Currency limits into the USA

[Gabe111 0]

Hi there...I know the old addage is that $10,000 USD is the limit at which you can bring money undeclared into the USA.

First, is this exactly true? If you showed up with $9500 would they not ask you many questions? I assume they would...but what is the reality?

Secondly, if you wanted to come with over $10k (like 12k-15k), what are you options?

Here is the exact scenario. My girlfriend is coming from Argentina for a long visit (upwards of 90days). If you may not know, Argentina has recently placed heavy restrictions on using a credit card and debit card in USdollars outside of the country as they dont want US dollars leaving the country anymore. She wants to come here, have a great time, spend money traveling around the US and buy some items to take back home (new Mac laptop, new Blackberry, maybe some clothes, etc). As she is very worried about not being able to access her US dollar accounts back in Argentina, she simply wants to bring the cash. She will be visiting on her standard 10y Tourist visa.

Between hotels, car rentals, food, adventures, buying things I really don't think $10k-$15k is unreasonable for a luxury filled vacation.

Would love to hear everybodys feed back. Much thanks!

[Thomas&Cleofe 358]

You can travel with more than 10,000 USD. You just need to declare it with customs.

[Assiya/Jeremy 3]

The previous poster is correct, declare and you can bring more...but for crying out loud consider travelers checks, or wiring the money to the U.S. the thought of her traveling with that much cash scares the hell out of me and I don't know either of you!

[teddy k 35]

. To be safe with no problems I would have her wire the money to your bank account in the u.s.

[Gabe111 0]

. To be safe with no problems I would have her wire the money to your bank account in the u.s.

We totally wish we could transfer the money!!! But Argentina does not want any USDollars leaving the country and they make it nearly impossible. So a wire transfer is not an option.

Does anyone have more info on how the declaration process works? Is it just 1 form? Many questions? Etc.

Thanks for everyones feedback!

[Moomin 292]

I reckon this is the form you're hunting for; http://www.fincen.gov/forms/files/fin105_cmir.pdf

You can also ask a CBP officer for the form when arriving.

[jaycali 415]

The issue isn't bringing $10,000. Plenty of people bring $10,000 or more for vacation. The issue is bringing $10,000 + in cash. Most tourists bring money on their cards, not cash.

Since cash is difficult to trace and large sums usually associated with criminal activity, when you bring large amounts of cash in, the CBP have an interest in knowing where it came from, and why it's not in your bank account.

[aaron2020 11,651]

The US loves it when foreigners want to bring money into the US. The money spent in the US creates jobs and grow our economy.

What the US doesn't want is criminal bringing money into the US for criminal purposes. This is why amounts over $10,000 must be declared. The US wants to know when large sum of money is being moved into and out of the US.

Large amounts in cash will bring scrutiny. The big question is; Did this money come from criminal activities? The burden of proof that it was acquired legally is on the person bringing the money into the US. What documents prove that the money came from a legitimate source and not from criminal activities?

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I find it hard to understand how Argentina prohibits a citizen from taking enough money to travel abroad. Even Vietnam does not do this; Vietnamese citizens are allowed to take sufficient funds out of the country for the expenses incurred during travel abroad.

Argentina has control over exchanging pesos for dollars. To legally make the exchange, the dollar buyer must show the pesos came from a legitimate source and taxes were paid on it.

Is your girlfriend exchanging her pesos on the black market? Is this why she is sneaking it out of Argentina?

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Has your girlfriend considered bringing Argentina pesos and exchanging them for dollars in the US?

Edited April 23, 2012 by aaron2020

[Harsh_77 716]

It does not have just have to be cash, but travelers check is also considered cash as well.

So you cannot do 10k in cash and another 10k in travelers check.

If one has high volume of cash and are pulled by customs one might be pulled in for additioanl questioning where the moeny is coming etc.

On the customs declartion form that she would get on plane has option to indicate if she is bringing more than 10k once she has indicated that on the form she has more than 10k, she was would be guided to right officer and right forms would be given to her to declare how much money she is bringing.

[jaycali 415]

The point here is that it's fully legal to bring in more than $10,000 in cash. She can bring a million in cash if she wants, but she has to declare it. When bringing that much cash, she'll also need to provide some sort of reason/evidence as to how she got the money, or it can be seized, and all her belongings searched inside and out.

Edited April 24, 2012 by jaejayC