K1 moving to Canada with vehicle

[StephanieC 43]

I've been having a hard time getting a clear answer for this. My fiance and I will drive into the states for his POE on his K1 visa. He will have his vehicle packed with all the things he is moving with. Is there anything we need to do to prepare for bringing his vehicle across the border?

Thanks.

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

my step daughter moved into Canada to marry

We followed with a full tralor of her furniture / crossed at the border in Nigara/ not the easiest to cross with trailor

you may be searched but if all is on the up and up/ no problem

we came back thru with an empty trailor

[aaron2020 11,651]

Is there a loan on the car?

[StephanieC 43]

No loan. He bought it outright in 2007. I read something about EPA compliance letters...

[neoblast 138]

Yes. You need an EPA emission compliance letter from the manufacturer of your car, unless it already has a US EPA compliant tag at the door or under the hood.

[StephanieC 43]

The Canadian Hyundai manufacturer provided a Canadian compliance letter but said they do not issue US letters. Likewise the US Hyundai manufacturer said they don't issue compliance letters for foreign vehicles. So we have no idea what to do now. Will he not be allowed to cross with his K1 by vehicle?

[bloopygirl 20]

You can cross over and tell them you're going to import it later on. That's what I'm going to do, to simplify the moving process. (I think you can wait a year)

I've heard that when you import it, you also need a letter from your financier stating that you paid it off, but not sure.

Maybe this old thread will help you:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/361932-help-car-import-from-canada-to-us/

[beccajayne93 17]

Welcome to the issues of Hyundais... I am having the same problem with my 2013 Hyundai Elantra and I have done A LOT of research.

A typical import for a car requires the manufacturer's letter that states it is compliant with US safety standards (specifically FMVSS) or the sticker on the car that also says it is compliant with FMVSS (this is relevant to the DOT form you would fill out at the border or when you import your car). You also need it to be emissions compliant, which (I know mine does) you should have a sticker under the hood of your car saying US EPA - no adjustments needed (which is relevant to the EPA form when you import). On pretty much any other make of car, this is all you need and you're good to go!

HOWEVER Hyundais from Canada are a different story. Any car that cannot get a compliance letter issued needs to import their car using a registered importer (RI) which costs money. However, the issue I am having with my Elantra is that, in order for an RI to make the car compliant, a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) must be installed by the original manufacturer (Hyundai). This is because the US states that every car manufactured after Sept. 1 2007 must be installed with OEM TPMS. Here's the stickler - HYUNDAI CARS BUILT FOR CANADA CANNOT HAVE THIS INSTALLED AND IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO and so every importer has told me I simply cannot bring my car across.

Depending on the year of your car, you may not need to have this done... I'm not sure what is required from cars manufactured before Sept. 1 2007. You will however have to go through a registered importer due to being unable to retrieve the compliance letter (but get the one from Hyundai Canada anyways because it will give you information about any previous recalls).

Click on this link http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/and click on List of Nonconforming Vehicles Eligible for Importation and give that a read. Find out which section your car is applicable to and find out if it can be made compliant. The same link provides the RI's available - it would probably be helpful to you as well if you gave one of them a call and asked how to proceed.

Since importers cost a lot of money, I would maybe consider the options of selling the Hyundai here and buying another car down there - I would do that if I owned my car outright, but I don't and I owe a considerable amount. Since there is NO possible way for MY car to be imported, I am considering trading it in for a car whose manufacturer will actually issue me a US compliance letter.

Like someone said, you have a year to import your car once you cross if you don't want to deal with this right now! I had a thread about this a couple months ago where someone crossed without issue - here's the link: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/544285-thinking-ahead-about-my-car/

I thought everything was fine until I double checked with the border and they said that the Canadian compliance letter would not be sufficient, so I think that the person who posted in my topic was lucky

I hope I helped somehow... it really is an unfortunate circumstance for all of us who have Hyundais

And to shortly answer your previous question, you CAN cross with the K-1 visa but you just won't be able to import it at the time unless you follow the procedure I mentioned... and you have up to 1 year after entry to import it properly or it has to come back to the US. And you won't be able to title/register the car until it is imported as well.