Moving to the US from Canada help!

[saracatherine 4]

I received my k1 visa last week and all of my things are in storage. I have a 1bedroom apartment worth of stuff and me and my fiance have decided to move it all down with me as he likes my furniture better All of the options we are looking at are $600-1000 plus. With the visa fees and wedding costs this is just not feasible.

Are there any fellow Canadians who moved their stuff across a land border? And fairly inexpensive? If so, how?! Is it worth it for me to leave it in storage until we have the money in a few months... I figured it's easier to cross with my stuff because I have no clue how to bring my stuff over after I have crossed the border.

The second option is not really desirable since I feel like being in his apartment without my belongings will make me homesick. If anyone has any experience or suggestions I would really appreciate it!

[Darnell 8,478]

can amass 1000 quickly, instead? #HumanNeeds

[cdneh 3,112]

If you haven't had look at the Canadian forum, you might give that spot a try ...I know I've seen other threads there offering advise on getting belongings tot he USA.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/93-canada/

[NikLR 13,220]

My stuff, in a uhaul, no car to import, was just over about 2k including gas. Drove 18hrs. From central Alberta to Southern Denver.

[Rob L 3,811]

I received my k1 visa last week and all of my things are in storage. I have a 1bedroom apartment worth of stuff and me and my fiance have decided to move it all down with me as he likes my furniture better All of the options we are looking at are $600-1000 plus. With the visa fees and wedding costs this is just not feasible.

Are there any fellow Canadians who moved their stuff across a land border? And fairly inexpensive? If so, how?! Is it worth it for me to leave it in storage until we have the money in a few months... I figured it's easier to cross with my stuff because I have no clue how to bring my stuff over after I have crossed the border.

The second option is not really desirable since I feel like being in his apartment without my belongings will make me homesick. If anyone has any experience or suggestions I would really appreciate it!

600 to 1000 does not sound like much. Be careful that there are not hidden charges.

You have ten years to import your belongings and you do not need to accompany them. There are POD style moving solutions that will allow you to fill a pod container that gets moved to storage and then loaded to a US bound truck on demand. All things being equal, I don't think that you will be saving that much money, but you can look into those options.

I am not sure how close your new home is to your present location, but renting a truck from Ryder stateside is much more economical than a one way with U haul. To move 1 bedroom my self with a 20 foot truck was under $300 for 120 Miles.

[NikLR 13,220]

My move was over 1200 miles. 15' truck for the price of the 10'. Plus my husband didn't have to drive it up there but instead he flew one way and drove down with me. He flat out refused to let me drive it alone. Renting a truck in the USA and driving it up, then back down, would have been significantly more expensive I'd think.

It does depend on how long the distance is so it's worth checking out the PODS, various moving companies, uhaul etc... Our uHaul had a deposit on it they had not made me aware of when I booked it.

Edited July 13, 2015 by NLR

[jfgk1987 303]

Was that estimate for a UHaul or a moving company? It seems too low. You mentioned "1br apartment worth of stuff" but can you give more details (like name all the big things that wouldn't fit in your car). If the cost is too much you might want to look into selling what you can't bring over in a car and buying new stuff here, and stuff is cheaper here so that might be more cost effective. Leaving stuff in storage until you have the funds is okay too if you don't plan to leave it for more than a year, you can always go back and get your stuff.

[B-2-Z 37]

We still have our(he was living in Canada) stuff mostly in storage in NS. We drove down to ND towing a trailer of things we considered essential, and we've been buying some things. After a little while you won't miss it much, just bring down the things that are really important, replace the rest, or let it wait until you can afford to bring it down. The plan right now is when I get AP, I'll go to Halifax, go through everything, and either drive it down or send it down. Our moving quotes from NS-ND were $4000-$6000USD. No thanks.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Your profile doesn't show where in Canada you're coming from but yep - a Uhaul, you pack it and one of you drives it or if you're bringing a car pull a trailer...if you can afford to put your stuff in storage why not just bring it when you move?

Or have him drive up in his own vehicle or borrow a friends pickup or van, pack it full of whatever you can fit and leave the rest at a parent's or relative's for the time being.

$600-$1000 is actually reasonable....the cost of immigration is rough

I received my k1 visa last week and all of my things are in storage. I have a 1bedroom apartment worth of stuff and me and my fiance have decided to move it all down with me as he likes my furniture better All of the options we are looking at are $600-1000 plus. With the visa fees and wedding costs this is just not feasible.

Are there any fellow Canadians who moved their stuff across a land border? And fairly inexpensive? If so, how?! Is it worth it for me to leave it in storage until we have the money in a few months... I figured it's easier to cross with my stuff because I have no clue how to bring my stuff over after I have crossed the border.

The second option is not really desirable since I feel like being in his apartment without my belongings will make me homesick. If anyone has any experience or suggestions I would really appreciate it!

[jkris14 0]

Does anyone have any idea if there are restrictions as to what you can/can't bring of your own things? I'm worried that I'm gonna have to pay duty or something?! Also, I've been reading other things and apparently I have to go through Seattle as the port of entry - I live in Alberta so Montana would, of course, be the easiest. Does anyone know if that's true?

[Udella&Wiz 325]

You don't pay duty on your own belongings...remember, you're activating your VISA and moving to the US - they are expecting that you'll come with household belongings...tvs, computer, furniture, clothes etc....

you can go through any port of entry that is convenient for you - the busier ones are more familiar with the procedure but any one can do it. Also call them ahead of your arrival - they can explain when a good, non-busy time to cross is and answer other general questions.

Does anyone have any idea if there are restrictions as to what you can/can't bring of your own things? I'm worried that I'm gonna have to pay duty or something?! Also, I've been reading other things and apparently I have to go through Seattle as the port of entry - I live in Alberta so Montana would, of course, be the easiest. Does anyone know if that's true?

[jkris14 0]

Ok awesome!! Thanks so much for the info!

[Rayann 1]

we packed everything we could into a rav 4 and a honda civic. it worked well. I left behind some things that were not essential and picked them up on a later trip to canada. we bought all new furniture (gradually).