Flying to the US with ALL worldly possessions... Customs?

[TAB2TAB 52]

My fiance makes his K1 visa POE (Atlanta) to the US on Tuesday of next week - hooray!

From reading the VJ boards, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect for him to get through the immigration portion of POE. What I haven't been able to find on the forum is how long it takes to get through customs, particularly, since he will be flying with everything he is bringing to the US: a total of 1 large suitcase, 1 small carry-on suitcase, 4 large (moving-size) boxes, and a picture frame moving box with two framed photos.

From what I've read, I'm under the impression he won't have anything to declare at Customs (he's mostly bringing clothes, a few books, some DVDs, a desktop computer base unit, some paperwork, and some small personal items; all items are of low/ordinary value and several years old or more. Can anyone confirm whether or not he would need to declare anything? Likewise, should he proceed through the "nothing to declare" line or not? Based on the quantity of stuff he's bringing, should he expect a significant delay getting through customs (i.e. wanting to open all his boxes), or is it more likely they'll wave him through?

Thanks for any insights you all may have, particularly anyone who has had the experience of bringing a large quantity of personal possessions with them on their visa/POE plane trip.

Best to all on your visa journeys!

Rob and Adrian

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

We don't have a "nothing to declare" line like in Europe. You fill out your customs form and get it checked by the customs agent. Then they figure out if you need to pay anything.

As far as I know, personal effects do not need to be declared nor are they taxed. You can look over the US customs form here: http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/sample-declaration-form

[M&G 6]

I didn't bring any boxes but I flew from Brazil with 3 huge suitcases, a small carry on suitcase and a rather large handbag. You need to declare on the customs form if you have food, seeds, etc, and if you're bringing more than $10k. No one asked to check my bags but when I was being interview by the customs officer he did ask me again how much money I had and mentioned the $10k limit.

Oh the people who work at the Atlanta airport even helped me with my suitcases

Good luck to you two!

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I called the customs supervisor at Houston and asked a few questions like do you need an itemized list or anything? Does it matter If my luggage allotment actually belongs to my fiancé? We had six bags, mostly his stuff. Anyway he said fill out the customs form saying Household Goods, no list, no values. If he buys anything duty free or brings gifts or bunches of British tea (like we did), then that should be listed with a value because that's not considered "household goods". Anyway... different airport, but our experience, if it helps. Getting your items searched is random so you never know if you will be picked.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Nich-Nick

[TAB2TAB 52]

Good advice, thanks all!

[Girl from Celebes 588]

My fiance makes his K1 visa POE (Atlanta) to the US on Tuesday of next week - hooray!

From reading the VJ boards, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect for him to get through the immigration portion of POE. What I haven't been able to find on the forum is how long it takes to get through customs, particularly, since he will be flying with everything he is bringing to the US: a total of 1 large suitcase, 1 small carry-on suitcase, 4 large (moving-size) boxes, and a picture frame moving box with two framed photos.

From what I've read, I'm under the impression he won't have anything to declare at Customs (he's mostly bringing clothes, a few books, some DVDs, a desktop computer base unit, some paperwork, and some small personal items; all items are of low/ordinary value and several years old or more. Can anyone confirm whether or not he would need to declare anything? Likewise, should he proceed through the "nothing to declare" line or not? Based on the quantity of stuff he's bringing, should he expect a significant delay getting through customs (i.e. wanting to open all his boxes), or is it more likely they'll wave him through?

Thanks for any insights you all may have, particularly anyone who has had the experience of bringing a large quantity of personal possessions with them on their visa/POE plane trip.

Best to all on your visa journeys!

Rob and Adrian

I brought 7 large boxes, 2 large suitcase, 2 small ones, 2 cats, and 2 large picture frames. My fiancé and I filled out separate declare forms. When we went through of custom lines at Detroit International Airport- officers there were

very nice and friendly- it was easy breezy.

One of them asked if I brought these things that's not allowed to like meat products or such things which we did not. They scanned our possessions and did not find anything. One of passengers at that time they had to open her boxes when they found some products are not allowed to bring in the US.

They were very fast processed all our belongings to make sure we did not missed out our connecting flights. My advise is, do not bring those things are not allowed because it would take time for you and them to deal with it.