Moving fiance's personal belongings to the States

[BlissfulNW 0]

Hello all,

We will be moving my fiance's personal belongings from Canada to the US once our K-1 visa is approved. I plan to rent a U-Haul type truck, pack everything, and drive through Customs in Blaine Washington sometime in the next 6 weeks. I know to pack everything in such a way as to minimize inspection efforts, but am having trouble locating information on how long this process might take once we arrive at Customs.

A few questions:

Is it possible to make an inspection appointment?

Should we bring another vehicle with us in case the inspection doesn't occur soon?

What is the standard process?

How long does it take on average?

Are there costs involved?

We have furniture and personal property from a one-bedroom apartment so there isn't really all that much stuff to be checked. I'd really appreciate hearing anyone's experience with this task, especially pointers and other tips.

Thank you all (again),

Steve and Christine

[melusine 5]

not possible in the next 6 weeks (or i would be freakin surprised).

You need to have your k1 visa in hand first.

would be great if u could fill up ur timeline

uhaul or penske if you drive on your own

upack if they do the driving (in my case upack is almost the same price as uhaul (less the gas and the driving) from montreal to los angeles.

check both possibilities !

You will need to make a list with what u bring

5 x box of clothes

2 x box for bathroom products etc

not too much in details.

and fill a form but i don't know all details.

i guess you will activate the visa at the border at the same time ?

Edited April 29, 2008 by melusine

[*JG* 2]

You guys are so lucky that you can just drive it over the border.

[Gaby&Talbert 1]

why not have a garage sale and just bring personal stuff? Compare the costs of transporting, etc and is it worth bringing all the big stuff?

[BlissfulNW 0]

not possible in the next 6 weeks (or i would be freakin surprised).

You need to have your k1 visa in hand first.

would be great if u could fill up ur timeline

uhaul or penske if you drive on your own

upack if they do the driving (in my case upack is almost the same price as uhaul (less the gas and the driving) from montreal to los angeles.

check both possibilities !

You will need to make a list with what u bring

5 x box of clothes

2 x box for bathroom products etc

not too much in details.

and fill a form but i don't know all details.

i guess you will activate the visa at the border at the same time ?

Thanks for your suggestions. My timeline is up to date - we've just sent off the completed checklist to the consulate, hoping for an interview date in late May or early June. Making the list of belongings is the easy part - I'm most concerned about time required to go through and such. If we arrive early in the day are the chances good that we'll be finished before nightfall? I always see so many people walking around the Peace Arch Park while I'm in my car waiting to pass through; maybe they're waiting for their inspection. Whatever the case, I know that I'm happier with more information, so any thoughts or experience is most welcome.

We will activate the K-1 visa on arrival at Customs.

Thanks!

[BlissfulNW 0]

You guys are so lucky that you can just drive it over the border.

No kidding we're fortunate. I can drive across the border to visit pretty much whenever I can get away, which is about every 2 weeks, and the move itseld should be easy; at least, the driving part will be. I just want to know as much as possible about the inspection process before we arrive.

It must be really tough to be separated by long distances while going through this process. I sympathize.

sa

[Kathryn41 3,205]

One thing to check out first - make sure the vehicle you rent is allowed to go across border - and if so, that you can do a one way trip or if you need to return it if you rent it in Canada. Once you cross the border and activate your K-1 you will not be able to come back into Canada until you receive either your Advance Parole (AP) or your green card - a minimum of about 3 months if you get married immediately and apply right away for your AOS. My then fiance rented the van in the States, drove across the border, collected me, the cats and the belongings coming with me immediately, re-crossed the border and we then we returned it after a one way trip to a different US location. We couldn't find a Canadian rental that would allow us to do a drop off in the US.

Regarding crossing the border, there is a lot of information on the US Customs webpage about what you need to fill out to give you an idea of what they want. You need to list what you have with you but you don't have to itemize except for things like electronics, for which you should record the model and serial numbers and things like that. If you have receipts for them, keep those available to prove that they are more than a year old. You are allowed to bring in your personal belongings duty free as long as they are a year old. They are not, however, likely to check unless there is something really unreasonable.

Now, most of us who have activated our K-1s at the border while bringing our personal belongings with us had no problems - no inspections, no real looking at the lists involved, etc. When you arrive at the border - you will tell them you wish to activate a K-1 visa and you will be sent to secondary inspection. You will probably be told to leave the vehicle unlocked and the keys in it while you go inside. If they inspect, it will be at that time. You will hand over your envelope (you will receive it from the Consulate when you get the visa), your passport with the Visa and there is a small fee - I think it is $6 or $7. Immigration will open your envelope and inspect your documents. You - or the immigration official - will fill out the I-94, then immigration will staple it in your passport, stamp your passport and write the date by which you need to be married on the I-94 and your passport (90 days). Generally, that is it. Depending on how long a line up there is for immigration you could be anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours. The process itself only takes about 15 to 20 minutes so the delay would be waiting for others to be processed.

Make sure you have things listed and identified by box - it is highly unlikely they will do a box by box search - but if they wish, they will look at your list. If you do have anything dutiable have it quickly accessible so you can show it to them if they ask (they didn't ask me).

Hope this helps. Good luck on your move.

[Beth/ Paris Heart 2]

Hello all,

We will be moving my fiance's personal belongings from Canada to the US once our K-1 visa is approved. I plan to rent a U-Haul type truck, pack everything, and drive through Customs in Blaine Washington sometime in the next 6 weeks. I know to pack everything in such a way as to minimize inspection efforts, but am having trouble locating information on how long this process might take once we arrive at Customs.

A few questions:

Is it possible to make an inspection appointment?

Should we bring another vehicle with us in case the inspection doesn't occur soon?

What is the standard process?

How long does it take on average?

Are there costs involved?

We have furniture and personal property from a one-bedroom apartment so there isn't really all that much stuff to be checked. I'd really appreciate hearing anyone's experience with this task, especially pointers and other tips.

Thank you all (again),

Steve and Christine

Hi and first of all things will be fine. I'm a Customs broker in Houston, I clear goods thru customs. everyday for the past 15 years.

Do yourself a favor, make a inventory of your goods, clean, neat copy. Notebook paper will work fine.

Put your name and previous address and new address on the inventory.

Have any food products packed in same carton.

Mark inventory Box 1 shoes, purses, and wallets.

Box2 clothes

Box 3 Office suplies, papers, etc.

BOx 4 Bathroom supplies, soap, tissue paper. etc.

Once they see this organized inventory, you will be waved thru with no problems.

Make sure you have your I.D. on hand at easy reach, and traveling paperwork. Also if you lease a U-Haul keep lease agreement with you at all times!!

One suggestion, do not take things such as Drano, window cleaners, fantastic or even laundry detergent.

Good luck and I wish you the best life has to offer.

Paris Heart

[BlissfulNW 0]

One thing to check out first - make sure the vehicle you rent is allowed to go across border - and if so, that you can do a one way trip or if you need to return it if you rent it in Canada. Once you cross the border and activate your K-1 you will not be able to come back into Canada until you receive either your Advance Parole (AP) or your green card - a minimum of about 3 months if you get married immediately and apply right away for your AOS. My then fiance rented the van in the States, drove across the border, collected me, the cats and the belongings coming with me immediately, re-crossed the border and we then we returned it after a one way trip to a different US location. We couldn't find a Canadian rental that would allow us to do a drop off in the US.

Regarding crossing the border, there is a lot of information on the US Customs webpage about what you need to fill out to give you an idea of what they want. You need to list what you have with you but you don't have to itemize except for things like electronics, for which you should record the model and serial numbers and things like that. If you have receipts for them, keep those available to prove that they are more than a year old. You are allowed to bring in your personal belongings duty free as long as they are a year old. They are not, however, likely to check unless there is something really unreasonable.

Now, most of us who have activated our K-1s at the border while bringing our personal belongings with us had no problems - no inspections, no real looking at the lists involved, etc. When you arrive at the border - you will tell them you wish to activate a K-1 visa and you will be sent to secondary inspection. You will probably be told to leave the vehicle unlocked and the keys in it while you go inside. If they inspect, it will be at that time. You will hand over your envelope (you will receive it from the Consulate when you get the visa), your passport with the Visa and there is a small fee - I think it is $6 or $7. Immigration will open your envelope and inspect your documents. You - or the immigration official - will fill out the I-94, then immigration will staple it in your passport, stamp your passport and write the date by which you need to be married on the I-94 and your passport (90 days). Generally, that is it. Depending on how long a line up there is for immigration you could be anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours. The process itself only takes about 15 to 20 minutes so the delay would be waiting for others to be processed.

Make sure you have things listed and identified by box - it is highly unlikely they will do a box by box search - but if they wish, they will look at your list. If you do have anything dutiable have it quickly accessible so you can show it to them if they ask (they didn't ask me).

Hope this helps. Good luck on your move.

Thank you so much for the information - you've been a terrific help. I'm sure all will be fine as we pass through Customs, and am even more sure after reading your post. Thank you again.

[BlissfulNW 0]

Hi and first of all things will be fine. I'm a Customs broker in Houston, I clear goods thru customs. everyday for the past 15 years.

Do yourself a favor, make a inventory of your goods, clean, neat copy. Notebook paper will work fine.

Put your name and previous address and new address on the inventory.

Have any food products packed in same carton.

Mark inventory Box 1 shoes, purses, and wallets.

Box2 clothes

Box 3 Office suplies, papers, etc.

BOx 4 Bathroom supplies, soap, tissue paper. etc.

Once they see this organized inventory, you will be waved thru with no problems.

Make sure you have your I.D. on hand at easy reach, and traveling paperwork. Also if you lease a U-Haul keep lease agreement with you at all times!!

One suggestion, do not take things such as Drano, window cleaners, fantastic or even laundry detergent.

Good luck and I wish you the best life has to offer.

Paris Heart

Thank you so much! Sometimes I can think about things more than necessary - your reply brought me back in balance. I'll make aure we leave the nasty cleaning supplies behind

I grew up in Austin but am happier here in the Pacific Northwest. How's the weather in Houston - getting warm? I know, silly question.