Bringing Money into the US

[TurkeyUSA 0]

Hello, I am hoping someone can help me with a question I have. My fiance just received his visa in Turkey on Monday and he is moving here on Friday. I am wondering what is the best way to bring his money into the US without having to pay fees. I know everytime I fill out a customs form it asks if I am carrying monetary instruments of over $10,000. He would be bringing more than that. I don't know if travelers checks would be the easiest way or what. His bank account is already in US currency. Any quick help is appreciated. Banks in Turkey are closed today and tomorrow is his last day to do it before he moves here. Thanks in advance!

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

They only ask that to have a record of large sums of cash coming into the US from a foreign country. It's about security. They don't tax it or charge customs duty.

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

We3 just did a bank transfer from our Irish joint account to the USC's US account. No charges on the US side, and only a small (10 euro, I think) charge from the Irish bank, but that may depend on the bank.

[NY_IZMIR 1]

If his bank account is Dollar based, he could withdraw from an ATM here in USD without penalties. At least that was the case when my wife first came here and had a dollar based account with citibank, she was able to withdraw from citibank ATMs without any issues.

I personally would not carry a large sum like that, the last thing he needs to worry about at POE is fear that he might be searched and end up having to explain why he's carrying so much cash.

I would also recommend wire transfers. Citibank also has Citi Global Transfer, where you can instantly send money for a pretty small fee from one Citibank account, to another overseas (and vice versa)