Entering USA with possessions

[reddiablo 0]

Hi Gang

should do my POE early august ,when I visit inlaws in S dakota.

after our two weeks in europe we

will use Jules SUV To tow a trailer 6x12 to florida from Toronto in late august.

What paperwork is required, the 6x12 will be ram jam full!!

if anybody has experience I would appreciate your comments

cheers red

[raymaga 25]

All you need to do is number the boxes and make a list of what each box contains. You don't need to itemize every single item in the boxes, just mark the box something like "Books", or "Linens", or "Dishes", etc.

If you are bringing any electronic items, the serial numbers should be noted on the list.

Just remember that no live plants are allowed.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You actually can bring live houseplants but there is some paperwork involved. You need to have phytosanitary certificates for each plant. You get these by having an inspector from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspect the plants and verify that they are free of disease or parasites. I have several houseplants that I have had for years including one that was originally started by my grandmother so I obtained the certificates for them and brought them across.

There are custom forms you need to fill out as well which is basically a list of the number of boxes by content, and you will need to have everything less than a year old specifically identified as that is subject to duty. Whether they will bother to charge it or not is another thing.

The process isn't too difficult but do make sure you have the documentation prepared - and check the lists on the US government Customs website about what you are NOT allowed to bring and items, such as alcohol and cigarettes, etc. that have limitations on amounts.

[evilcanuck 0]

I was so meticulous when I did my packing. I listed EVERY frikkin item in each box, numbered the boxes to correspond with the itemized lists, had it all ready for them...they didnt even ask to see it, nor did they inspect the truck or the uhaul!!!! They didnt even so much as peek in the windows!

When I crossed with my son last week, he also made a list, not quite as meticulous (he is 15 heh) and again, they didnt even ask! We had a cat with us, with all her vaccinations International Certificate of Health etc, and they didnt even ask about her, didnt look in the truck or ask about his belongings!

Every crossing is different tho.....

[Cristy 4]

Same here. I had stuff labeled, they did not open a door or look in a window. Just asked if I had food. That was it.

[amarceau 0]

Hey evilcanuck,

I read your timeline and this is not on subject with crossing the boarder with items.... but in your timeline you say to gather all your information ahead of time since our Canadian gov't is so slow. My husband and I just started the I130 process. What information can I request now to speed up the process ? I don't even know where to start to get all this stuff.....

Also, I'm a little worried, we mailed off our I130 with a copy of my laminated pocket Birth Certificate. Are they going to return and request a certified true copy ? arrrggghhh I hope not

Any advice/guidance you can give is truly appreciated.

[Buttons 0]

Hey evilcanuck,

I read your timeline and this is not on subject with crossing the boarder with items.... but in your timeline you say to gather all your information ahead of time since our Canadian gov't is so slow. My husband and I just started the I130 process. What information can I request now to speed up the process ? I don't even know where to start to get all this stuff.....

Also, I'm a little worried, we mailed off our I130 with a copy of my laminated pocket Birth Certificate. Are they going to return and request a certified true copy ? arrrggghhh I hope not

Any advice/guidance you can give is truly appreciated.

The Canadian doesn't send in the birth certificate with the I-130 the americain does, that's how we did it and it was approved. You need the long form for Packet 4 and interview. Get two copies of it if your going by way of the K3 one for each interview.

[raymaga 25]

My daughter and I both entered the U.S. on different dates and at different POE's and neither of us had to fill out any customs forms. Our list of box contents was enough.

They briefly looked at our list of belongings and took a "peek" into the moving van (I think just so that it looked like they were doing their job), and that was it.

[amarceau 0]

That's weird -- according to everything I've read, Birth Certificate for the foreign spouse is required with the I130 documentation.

[Reba 2]

Never never never send originals with any of the forms! You're not going to get it back.

You're going to need a copy of the long form birth certificate for your consulate interview, and it can take a few weeks in Ontario to get it, so send off for it now. And since USCIS now has your wallet size, you might as well ask for another copy of that as well if they'll give it you.

As for moving your personal belongings, the customs form you'll need is form 3299, but most of the tme they never inspect your stuff. its good to have it all listed just in case tho and doesn't take long to list the boxes and content.

[shirlJ831 0]

depends "who" you get at POE but be prepared they can tear your trailer apart if they want. My friend came from Canada to Arizona and had a motor home, well let me tell you they gave that more than the once over !!! they were there for hrs and almost in tears. One person suggested itemize each thing label all boxes etc. if it jam packed it could urget them to want to dig!!!

good luck

[agmy 0]

If you are also importing a vehicle make sure they do the inspect / approval paperwork while you are at the office; for some reason they neglected to do this for us when we said that J was importing his car in permanently and we had to drive back 2.5 hrs to POE to get the paperwork so we could get his car registered/titled/insured here.

[evilcanuck 0]

Hey evilcanuck,

I read your timeline and this is not on subject with crossing the boarder with items.... but in your timeline you say to gather all your information ahead of time since our Canadian gov't is so slow. My husband and I just started the I130 process. What information can I request now to speed up the process ? I don't even know where to start to get all this stuff.....

Also, I'm a little worried, we mailed off our I130 with a copy of my laminated pocket Birth Certificate. Are they going to return and request a certified true copy ? arrrggghhh I hope not

Any advice/guidance you can give is truly appreciated.

When I was gathering my information I was also going through a name change. I (stupidly) legally changed my name when I was previously married (which means they issue a new birth certificate (?!?!?!) in your married name, after I divorced I wanted to revert to my maiden name, I applied for this in October of 2003, I recieved a notice that it would take up to 6 months to process....I began calling in April or May of 2005 as we were going to be applying for my I-129F and since i had to send in my birth certificate with my name change request, I had no birth certificate in either name!

I started calling everyone under the sun regarding the birth certificate and would get answers like 'we are short staffed, they laid off 100 people and we are 9 months to 1 year behind, then I would call back and get the 'we are 1 year to 18 months behind'. I was flipping out, we were ready to send in the paperwork in July and I had no freaking ID. I couldnt apply for a passport, or do anything!

I called faxed and emailed my MP, MPP from both where I lived and where I had moved from, the Minister of Consumer & Corporate affairs, a few other ministers, the premier of Ontario and the Prime Minister...I also filled out a consumer complaint form at the Ministry of Consumer and Corporate Affairs site reporting themselves to themselves. Needless to say, my birth certificate was in my hand within a week of doing this ))

ANyways.....I hear its not so bad now but yes you will need your long form of your birth certificate. Then I got screwed for the fingerprints because (I didnt know about VJ then) and I went to the RCMP, they told me I needed the fingerprints and it would take up to 5 months (I didnt need this because I dont have a criminal record). ARGH...it didnt take 5 months tho, only about 3 but still. sheesh.

I wish I would have had a list of everything I would have needed prior to filing because then all I would have had to do was wait on the petition being approved and poof i sould have sent off the checklist instead of waiting almost a damn year grrrrrrrr

im here now so thats all that matters