Customs

[mrsaright 0]

Hi,

We got news that our interview will be scheduled for next month, so we are trying to get all these little questions answered so that we can organize ourselves.

My husband is Brasilian and he works as a mechanic. He has automobile diagnostic equipment that comes to a grand total of about $7,000-$9,000 USD (minus his $10,000 laptop) which he bought in Brasil. Anyway, we are wondering if he will have to pay tax on these items he wants to bring with him when we move to the U.S. Of course, he would like to be able to use them for work, so would they be considered items for "commercial use"?

He also has two laptops, both of them are very expensive, but we could claim them under "items for personal use". I just don't know about the other equipment. Any advice? or is there somewhere we can check on the internet to find out what is allowed if bringing items related to your occupation?

Oh, I don't know if this makes a difference, but he doesn't have a job offer--we're going over on a marriage-based visa.

[Nadja&Holland 0]

First of all, it will cost a FORTUNE to ship this stuff to the US. Second, the voltage which powers his equipment may not even be compatible here and could cost another small fortune to have it converted. Third, the fuel efficiency, power, octane level etc is much different on cars here than in Brasil. Same for exhaust emmissions standards, so even if he brought it all here and had it reworked to operate on our electricity, it probably wouldnt help him with automobiles in the US. My advise would be to sell all of it in Brasil for as much as he can and use the money to buy new stuff here. More than likely he can buy it all here cheaper anyway. He will probably need some classes as well to learn about the differences in our testing equipment and applications. Some tech jobs offer ongoing training as standard perk because the auto engine technology changes so fast even in just a few years.

hope this helps

hks in fwtx

Hi,

We got news that our interview will be scheduled for next month, so we are trying to get all these little questions answered so that we can organize ourselves.

My husband is Brasilian and he works as a mechanic. He has automobile diagnostic equipment that comes to a grand total of about $7,000-$9,000 USD (minus his $10,000 laptop) which he bought in Brasil. Anyway, we are wondering if he will have to pay tax on these items he wants to bring with him when we move to the U.S. Of course, he would like to be able to use them for work, so would they be considered items for "commercial use"?

He also has two laptops, both of them are very expensive, but we could claim them under "items for personal use". I just don't know about the other equipment. Any advice? or is there somewhere we can check on the internet to find out what is allowed if bringing items related to your occupation?

Oh, I don't know if this makes a difference, but he doesn't have a job offer--we're going over on a marriage-based visa.