As wait times for passports continue to grow, the government announced on Monday it's expanding a program that some Canadians use to cross the border.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said a new application office for the Nexus card will open at Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Monday, and six more offices will open soon at airports across the country.

The card allows Canadians to enter the U.S. and get through security more quickly.

Day said the program is "going to allow freer movement and much more rapid movement across the border between Canada and the United States."

The cost of the card is $80 and requires a strict background check from both sides of the border. The screening, which takes about six weeks, includes fingerprinting and an iris scan.

The card is good for five years but can only be used in the United States.

The move comes as wait times for passports are stretching to 60 days, according to Passport Canada.

The agency has been receiving high volumes of applications, averaging about 21,000 a day. On a busy day last year, the office would have received about 13,000 applications

A U.S. law that took effect on Jan. 23 requires that all Canadians on flights to the U.S. have a valid passport.