved, low-risk travellers to receive expedited entry when travelling to the United States or Canada. In addition, under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, NEXUS cards are approved for use by United States and Canadian citizens as an alternative to passports for air, land, and sea travel into the United States.
The NEXUS program is also being integrated into USCBP’s Global Entry program, a similar trusted traveller program that is available to: (1) U.S. citizens, (2) U.S. lawful permanent residents, (3) Dutch citizens, (4) South Korean citizens, and (5) Mexican nationals. This integration began in December 2010, when USCBP first published a Federal Register Notice announcing that NEXUS members could participate in the Global Entry program using their NEXUS cards.
Unfortunately, not everyone will be in a position to satisfy the NEXUS eligibility criteria. A brief discussion of the relevant criteria appears below.
United States
As NEXUS is a joint program, an applicant must be approved by both USCBP and CBSA. The denial of an application by either country will prevent an individual from participating in the NEXUS program.
There are no formal regulations that implement the NEXUS program in the United States. However, according to the USCBP website, applicants will not qualify for NEXUS if they:
The above guidance is very limited. However, as USCBP is in the process of integrating NEXUS into its Global Entry program, it would be helpful to consider the implementing regulations of that program.
According to 8 CFR §235.12(b)(2), an individual is ineligible to participate in Global Entry if USCBP, at its sole discretion, determines that the individual presents a potential risk for terrorism, criminality (such as smuggling), or is otherwise not a low-risk traveler. This risk determination will be based in part upon an applicant’s ability to demonstrate past compliance with laws, regulations, and policies. Reasons why an applicant may not qualify for participation include:
Canada
In Canada, the NEXUS eligibility criteria are described in the Presentation of Persons (2003) Regulations (SOR/2003-323). According to these regulations, an applicant may seek enrollment under NEXUS if he or she:
The language contained in the above regulations is also quite limited. For example, it does not explain when “good character” will be found to exist.
The CBSA website provides only slightly more detailed guidance. It states that applicants will not qualify if they:
CBSA’s eligibility criteria appear to be more lenient than those applied by USCBP. For example, an applicant who was pardoned for a prior criminal offense could be approved by CBSA but still be denied by USCBP, since the latter does not recognize pardons. In addition, USCBP appears to disqualify applicants who have been arrested (but not convicted) and those who have charges pending.
In any event, since NEXUS applicants must be approved by both USCBP and CBSA, the stricter eligibility criteria applied by USCBP will typically prevail. This means that NEXUS applicants will likely be required to comply with the stricter eligibility criteria that USCBP applies in Global Entry applications.
Although NEXUS offers tangible benefits to frequent travellers, potential applicants must carefully consider their eligibility under both USCBP and CBSA criteria prior to submitting their NEXUS applications.
Behaviour in the workplace is based on people’s perception of it. In this post, let’s examine how one’s perception influences productivity, absenteeism, turnover and job satisfaction.
Christina Catenacci, BA, LLB, LLM, PhD
I just read an interesting report about women in the workplace. Essentially, the report suggests that women remain underrepresented relative to their male counterparts, even though they form a highly educated and skilled labour pool in the market. Given the skills shortage that is expected to occur in the near future due to mass retirements of senior baby boomer workers, this is an unsettling finding. But why is this happening?
Christina Catenacci, BA, LLB, LLM, PhD
Ontario’s Accessibility Standards for Customer Service requires organizations to train staff, volunteers and third parties who deal with the public on your behalf on how to provide customer service to people with disabilities. What are the legal requirements for training?
Suzanne Cohen Share