POE with U-Haul full of fiance's stuff? (K1)

[RoboSquirrel 56]

So, this past weekend I was up to visit my fiance in Toronto and when driving back to the US with some of her stuff (Her interview is on the 11th of April so we started moving smaller things out of her apartment), they would not let me bring it in. It was just shoes and some coats  ....I had call off work and drive all the way back to Toronto from Sarnia . They said I couldn't bring the cart before the horse. Two weeks ago I came across with even more of her stuff and they didn't give 2  .**** So....what I'm asking is, is it ok to come across for her POE after she gets her visa with a truck full of her stuff or is there some sort of special way you have to go about moving her stuff? Thanks for the help

Edited March 28, 2018 by Ontarkie
bypassing language filter

[Enigma11561 336]

I don't understand this cart before the horse bit. I see no reason not to let any one move clothing, Be that as it may, if she has her visa in hand and stuff in a U-Haul,, I cannot foresee an issue. You are moving.. The whole reason for the visa.

[Ontarkie 14,275]

You cannot bring her stuff until she crosses with the visa. Think how the CBP thinks she could also get denied.  The fact that they didn't notice or ask about her stuff doesn't mean they would let it go through if they did. 

 

Wait for her to cross with her visa until then her stuff stays with her in Canada. 

[Flames9_RN 358]

just because 1 gets away with it the first time, doesnt make it right.  Going by the regulations, one has to wait until they have the visa in hand....and then one has a fair # of years to bring stuff over.  When one does cross, with personal belongings, it should be listed out......And in many occasions they don't even care....but as you found out.....some officers do go by the regulations, so it best to be prepared

[RoboSquirrel 56]

Thanks for the insight. I honestly had NO IDEA that bringing personal items over was wrong. Wasn't trying to "get away with it" because i didn't know I wasn't allowed to bring stuff. I thought it was the person who mattered and that the visa applied to, not inanimate objects. 

 

That beings said, we've done everything else by the book and intend on continuing to. Her interview is in 2 weeks so it's not really a big deal....I just wanted to make sure that when the time comes, we can bring her and her things across at the same time. She doesn't have much stuff....one small uhaul will do it.

[NikLR 13,227]

Yup when she officially has a visa to move to the USA, she can move her stuff with her, or after her.  She has 10 years in which to import her belongings, 1 year for a car. 

[mindthegap 2,590]

25 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Yup when she officially has a visa to move to the USA, she can move her stuff with her, or after her.  She has 10 years in which to import her belongings, 1 year for a car. 

 

Holy cow...I had no idea of this ten year rule...I have lots of stuff I didn't originally bring and have been putting off doing so, in part due to the lube assisted import duty bill I was expecting.

Awesome.

[NikLR 13,227]

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/421/kw/moving to usa from canada/session/L3RpbWUvMTUyMjYwMTcxNy9zaWQvdTFvLWY1Sm4%3D

 

Quote

Moving to the U.S. - Timeframe allotted to move household and personal effects to the U.S.

 

How long do I have to move all of my household and personal effects to the U.S?

You do not have to bring your household and personal effects into the United States all at once. However, in order for you to import them duty-free, you should not wait longer than 10 years after the importer's/owner's last arrival in the U.S. from the country in which the goods were used.

After 10 years, the only way they may be imported duty-free is if you can provide the Port Director with an explanation of unavoidable circumstances, which made it impossible to import them within 10 years.

Under no circumstances can they be imported duty-free if 25 years or more has elapsed, since the last arrival into the U.S. from the country in which the effects were used. For additional information please reference 19 CFR148.52(d)

If you wish to receive automatic updates to this Q&A, select "Subscribe to Updates" on the left side of this screen.

 

[BlueOrchid 17]

I'm planning to ship my stuff in a UHaul UBox after I'm approved at the interview but before I cross POE.

Will this be okay due to not having the POE yet? And, will it be dinged with duty since I won't be accompanying it? 

[acidrain 325]

3 hours ago, BlueOrchid said:

I'm planning to ship my stuff in a UHaul UBox after I'm approved at the interview but before I cross POE.

Will this be okay due to not having the POE yet? And, will it be dinged with duty since I won't be accompanying it? 

When i spoke with a professional moving company I was advised to not ship anything until I had my green card.

 

It's impossible to predict what a border agent will or will not do. You might get one who does not care and you might get one that does.

 

When I looked into hiring people I was told unless a person has legal authority to reside in the US the border may scrutinize it. They said in most cases the shipment gets seized and you pay for storage while everything gets sorted out. It really sucks because people get billed the full cost of the service (which makes unhappy clients). The company I spoke to said they won't move stuff across the line without a green card because it screws up a job royally and the customer does not want to pay full price but the driver is out a job.

 

We wound up having my spouse fly up and drive our stuff down in a U-haul. It was literally half the cost of movers and we were in and out in 25 minutes at the POE. We just provided a manifest of items we gave to the customs agent and she looked it over without any issues.

[Veronik 19]

When I moved after getting my K-1 approved (I did not attempt to move or mail anything before the approval), I had stuff mailed to my then fiancé and had 4 oversized suitcases filled with stuff. As far as furniture goes, we would bring some back with us when we could come up and visited by car. 

I would suggest to make sure you have a very detailed list of everything you are bringing, whether in suitcase or in boxes in the truck, just to make sure. I was always a worrier through this process and going the extra mile saved me a few grey hairs. Just a thought!

[NikLR 13,227]

22 hours ago, BlueOrchid said:

I'm planning to ship my stuff in a UHaul UBox after I'm approved at the interview but before I cross POE.

Will this be okay due to not having the POE yet? And, will it be dinged with duty since I won't be accompanying it? 

No you can't do this  The moving company needs a copy of your endorsed visa.  Essentially your stuff will sit at the border until you can provide them with said document. 

Suggest changing the moving time of your stuff to after you POE. 

Edited April 3, 2018 by NikLR

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

On ‎3‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 8:34 AM, RoboSquirrel said:

Thanks for the insight. I honestly had NO IDEA that bringing personal items over was wrong. Wasn't trying to "get away with it" because i didn't know I wasn't allowed to bring stuff. I thought it was the person who mattered and that the visa applied to, not inanimate objects. 

That beings said, we've done everything else by the book and intend on continuing to. Her interview is in 2 weeks so it's not really a big deal....I just wanted to make sure that when the time comes, we can bring her and her things across at the same time. She doesn't have much stuff....one small uhaul will do it.

Yeah the issue behind this is that CBP will think that your fiancé is trying to take stuff down to move down there at that point in time. It has happened before on here where people literally packed up the car to come to the USA to live with their bf/gf with no visa/gc, and are confused why they got turned around at the border. I guess they thought it's just like moving across state or province lines and there is no issue with it.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Yes those that use a moving company, or theoretically shipping boxes..... have to cross first then fax (scan/email) paperwork back to the moving company.....U haul now offers a service where u rent the truck and then goto https://www.uhaul.com/MovingHelp/  and u can choose the help....We did it for a local move....packed everything up ourselves.....then hired the moving help from that link.....worked out well.......I detest moving,lol  I dont offer to help others move, and in return I dont ask friends to help me,lol

[acidrain 325]

10 hours ago, Flames9_RN said:

Yes those that use a moving company, or theoretically shipping boxes..... have to cross first then fax (scan/email) paperwork back to the moving company.....U haul now offers a service where u rent the truck and then goto https://www.uhaul.com/MovingHelp/  and u can choose the help....We did it for a local move....packed everything up ourselves.....then hired the moving help from that link.....worked out well.......I detest moving,lol  I dont offer to help others move, and in return I dont ask friends to help me,lol

We did the same thing and we have the same thought about helping people move! It actually wasn't all that bad to have people on both ends do the loading and unloading. Movinghelp.org has a number of reviews so you can select who is appropriate. Even when my spouse took time off work, flew up to Canada and helped drive the truck down it was literally half the cost compared to hiring movers. That's including hotels, lost wages, gas, hotels, etc. It also saved the stress of wondering if our shipment would clear.