POE Question

[redmen99 1]

I know this has been addressed before, I just can't find it and hope someone will have an answer or direct me to where it was answered before.

My hubby is getting antsy and wants to get to the states ASAP. So once his envelope from Montreal comes in (hopefully tomorrow) we'll be heading home. We are waiting for his letter from Mazda to come in and he is thinking of only moving what he really needs right now and coming back up to get the rest in a month or so and import his car then.

My question is, is there anything special that we need to do at POE like do we have to say that he has more stuff with a list of his things and will be importing his car shortly? Or do we not say anything and when we need to import his car we just say it when we are ready to import it?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Just say that you are activating the CR-1 visa but you still have belongings in Canada which you will be coming back to get in a month or so and will be importing the car at that time. Make sure your husband's insurance covers his car while he is in the States until he is able to import and register it officially.

[redmen99 1]

Just say that you are activating the CR-1 visa but you still have belongings in Canada which you will be coming back to get in a month or so and will be importing the car at that time. Make sure your husband's insurance covers his car while he is in the States until he is able to import and register it officially.

Thank you Kathryn. I thought as much. Two more questions.. When importing the car, does it have to be at the border? He is thinking of maybe flying up and renting a truck and driving his things home and importing his car at the same time. And he can still get his US license right, or should he wait until his car is properly imported? I can't see why he'd have to wait, but I know that is his next question to me.

[mike777 0]

Red, in all honesty, shouldn't matter. As soon as that CR1 is activated, they "shouldn't" care if you came to the US and said you wanted to join the circus. As far as they are concerned, he has that permanent residency, so he should be free to come and go as he pleases, as long as he doesn't stay out of the US longer than 6 months I think it is??? Which you guys obviously won't need to be afraid of...

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Thank you Kathryn. I thought as much. Two more questions.. When importing the car, does it have to be at the border? He is thinking of maybe flying up and renting a truck and driving his things home and importing his car at the same time. And he can still get his US license right, or should he wait until his car is properly imported? I can't see why he'd have to wait, but I know that is his next question to me.

I believe you can import the vehicle at any official POE but you may wish to contact the one in your area that you are considering using and verifying that with them. Here is a list of the different POE for the US and their contact information: http://www.customs.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/ports/ . It would make sense to fly up and rent a truck to bring things home and he can certainly do that. He does need to make sure that the rental agency will allow him to do a cross-border one way trip - and there will be an additional charge for doing so. Many don't allow it so it may require some shopping around.

He should check the Driver's and car registration requirements for your state. I believe it would be in his best interest to get his Driver's License first and that will probably help with the registration of the car when it is officially imported. These things vary by State, however, so what works in one State may not work in another.

[biglos 0]

No worries, I left my car and other things in BC as well just to finally cross...going back to cross with my car in a month and more junk...just make sure you bring your compliance letter for your car and a general inventory list of stuff bringing over.