Canada's NEXUS Offices Are Still Closed & Here's What it Means For US Border Travel

Crossing the Canada-U.S. border with a NEXUS membership is considerably more complicated than it was pre-pandemic, thanks in part to closed NEXUS program offices on the Canadian side.

Back in March 2020, the program — which enables "low-risk" travellers to cross the Canada-U.S. land, air and marine border more quickly — shuttered its offices on both sides.

While, on April 19, the American side reopened their offices for interviews, the Canadian end is showing no signs of resuming service.

CTV News reports that there is now a backlog of around 270,000 applicants hoping to extend or apply for memberships.

Initially, in 2020, NEXUS card holders were offered a two-year extension on their memberships in lieu of in-person interviews during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two years later, the extension is now reaching its expiry for many Canadians who are now unable to secure an appointment at their nearest program office.

Immigration lawyer Len Saunders described the policy as "ironic," telling CTV that "everyone got a two-year extension when nobody was travelling."

"People weren’t using their Nexus cards or if they were, there was literally no traffic at the border. So now we have the borders re-opening, and all these two-year extensions are now expiring."

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says that Canada continues to discuss the timing of reopening with its American counterparts, although no firm date has been announced.

In the meantime, Canadians hoping to renew their NEXUS cards must book interviews in one of the reopened enrolment centres in U.S. border communities. Even then, appointments are reportedly difficult to obtain.

Those who do have a membership expiring in the next year or so are encouraged to start the renewal process ASAP, to account for delays and related complications.

NEXUS lanes on the Canadian side of the border remain closed to travellers, with card holders instead advised to "use the regular primary inspection lanes to seek entry to Canada."

It comes as Canadians hoping to renew or apply for new passports are also facing lengthy delays, due in part to pent up demand for travel post-COVID-19.

Service Canada has spoken out about the "unprecedented surge" in Canadian passport applications, which has led to travellers waiting in line for hours and hours at a time.

The return to travel is also causing chaos at Canada's biggest airports, with travellers facing lengthy delays and long lines at security checkpoints due to staff shortages and increased demand.