POE: Customs declaration questions

[Bob & Joana 2]

The day is almost upon us for my wife's arrival to the US(finally!). I am trying to instruct her how to fill out the customs declaration form. Unfortunately I cannot travel with her but she will be traveling with our 6month old daughter(US passport).

Since she has a CR-1 Visa for question 7: Country of residence would she put philippines or the US(since she has not been here yet I dont know which applies in the eyes of customs).

Also for the declared amount would she put the total in Residents or visitors(she isnt a visitor, but if her residence above says philippines would they not be happy if she wrote in the resident column instead?)

And the third POE question is does she go to the US citizen/resident line at immigration or to the visitor line?

I guess im going to add a forth question now...Has anyone else picked up their spouse/fiancee from the airport arrival and been able to cross customs with any kind of special clearance to help assist with luggage? I ask because I know there is no way she'll be able to handle moving the baby stroller, 2 checked bags, 1 carry-on bag, and the infant needs bag. I tried asking delta to arrange for assistance there but they seemed uninterested in providing it. Any input on this would be awesome.

[Memphis 26]

I will be monitoring this thread, for I will also be travelling to the US soon w/ my 2yr old child-with the same number of luggage as your wife minus the stroller, we will just purchase another stroller in SFO upon our arrival, hopefully. It would be difficult for me to carry the 2 carry-on bags plus a stroller.

Would love to hear feedbacks from those w/ experiences..

[Bob & Joana 2]

I will be monitoring this thread, for I will also be travelling to the US soon w/ my 2yr old child-with the same number of luggage as your wife minus the stroller, we will just purchase another stroller in SFO upon our arrival, hopefully. It would be difficult for me to carry the 2 carry-on bags plus a stroller.

Would love to hear feedbacks from those w/ experiences..

If nothing else if nobody else posts on it I'll update you after she arrives on how it went for us. I am going to be calling the airport on monday to see if I can make an arrangement through them or if they know what can be done. Even though I know there are free carts for use...I cant imagine my wife at 95lbs being able to lift a 45lb luggage off the belt, all the while keeping an eye on the stroller and our other bags. Our POE is detroit, so im always reluctant to look away too long as things tend to walk away in that city.

[Hank_ 9,174]

The day is almost upon us for my wife's arrival to the US(finally!). I am trying to instruct her how to fill out the customs declaration form. Unfortunately I cannot travel with her but she will be traveling with our 6month old daughter(US passport).

Since she has a CR-1 Visa for question 7: Country of residence would she put philippines or the US(since she has not been here yet I dont know which applies in the eyes of customs).

Also for the declared amount would she put the total in Residents or visitors(she isnt a visitor, but if her residence above says philippines would they not be happy if she wrote in the resident column instead?)

And the third POE question is does she go to the US citizen/resident line at immigration or to the visitor line?

I guess im going to add a forth question now...Has anyone else picked up their spouse/fiancee from the airport arrival and been able to cross customs with any kind of special clearance to help assist with luggage? I ask because I know there is no way she'll be able to handle moving the baby stroller, 2 checked bags, 1 carry-on bag, and the infant needs bag. I tried asking delta to arrange for assistance there but they seemed uninterested in providing it. Any input on this would be awesome.

My wife put Philippines since she has not arrived in the USA... yet.

My wife didn't bring an money (large amount worth declaring) so nothing was put in amount. If I am not mistaken you don't have to put in an amount of money unless it is $10,000 or more which is required to be declared.

As for what line, we went through POE in Honolulu, as we walked into the room there was an agent there, we informed the agent of my wife's status and were directed to a special window. I went through there as well.

[Bob & Joana 2]

My wife put Philippines since she has not arrived in the USA... yet.

My wife didn't bring an money (large amount worth declaring) so nothing was put in amount. If I am not mistaken you don't have to put in an amount of money unless it is $10,000 or more which is required to be declared.

As for what line, we went through POE in Honolulu, as we walked into the room there was an agent there, we informed the agent of my wife's status and were directed to a special window. I went through there as well.

Alright I guess if the amount is going to be zero, it probably wouldnt matter which column she puts it in....

On a separate matter, do you know if it is better to declare a low-value item that she is bringing in bulk(25 boxes), would they eye this quantity as questionable for "personal use"? I have having her bring the Birth Control she is on, and a 2 year supply as its much cheaper there than here. I just dont want them raising an issue. Since they cost me a total of like $30 USD, Im wondering if it'd just be safer to declare it. I doubt she'd have to pay anything on a $30 declaration anyways.

Would like to hear everyone's thoughts/experiences on this

[Hank_ 9,174]

I doubt customs will give much issue to that. We brought a variety of personal use items that are hard to find here and didn't declare them as they are for personal use, I didn't declare the movies I bought when in the Phils and we brought back either... they just "our stuff" not for any other purpose.

side note- first time I flew to the Phils I brought a bunch of movies along, listed them on the declaration form, the custom agent told me to not bother listing them as they are for personal use.

[Memphis 26]

If nothing else if nobody else posts on it I'll update you after she arrives on how it went for us. I am going to be calling the airport on monday to see if I can make an arrangement through them or if they know what can be done. Even though I know there are free carts for use...I cant imagine my wife at 95lbs being able to lift a 45lb luggage off the belt, all the while keeping an eye on the stroller and our other bags. Our POE is detroit, so im always reluctant to look away too long as things tend to walk away in that city.

Great! Thanks in advance..

[Bob & Joana 2]

Great! Thanks in advance..

I checked the website for the airport and it said to check with the airline. I called Delta and they said to come early the day of the flight and to go to the ticket counter and ask there and that they MIGHT give special clearance to go wait at the gate for the arrival. I was told to bring my passport just in case(as it would require me to cross the immigration line even though im not technically leaving). Only a few days now so I'll see if they will grant me this clearance or not! They also said that since I requested assistance over the phone there MIGHT be someone to assist with the baggage, but wasnt that certain of this. Im not sure what date you are traveling but you may want to request assistance from your airline now, as a fail-safe if nothing else.

[Memphis 26]

I checked the website for the airport and it said to check with the airline. I called Delta and they said to come early the day of the flight and to go to the ticket counter and ask there and that they MIGHT give special clearance to go wait at the gate for the arrival. I was told to bring my passport just in case(as it would require me to cross the immigration line even though im not technically leaving). Only a few days now so I'll see if they will grant me this clearance or not! They also said that since I requested assistance over the phone there MIGHT be someone to assist with the baggage, but wasnt that certain of this. Im not sure what date you are traveling but you may want to request assistance from your airline now, as a fail-safe if nothing else.

Thanks for all the info. We are still at NVC stage (paid IV fee but still in process).. Maybe in 2-3 months time, my child and I will be flying hopefully soon via Philippine Airlines (Cebu-Manila-SFO). Please do keep me updated on your wife's progress. Good luck!

[Bob & Joana 2]

She has made it here without any problem. POE was easy and quick. Waiting on the assistance to get her bags through customs however took a bit longer than I would've liked! I spoke with Delta and they said its a no-go for getting the clearance for an international flight! I confirmed this at the Department of Homeland Security office they said it isnt possible to get such a clearance. My best suggestion would be to call your airline and explain your situation and that you REQUIRE the assistance at your POE. Delta was happy to accomodate, it just took a while since I think they help the handicap folks first. Waited about 80 minutes after they got to the gate before she cleared customs.

Good luck to you, hope it goes smoother for you. The guy who assists(at least for delta) is allowed to accept tips, just an FYI

[Hank_ 9,174]

Glad you two are together and all went smooth.

All the best!

[CJ8611 6]

The day is almost upon us for my wife's arrival to the US(finally!). I am trying to instruct her how to fill out the customs declaration form. Unfortunately I cannot travel with her but she will be traveling with our 6month old daughter(US passport).

Since she has a CR-1 Visa for question 7: Country of residence would she put philippines or the US(since she has not been here yet I dont know which applies in the eyes of customs).

Also for the declared amount would she put the total in Residents or visitors(she isnt a visitor, but if her residence above says philippines would they not be happy if she wrote in the resident column instead?)

And the third POE question is does she go to the US citizen/resident line at immigration or to the visitor line?

I guess im going to add a forth question now...Has anyone else picked up their spouse/fiancee from the airport arrival and been able to cross customs with any kind of special clearance to help assist with luggage? I ask because I know there is no way she'll be able to handle moving the baby stroller, 2 checked bags, 1 carry-on bag, and the infant needs bag. I tried asking delta to arrange for assistance there but they seemed uninterested in providing it. Any input on this would be awesome.

I wrote Philippines under country of residence. Left the declared amount portion blank.

At the POE, went to the visitor line as instructed, even though my husband traveled with me (so he lined up with me at the visitor line). I was thinking the both of us will be allowed to go through the Citizen/Permanent Resident line, but it was no biggie, the length of the lines were the same anyway.

Sorry, I can't answer your 4th question. But I'm pretty sure there will be people willing to help your wife. Hope all goes well!

ETA: Oops, so I failed to take note that it's already past the date of your family's arrival, lol! Glad everything went well for your wife and baby!

Edited May 23, 2013 by CJ8611

[Memphis 26]

She has made it here without any problem. POE was easy and quick. Waiting on the assistance to get her bags through customs however took a bit longer than I would've liked! I spoke with Delta and they said its a no-go for getting the clearance for an international flight! I confirmed this at the Department of Homeland Security office they said it isnt possible to get such a clearance. My best suggestion would be to call your airline and explain your situation and that you REQUIRE the assistance at your POE. Delta was happy to accomodate, it just took a while since I think they help the handicap folks first. Waited about 80 minutes after they got to the gate before she cleared customs.

Good luck to you, hope it goes smoother for you. The guy who assists(at least for delta) is allowed to accept tips, just an FYI

I'm glad that everything turned out okay..