How I shipped my personal belongings from UK to US

[BBGG 57]

How I shipped my personal belongings from UK to US

 

Part 0.    Introduction

 

In this topic, I'm describing my experience with shipping 11 boxes with all my “personal effects” by air from the UK to the USA as I was relocating on K1 visa. I hope this information may be helpful for those who are considering doing something similar.

 

Short resume: 

• My boxes were picked up from my UK apartment on Nov 11.
• The boxes left the UK on Nov 15 (delay that I requested to travel to the US myself first) and were delivered to my US house on Nov 19.
• The shipping itself took 5 calendar days, including customs clearance. 
• I used Transglobal Express (https://www.transglobalexpress.co.uk/) for this door-to-door service, they seem to have piggybacked UPS and then DHL services for this shipment. 
• The entire project cost me £749.16 that I paid to Transglobal during booking, and I did not pay any extra unexpected costs to any of the parties at any time.

 

 

I have divided this thread into a few posts:

 

Part 0.    Introduction

Part 1.    Packing materials that I used (with links to Amazon.co.uk)
Part 2.    Packing and sealing boxes (with pictures)
Part 3.    Labeling
Part 4.    What items CANNOT be put in the boxes due to air transportation or US customs rules
Part 5.    Shipping companies quotes
Part 6.    Insurance
Part 7.    US customs paperwork
Part 8.    Shipping process step by step

 

 

Just a couple preliminary comments:

• First of all, I was leaving the UK for good, I don’t have any friends or relatives that I could leave my things with and expect them to travel to my new US location and bring my things in suitcases. So I had to make sure that I clear my flat entirely: sell/give away everything I don’t need and ship to the US everything that I do need.
• Some people say “Shipping is expensive, c’mon, just leave everything behind, you will buy new things in the US, start fresh”. Well, I was curious and actually put every single item in an Excel spreadsheet and specified approximate value of it. When I summed everything up, my 11 boxes contents appeared to be worth £16K while I only paid £750 for shipping them to the US. I think it’s a pretty good deal.
• Note that “personal effects” cannot arrive earlier than the owner crosses the US border, or the shipment won’t clear customs. My travel date was Nov 16, 2019, and the shipping by air via DHL would just take 1-2 work days so I had to arrange the pickup on Nov 15, 2019 to make sure the boxes do not arrive earlier than myself. At the same time, there was only me who could hand them over to the carrier, so I had to have them picked up right before I leave for the US. It was a bit of a quest. Shipping by sea takes longer so it may be easier to arrange the arrival of boxes after you get to the US yourself.

Edited December 10, 2019 by BBGG

[BBGG 57]

How I shipped my personal belongings from UK to US

 

Part 1.    Packing materials that I used

 

7 boxes - 53 x 53 x 41.5 cm each
Item name: “10 Strong Extra Large Cardboard Storage Packing Moving House Boxes Double Walled with Carry Handles and Room List Fragile Tape Marker Pen and 10 Large Fragile Stickers 53cm x 53cm x 41cm 115 Litres”
Item link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00J8K6K0M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Comment: Good boxes, no complaints, I only had to seal the pre-cut-out handles

 

4 boxes - 55 x 36 x 36 cm each
Item name: “BANKERS BOX 10 SmoothMove Heavy Duty Double Wall Cardboard Moving and Storage Boxes with Handles, 67 Litre, 35 x 35 x 55 cm”
Item link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B073V728CL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Comment: Good boxes, no complaints, I only had to seal the pre-cut-out handles

 

Reinforced duct tape – the main tape for sealing boxes!
Item name: “Scotch DE272958237 Bi-Directional Filament Tape Heavy Duty Tape, 50 mm x 50 m, Translucent”
Item link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01191JWKW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Comment: This was the best tape ever for sealing boxes for overseas shipping, nice, sticky, and strong. It was pretty expensive though (£14.11 for a 50m roll). I used two full rolls for sealing my 11 boxes as described below, and I had to use 2 more rolls of the secondary tape and 2 rolls of the third tape (see below). It’s 282m of tape in total.

 

Secondary duct tape – transparent, good for labels
Item name: “Fixman 192545 UV & Weather-Resistant Clear Tape 50mm x 25m”
Item link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FHXGV2G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Comment: This tape was less expensive than the first one, but still strong and sticky. As it was transparent, I kept it till the end to make sure I have enough to put it over the labels to protect them from smudging.

 

Third duct tape – the least strong tape for less critical parts
Item name: “Packatape Fragile Packaging Tape for Parcels and Boxes. This 6 roll pack of Heavy Duty Fragile Packing Tape Provides a Strong, Secure and Sticky Seal for your Boxes, 6 Rolls 48MM x 66M”
Item link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Packatape-Fragile-Packaging-Parcels-Provides/dp/B01ABXS40I/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=fragile+tape&qid=1575692244&sr=8-5
Comment: This was the cheapest tape, and it would not properly stick to boxes, so I would not use it to seal critical parts like the bottom of the boxes, but it still worked for some non-critical parts

 

Labels
Item name: “Avery Self Adhesive Address Mailing Labels, Inkjet Printers, 10 Labels per A4 Sheet, 250 labels, QuickDRY (J8173)”
Item link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000I5VXXU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Comment: Good sticky labels, I used them to not only write with sharpie on them, but also to print information on them using my HP inkjet printer. In this case, I would put a piece of my transparent secondary duct tape over the printed label to make sure information does not wash off during transportation.

 

Packing paper (for porcelain)
Item name: “100 Sheets of Thick White Packing Offcut CHIPSHOP Paper”
Item link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008DJEFS8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Comments: About half of this pack of 100 sheets was enough to pack a set of 18 porcelain plates and pad it securely from all sides inside the box. I used the rest of the paper to pad items in other boxes.

 

Stretch wrap
Item name: “Realpack Clear Pallet Stretch Wrap Cling Film 400mm x 250m”
Item link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0055R48Z6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Comment: I used about 1.5 such rolls to wrap all 11 boxes to protect them from rain and wet ground. Each box was wrapped in approx. 2 layers of this film.

[BBGG 57]

How I shipped my personal belongings from UK to US

 

Part 2.    Packing and sealing boxes (with pictures)

 

I used Youtube videos like these to gain understanding on how to better pack my things:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrhzs7C6qTQ
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5ENsbU66B8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTqRTYRorY – specifically on how to pack dishes

It’s a good idea to put labels with number on the empty boxes from the start and to keep track (i.e. in Excel spreadsheet or in writing) of what you are putting in each box. This saved me a lot of time when I was preparing customs packing lists or when I was taking the “prohibited” items out later.

 

On the inside, in most of the boxes, I would put a smaller box with electronics and fragile items in the middle, and then I would pad it with clothes or crashed paper from all sides, top and bottom. My idea was that this way the boxes would not be too heavy, and the fragile items will also be protected with clothes.

 
After closing the boxes, I sealed the openings with strong duct tape, and also every single “rib” and corner. I also sealed the pre-cut-out handles with duct tape on the inside and outside to make sure they don’t cause tear of the boxes during transportation if someone pulls the box using them.

 

After that I applied all the labels (see the separate “Labeling” post further in this thread) and wrapped each box in clear stretch wrap (2 layers) so that all the labels stay visible, but cannot easily peel off.

 

Please see attached "Packing and sealing boxes.pdf" for the photos of what is described above.

 

I've also added there a photo of the boxes before transportation (while still in the UK), and a photo of the same boxes after they arrived in the US.

Packing and sealing boxes.pdf

Edited December 10, 2019 by BBGG

[BBGG 57]

How I shipped my personal belongings from UK to US

 

Part 3.    Labeling

 

I applied the following labels to each of the boxes:

 

Label 1. Box number (my own numeration 1 through 11), large and visible, on each side of a box, 4 labels per box.

 

Label 2. “This side up”, on each side of the box, 4 such labels per box.

 

Label 3. Transglobal order information – on each side of the box, 4 such labels per box. 

• Reasoning: Transglobal works in such a way that carrier #1 (i.e. UPS) would get my boxes from my UK apartment to Transglobal’s UK warehouse, and then carrier #2 (i.e. DHL) would get them from the UK to the US, so UPS labels will be replaced with DHL ones. So in order for the boxes to not get lost in this process, I thought that would be a good idea if the boxes had an identifier that would not change in transition.

For that, I printed my own labels on the self-adhesive label sheets and had the following information:

 

------------------------------------------
TRANSGLOBAL EXPRESS
TEL.: +44-345-145-1212 (UK)
Order reference: TP-1234567

 

Shipper: JANE JOHNSON
From: Reading, United Kingdom
To: Portland, OR, USA

 

BOX 3 of 11
------------------------------------------

 

Label 4. UPS labels that Transglobal provided me with - 1 per box.

• I downloaded these labels in PDF form from my account on Transglobal website after my order was created. I just printed each label on an A4 paper, put them in transparent punch pockets (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01K27LYMS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and fixed them on boxes with duct tape. 
• But if I had a little bit more time I would use the proper self-adhesive shipping label pouches like these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Document-Enclosed-Packaging-Shipping-Envelopes/dp/B015GEDZTM/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=shipping+pouch&qid=1575691874&refinements=p_72%3A193424031&rnid=193408031&s=officeproduct&sr=1-9

 

Label 5. Customs documents. These were attached by Transglobal later at their warehouse as I did not have them ready when Transglobal picked the boxes up from me. Instead, I sent customs docs and packing lists to Transglobal team via Email, they printed the PDFs themselves and attached them to the boxes at their warehouse (see the separate “US Customs paperwork” post in this thread for details).

 

 

UPD. Label 6. "FRAGILE". I happened to have some nice large red "FRAGILE" labels supplied with empty boxes, so I applied these labels on the single box that was full of porcelain.

 

 

Looks like I'm very limited in how many documents and photos I can attach to my posts on VJ, so I uploaded the picture with labeled box here in my Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y5yf7m1ezcy2my3/Labels v01.png?dl=0

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by BBGG

[BBGG 57]

How I shipped my personal belongings from UK to US

 

Part 4.    What items CANNOT be put in the boxes

 

First of all, it’s generally recommended to never put unrecoverable personal documents or particularly valuable items in unaccompanied shipment. This is not any kind of regulation, just common sense. It may be a good idea to buy a second check-in luggage place and take your documents/valuables with you on the plane.

 

Secondly, when thinking about what to put or, more importantly, NOT to put in the boxes, need to review the two following groups of requirements:

 

Group 1. US Customs rules: Items that cannot be imported in the US

 

Group 2. Carrier rules: Items that cannot be transported by air

 

 

On the “Group 1. US Customs rules” – use this link for information:

 

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go/prohibited-and-restricted-items.

 

Points of focus – food, alcohol, weapons, art/antiques, cash over $10,000. I was not carrying any of that.

 

 

In this section I will focus on “Group 2. Carrier rules” that seemed to me a bit more ambiguous.

 

First of all, there are a few categories here: Dangerous & Hazardous, Prohibited, Restricted. I did not have time to make sense of difference between them and just took everything that was listed under any of these categories out of my boxes.

 

I used these resources to gain understanding of the list of “prohibited” items:

1. Rules published on UPS website: https://www.upstoday.com/prohibited-items
2. Transglobal website: https://www.transglobalexpress.co.uk/information/dangerous-and-hazardous/

 

My points of focus are listed below, I was a bit paranoid and just took all these items out of the boxes to avoid any questions or delays during transportation:

 

Art/antiques – I had four paintings packed in boxes, they were not at all valuable paintings, but rather something I painted myself or my friends did. But my suspicion is that if they attract attention, it may need to be proven they don’t have any significant value.

 

Batteries – I took all removable batteries out of the shipped devices where it was possible even though I was advised by Transglobal that I could leave them inside the devices as long as there are not more than two devices with batteries per box. Devices with non-removable batteries did not seem to be a problem. I also forgot to remove battery from my photo camera, but that did not cause any problems.

 

Fragrance/perfumes – all taken out of the boxes and transported in check-in luggage instead.

 

Jewellery – looks like it is only about “real” jewellery (gold, silver, platinum, precious stones, etc.), but I took all the “fake” (plastic, etc.) jewellery out of the boxes to avoid questions and put them in carry-on luggage.

 

Knives – I took a couple retractable utility knives out of the boxes, just in case, but looks like rules only mean knives that are weapons, and are also of a certain length.

 

Liquids – I took all liquids out just in case. I put most of liquids (i.e. cosmetics, jewelry cleaner) in my checked-in luggage when I traveled to the US, they did not raise any questions then.

 

Magnets – I had some fridge and office magnets, took most of them out, but forgot some in souvenir boxes, they did not raise any questions.

 

Mobile phone with battery – I had an old cell phone that had no real value, I took it out and disposed of it.

 

Money (cash) – I made sure to take out all the notes and coins from the boxes.

 

Nail polish/varnish – I had to take all nail polish out of the boxes and throw it away.

 

Oil – some my cosmetics was oil-based, I took it out and transported it in my check-in luggage.

 

Personal data – should not be a problem, but I took all hard drives with my personal information out of the boxes and carried them in check-in luggage instead.
 

[Kris & Crystal 47]

44 minutes ago, BBGG said:

Note that “personal effects” cannot arrive earlier than the owner crosses the US border, or the shipment won’t clear customs. My travel date was Nov 16, 2019, and the shipping by air via DHL would just take 1-2 work days so I had to arrange the pickup on Nov 15, 2019 to make sure the boxes do not arrive earlier than myself. At the same time, there was only me who could hand them over to the carrier, so I had to have them picked up right before I leave for the US. It was a bit of a quest. Shipping by sea takes longer so it may be easier to arrange the arrival of boxes after you get to the US yourself.

 

Mine arrived 4 days earlier than I did with no issues just had to include some paperwork, cleared customs pretty quickly, I used Send My Bag.

Edited December 10, 2019 by Kris & Crystal

[BBGG 57]

How I shipped my personal belongings from UK to US

 

Part 5.    Shipping companies quotes

 

So, I got everything packed in 11 boxes (see the separate “Packing materials", “Packing and sealing boxes”, "Labeling", and "What CANNOT be put in the boxes" posts above in this thread).

 

Dimensions of the boxes:

• 7 boxes - 53 x 53 x 41.5 cm each
• 4 boxes - 55 x 36 x 36 cm each

Total weight: 215 kg

(general rule for air transportation is that weight of each box cannot exceed 30 kg)

 

All quotes were for shipping 11 boxes “door-to-door” from my UK apartment to my new US address.

 

Transglobal Express – THE WINNER!
https://www.transglobalexpress.co.uk/
Quote price: £ 749.16 
(incl. customs clearance and insurance with £2500 cover or so)

 

Transglobal had excellent Trustpilot reviews, answered all my questions about prohibited items and customs clearance, and were generally friendly, reassuring, responsive, and helpful.

In the end, when the boxes were delivered to my US address, I did not pay a penny more than the quoted price above.

Just to compare, I also requested quotes on this site: reallymoving.com and it sent my request to the four below companies, all of them provided me with quotes:

 

Universal Removals Ltd
https://www.universalremovals.com
Quote price: £ 898.80
Comment: This company was good, they were my second choice after Transglobal due to competitive cost, excellent Trustpilot review and their confident answers to my “customs clearance” questions.

 

Earth Relocation Inc
http://www.earthrelocation.com
Quote price: £ 2,771.50
Comment: Rejected mainly due to high cost, but also due to a bit slower replies (1-2 days instead of the same day).

 

Seven Seas Worldwide Baggage
https://www.sevenseasworldwide.com/
Quote price: £ 1,670.18
Comment: Rejected due to high cost and not-so-confident answers to my questions about prohibited items and customs clearance.

 

Relo UK - The Moving Company
https://relouk.com/
Quote price: £1,205.00
Comment: Rejected due to higher cost and a bit slower replies (1-2 days instead of the same day).

 

 

For the exact shipping process with Transglobal please see a separate "Shipping process step by step" post further in this thread.

 

[BBGG 57]

How I shipped my personal belongings from UK to US

 

Part 6.    Insurance

 

My timing was tight, so I did not go deep into researching insurance options, and I went with Transglobal “standard” insurance that covered something like £2500. It was already included in my quote described above.

 

I already knew that the contents of my boxes were worth approximately £16K, but most shipping companies don’t insure more than £1000-2000, and even for that, as I was told, you would need to provide recipes or proves of cost of the lost/damaged items which I of course did not have as the items were old and used.

 

There is an option to get insurance from a 3rd company that specializes on that. The shipping company you are talking to may direct you to them, or you may choose your own.

 

To make up for the lack of insurance, I made sure that all fragile items are packed deep inside the boxes and padded well, and I also made my peace with the fact something may get lost. I also carried the most important items (i.e. unrecoverable documents) in my carry-on luggage.

 

[BBGG 57]

How I shipped my personal belongings from UK to US

 

Part 7.    US customs paperwork

 

List of documents I prepared for my shipment:

 

Ready at the time of pick up in the UK:

 

1.    Packing lists
2.    CPB form 3299 (C-3299) Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles
3.    Supplemental Declaration for Unaccompanied Personal and Household Effects
4.    US power of Attorney for the carrier
5.    US passport – photo page copy
6.    K1 visa copy

 

Added after I entered the US, but the shipment was still on the way:

 

7.    I-94 “Arrival/Departure Record” 

 

I sent documents #1-6 in PDF form to Transglobal, and unfortunately, I don’t remember which of them exactly they actually printed out and attached to the boxes.

 

When the shipment crossed the US border and got to the customs, I got a call from the actual carrier that Transglobal hired (in my case, DHL) that requested PDFs of these documents again. Looks like for some reason they did not get the copies from Transglobal. This time I sent the extended package with documents #1-7 (including I-94 as I already entered the US) to DHL in PDF form via email.

Additional comments on preparing the above docs:

 

Document 1. Packing lists

 

There must be a separate packing list for each box. I had 11 separate packing lists numbered in accordance with my own numeration and the stickers I’ve put on the boxes from the start.

 

Transglobal has good blank packing list example in Excel on their website. Go to this link: https://www.transglobalexpress.co.uk/information/documentation/ and look for “Packing List (Excel)”.

 

A piece of advice is to keep the packing list “general”, i.e. if you have a pair of high-heeled shoes, a pair of sneakers, and a pair of flats in one box, you can write “Shoes, 3 pairs” to indicate all of them at once.

 

See “Document 1 – PackingList.pdf” in Dropbox folder at the end of this post as an example of my packing list for box #3 of 11.

 

Document 2. CPB form 3299 (C-3299) Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles
Document 3. Supplemental Declaration for Unaccompanied Personal and Household Effects
Document 4. US power of Attorney for the carrier

 

Documents blanks 2, 3, and 4 and useful instructions from Transglobal can be downloaded at this link: https://www.transglobalexpress.co.uk/information/documentation/, scroll down and look for “Instructions for completing the US Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles” PDF.

 

See “Documents 2 3 4 - US Customs paperwork.pdf” in Dropbox folder at the end of this post as an example how I filled out these three documents.

 

• Document 2. CPB form 3299 (C-3299) Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles

Need one for the entire shipment, regardless of the number of boxes in the shipment.

 

Attention to:

• Part II. 9. Field “C. RESIDENCY STATUS UPON MY/OUR ARRIVAL” – I checked “a. Emigrating to the U.S.” based on recommendations for K1 visa holders here on VJ and some research on the Internet.
• Part II. 10 “STATEMENT(S) OF ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE ENTFY OF ARTICLES” – I picked “A. (1) All household effects acquired abroad…” and “C. (1) All household effects acquired abroad…”. I left option in “B.” section unchecked.
• Part IV. “B. For residents and Non-Residents ONLY” – I checked “(8) Foreign household effects acquired abroad and used more than one year”. I left options “A. (1)-(6)” and “C. (9)-(11)” unchecked.
• Also in Part IV. “B. For residents and Non-Residents ONLY” – I left table in section “D. LIST OF ARTICLES” completely blank as Transglobal instructions stated I only need to list items that have been in my possession less than one year.
• Part VI. 1 “CERTIFICATION…” – I checked “B. Importer”

 

• Document 3. Supplemental Declaration for Unaccompanied Personal and Household Effects

Need one for the entire shipment, regardless of the number of boxes in the shipment.

 

Attention to:

• Field 6 “RESIDENT ALIEN NO.” – You can find this number in your K1 visa sticker in “Annotation” section. It will probably start with letter “A”, then space, then 9 numbers (like, A 123456789)
• Field 9 “REASON FOR MOVING” – I wrote “Relocation to the U.S.”
• Fields 10-13 “EMPLOYER…” – I was moving on K1 visa and could not be legally employed in the US, so I specified “N/A” in all these fields.
• Field 14 “NAME AND TEL. NO. OF COMMPANY OFFICIAL” – I specified name and telephone number of my fiancé, and also wrote “FIANCÉ, U.S. CITIZEN”.
• Fields 15 & 16 – left blank as per Transglobal’s recommendation
• Field 17 – as per Transglobal’s recommendation, I circled option “B. Importer”

 

• Document 4. US power of Attorney for the carrier

Need one for the entire shipment, regardless of the number of boxes in the shipment.

 

Looks like, if there are some complications at the customs, you empower the carrier to act on your behalf and provide additional documents and details on the shipment to help it clear the customs.

 

This document did not make sense to me as I could not complete it without a notary, but I still filled it out as much as I could and sent it to Transglobal. I only filled out my name, address, put my signature and date. However, the carrier’s name and the “NOTARY” section was left blank. I’m almost sure the carrier would not be able to make use of this Power of Attorney, but we did not run into problems at the customs, so this document was never needed.

 

 

Document 5. US passport – photo page copy
Document 6. K1 visa copy

 

This is pretty obvious, just send clear photocopies of these two documents, no certification needed.

 

 

Document 7. I-94 “Arrival/Departure Record” 

 

Once again, remember that “personal effects” cannot arrive earlier than the owner crosses the US border, or the shipment won’t clear customs. So the U.S. customs will request confirmation in form of I-94 document that you are already on the U.S. soil.

 

 

As the number of docs/photos I can attach on VJ is very limited, I've uploaded the examples of the above documents in this Dropbox folder:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pca932f0rgtdpei/AAC7jo0Dhoz0VoLx-gDl2H8ka?dl=0

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by BBGG

[BBGG 57]

How I shipped my personal belongings from UK to US

 

Part 8.    Shipping process step by step

 

November 1-6, 2019. I packed the boxes, measured and weighed them.

 

November 7, 2019. I got the quote from Transglobal and pre-paid shipping 100% by card (£ 749.16).

 

November 7, 2019. After payment, Transglobal scheduled the pick-up date for November 11 as it was convenient for me. 

• Additional comment: I was worried that I was leaving the UK permanently on Saturday, Nov 16, and if the pickup was scheduled for Friday, Nov 15, and something went wrong, that would be hard to fix. Transglobal agreed to pick up the boxes from me on Monday, Nov 11, put them in their warehouse and only have the carrier (DHL) collect them for overseas shipping on Friday, Nov 15. Transglobal did not charge me extra for this service and this all went as planned.

November 11, 2019. Boxes were picked up from my UK apartment by carrier #1 (UPS) that took them to Transglobal’s UK warehouse. The boxes were to stay there until November 15, as described above. This delay was only because I asked for it, otherwise Transglobal would immediately ship them further to the USA.

 

November 11-14, 2019. After the pick-up I took some time to prepare the customs documents including packing lists (see the separate post “US Customs paperwork” in this thread). When they were ready, I printed, signed them in ink and scanned them, and then emailed them to Transglobal in PDF. Transglobal printed out the PDFs and attached the hard copies to my boxes that were already in their warehouse.

 

November 15, 2019. Boxes left the Transglobal’s UK warehouse - they were picked up by carrier #2 (DHL) for the overseas transportation.

 

November 16, 2019. Boxes arrived in the U.S. at 2pm, a few hours earlier than I landed.

 

November 16, 2019. I landed in the US later on the same day, around 8pm.

 

November 17, 2019. I got contacted by DHL for the customs documents (mainly C-3299 form). I sent to DHL agent the same PDF documents that I earlier sent to Transglobal (not sure why DHL did not get the copies from Transglobal directly), plus my newly obtained I-94 “Entry Record”. DHL did not reach out to me again with any corrections to the customs documents I prepared, looks like they were good for customs clearance.

• Additional comment: By the way, when booking the shipping with Transglobal, I got a comment from them that DHL generally clear customs more smoothly than, say, UPS, so if I’m worried about the customs clearance, it’s better to go with the DHL service.

November 19, 2019. Boxes were delivered to the door of my house in the US. I was not charged any extra by any of the parties in addition to the previously made payment of £ 749.16 on November 6.
 

[BBGG 57]

24 minutes ago, Kris & Crystal said:

 

Mine arrived 4 days earlier than I did with no issues, clear customs pretty quickly, I used Send My Bag.

Thanks for this comment, it's good to know. I was warned by the shipper a few times that I need to be in the US when the boxes arrive, my only guess why a shipment may sometimes arrive with no problems even if the owner has not arrived yet is that if customs see "personal belongings" in the paperwork they may not check the details too thoroughly. I see many confirmations of this here on VJ. However, being from Russia where the customs control is extremely thorough and strict, I always try to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

Edited December 10, 2019 by BBGG

[TriloByte 1,818]

I packed up most of my flat in Bristol and sent it over to Austin. Coffee cups, cushions, candle holders, cafeteires, plant pots... you name it. Stuff other people would probably throw away.

 

I just wrapped everything carefully in masses of bubblewrap and sent a series of boxes by DHL. Wasn't even expensive and not a single thing got broken.

 

IMO, it's just too traumatic to leave for a new continent with just the clothes on your back. Well, it's a traumatic thing to do, period. Even if taking familiar belongings.

 

Yes, it's exciting but there can also be a mental health toll. I love my husband but if I had my time over again I wouldn't do it.

 

Anyway, sending stuff was not a problem at all, it's dead easy. 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by TriloByte

[AJC12B 15]

Hello 

 

Do the belongings could arrive before the person who ship them?  when is the US Citizen who sent them from abroad?   Any idea? 

 

Thanks 

 

 

[Hannahl4211 42]

This was so useful- thank you!!

[RadChan 84]

Amazingly useful! Thank youuuuu!