Momof7yold

Hello everyone, 

For those who entered the U.S. through land-border crossing, I have a question: 

If I am importing the car with me, do I need to have any document other than Canadian registration, DOT form HS-7, EPA Form 3250 and customs form and FMVSS compliance letter from the manufacturer?

Also, if my car has the EPA label, do I still need to present the EPA form?

Where can I access these forms?

Do I need to fill them myself or from the dealer or any other authority?

If I have the compliance letter, do I still need to get TPMS in car? 

What are the charges and cost of importing US manufactured car?

If I choose not to import it, how can I keep the car in Washington state for up to a year? How will ICBC insurance work in this case? And will I be able to drive the car for 1 year with canadian license? 

I know these topics have been discussed in detail, but I would appreciate if someone clarifies these. Thanks!

On 3/10/2021 at 10:31 AM, mam521 said:

Nope.  No signature.  

 

Get the USPS app and sign up for informed delivery.  It will show up on the app and then you'll know when to expect it.  Easier than logging into CEAC and seeing if they sent it.  

Did you have your name on the mail slot?

On 3/10/2021 at 11:16 AM, legendqueue said:

As HawkRiders said, check the FAQ for general answers on most of this. I'll give a cautionary tale based on my experience. You will want to check for the required compliance marks on your car (again, FAQ) and will probably need to get a Letter of Compliance from the manufacturer if the car meets Canadian safety standards. If the mark on the inside of the door mentions CMVSS but not FMVSS, it meets Canadian but not American safety standards. This is almost always due to TPMS which is installed by law on American cars since 2007 (ish) but is not a standard thing on Canadian cars. 

 

TPMS is where most peoples' issue lies. If you search for info online about this, you'll find plenty of people saying that CBP chose not to enforce the TPMS requirement and allowed the import, but this seems to be random and completely up to the CBP office. Peace Arch would not let me import my 2014 Camry without TPMS. I also got bad advice from a CBP officer on the phone who said any aftermarket TPMS would suffice -- I slapped on a cheap and cheerful Amazon TPMS based on this call and while the unit works great it also resulted in a frustrating 90 minute visit to Peace Arch secondary before being told I couldn't import it without a dealer-installed OEM TPMS. Luckily I was able to bring the car in *at all* because The Rules state that the one year grace period for importing a car only applies to temporary residents and at when I made my Peace Arch visit I had already been a permanent resident for 2 weeks, so they could have just told me to take my unimportable car back to Canada and that would be... very bad.

 

I called both Toyota USA and Toyota Canada and they cannot or will not install TPMS on this model of Camry. I checked the instrument panel and it doesn't even have a TPMS light, so it's also unlikely it has the harness or any other stuff required.  

 

In any case I'm 10 miles on the US side of the border with an unimportable car on which the Canadian insurance will no longer be valid in just over a week since Washington law says you have 30 days to register the car you brought in when you move, and ICBC says you have to confirm to the laws of the state you're in to have the policy remain active. I also have no idea how I can insure the car here since I can't get tags for it (register it) since it's not imported. And I can't just sell it in Canada because of what I feel are pretty obvious reasons lol. Basically I'm going to have to wait for the border to reopen or for quarantine requirements to be lifted, and presumably there's going to be some sort of vaccination requirement tied in there so I have to wait for that too, then figure out some sort of temporary insurance, then return to Canada and sell the vehicle.

 

If anyone has experience with or has a great idea about this kind of situation I'd love to hear it, but I think I'm kinda screwed haha. But I'm down here with my family so really this is just another thing to roll my eyes about in this process!

 

Oh man I'm so sorry this is so long, everyone.

 

TLDR: *as far as possible before your POE date*, check for emission and safety standards markings, if you don't have FMVSS certification get the letter of compliance from Toyota Canada, if your car is missing TPMS either sell it or see if Toyota can install it.  Or find the magical CBP office that will allow import without TPMS, but even then I'd be worried that a potential future insurance claim might get denied on the basis that the car wasn't FMVSS compliant.

 

Thank you soo much for the detailed reply! You have cleared up a lot of questions in my mind. Importing seems like a lot of hassle! I don't believe my 2010 Toyota Camry would have FMVSS if your 2014 model didn't have it. I hope I am able to sell it off before my departure on 20th. I have listed in on Marketplace, Autotrader & kijiji. Any other suggestions?

Hello, 

I have been a silent member but got immense help from this group. Thanks to everyone here for sharing their experiences! I had my interview on Feb 24 and received passport on March 7th in Vancouver. We plan to move to Seattle around March 20th. Have a few questions:

1) Is there a negative COVID test required at land border crossing?

2) What forms and documents are needed at POE for customs? 

3) I have a 2010 Toyota Camry (have not been able to sell it off), so looking for options to take it with me. How can I take the car with me without importing it at the moment? How will insurance and licensing work in Washington state during the one year before registration?

For the other option, if I import it, what are the documents that I need to have to present at POE? What are the next steps to do in Washington to register the car? Looking for firsthand experiences. Thanks! 

Hello, 

My interview was on 24th Feb 2021 at US Consulate Montreal. I was approved (given the white 'welcome to United States' letter) and my application status changed to "Issued" the same day (at CEAC website). However, the details under this status state that the visa will be issued after necessary administrative processing which may take several weeks. I was not told at the time of the interview that more documents are required or anything about administrative processing. I am confused now whether it is the normal procedure. Did anybody experience the same thing? What was the final status at CEAC before your passport was delivered? Does it remains "Issued" or changes to something else? I have opted for premium delivery and have not received any delivery notification. 

Can the interviewer at US Consulate Montreal access the USC (petitioner) travel history (by land border) to Canada? The petitioner works in U.S., has a valid U.S. driver's license, car insurance & registration, health insurance and phone contract. He visited me (beneficiary) for some (extended) time last year after I had an accident to take care of our son. Is it going to affect his domicile (considering Montreal is v strict on domicile)?