POE with more than $10k....do we need documentation?

[millefleur 5,047]

30 minutes ago, Michael and Ganna said:

Can you use Swift in Russia?

Yes, you can do international transfers. The issue is weirdly my bank in the US does not accept them. So we'll just put it into my mom's account instead as her US bank does accept them.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

Yes, you can do international transfers. The issue is weirdly my bank in the US does not accept them. So we'll just put it into my mom's account instead as her US bank does accept them.

Don't forget to look at the currency rates and fees for the bank transfer. Some of them know how to charge. I went with a currency broker to get no fees and s good exchange rate. Some banks are good though.  You can save a lot of money by putting in some research to this.

[Dashinka 24,651]

13 hours ago, Dee elle said:

All overseas transactions over 10K are automatically reported to the Dept of Treasury by the receiving bank. Its just part of the things that happen behind the scenes in Moneyland, primarily to catch money laundering, money to terrorist groups and other ilegal activities. 

Do the banks have to report any deposits over certain amounts regardless?  So even if you brought the cash personally made it through CBP then deposited in the US bank, is it still reported?

 

Just curious.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

12 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

Do the banks have to report any deposits over certain amounts regardless?  So even if you brought the cash personally made it through CBP then deposited in the US bank, is it still reported?

 

Just curious.

Yes it's the same regardless... only with a bank transfer you have the safety of knowing there's a legal paper trail.

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

I think it is better to bring the cash, declare it and deal with the interrogation. so long as you can prove the source of the money.

Wire transfer are expensive. Even external bank transfers done among US banks  cost $15 to $25 and with that amount of money. I doubt they would take $25.

The money is going to be reported to IRS regardless. 

 

Another option is to use PayPal. Send the money to your Paypal account. And when you arrive, have your spouse set up a Paypal account connected to a US bank account. Then send the money to her account then you can transfer to her bank account on Paypal then you have your money.

To avoid hefty fees on Paypal, do a SEND not Request (request has a charge since it is seen as payment for a transaction).

Edited May 26, 2017 by IcezMan_IcezLady

[TheCaptain 67]

Fill the PDF out from the link below then print and sign it.

 

https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/fin105_cmir.pdf

 

Where you are asked on the customs form whether you are carrying more than 10K of currency check YES. When the CBP officer asks about the currency, give them the FinCEN Form 105. They will fill out their section and you will be on your way.

I would take two copies of the signed form with you and ask them to complete a copy for your records too.

 

I carried over 30K in cash with me and had no problems, not even a 5 minute slowdown.

 

[millefleur 5,047]

17 minutes ago, IcezMan_IcezLady said:

I think it is better to bring the cash, declare it and deal with the interrogation. so long as you can prove the source of the money.

Wire transfer are expensive. Even external bank transfers done among US banks  cost $15 to $25 and with that amount of money. I doubt they would take $25.

The money is going to be reported to IRS regardless. 

 

Another option is to use PayPal. Send the money to your Paypal account. And when you arrive, have your spouse set up a Paypal account connected to a US bank account. Then send the money to her account then you can transfer to her bank account on Paypal then you have your money.

To avoid hefty fees on Paypal, do a SEND not Request (request has a charge since it is seen as payment for a transaction).

It's really complicated to add USD to PayPal in Russia. We already thought about this but it was just too complicated because of Russian banks and their weird quirks.

 

My mom says the fee at her bank is $15 to receive an international wire transfer. I know there are also bank fees here but I guess we'll just have to pay them.

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

7 minutes ago, millefleur said:

It's really complicated to add USD to PayPal in Russia. We already thought about this but it was just too complicated because of Russian banks and their weird quirks.

 

My mom says the fee at her bank is $15 to receive an international wire transfer. I know there are also bank fees here but I guess we'll just have to pay them.

ask the bank first. because for a $10,000, the fee could be more. you will pay both your bank and the recipient bank.

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

deposit the cash in an international bank with US branches where you will be living, then draw on the account as needed

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

When I was coming to the US back in 2012 I had more than $10K in AmEx traveler's checks (Russia didn't stop processing them yet in 2012) and had no issues. All I had to do is to fill a simple declaration form at the customs counter and to answer a few questions about source of money and what they're for. Custom officer actually was very nice about it and even gave me some advise.

ABout bank transfers and deposits - yes, everything over $10K will be reported to the IRS, but again, it's not illegal to split money into a few transfers less than $10K or deposit smaller amounts into a few banks. With my experience, don't use Chase for foreign incoming transfers, I know some people are happy with them but their internal financial security was interrogating me for every small transfer my Dad sent to us as a gift via SWIFT (I was also moving some of them to my local credit union where I mostly bank but they don't use SWIFT so I had to give my Chase account information to my Dad), and then Chase said with no further explanations they don't want me as a customer anymore and I have to take my money and go somewhere else. Worst bank ever.

 

- Victor from Russia

Edited May 26, 2017 by Amy_and_Victor

[millefleur 5,047]

1 minute ago, Randyandyuni said:

deposit the cash in an international bank with US branches where you will be living, then draw on the account as needed

We don't have that option here in Russia.

[millefleur 5,047]

2 minutes ago, Amy_and_Victor said:

When I was coming to the US back in 2012 I had more than $10K in AmEx traveler's checks (Russia didn't stop processing them yet in 2012) and had no issues. All I had to do is to fill a simple declaration form at the customs counter and to answer a few questions about source of money and what they're for. Custom officer actually was very nice about it and even gave me some advise.

ABout bank transfers and deposits - yes, everything over $10K will be reported to the IRS, but again, it's not illegal to split money into a few transfers less than $10K or deposit smaller amounts into a few banks. With my experience, don't use Chase for foreign incoming transfers, I know some people are happy with them but their internal financial security was interrogating me for every small transfer my Dad sent to us as a gift via SWIFT (I was also moving some of them to my local credit union where I mostly bank but they don't use SWIFT so I had to give my Chase account information to my Dad), and then Chase said with no further explanations they don't want me as a customer anymore and I have to take my money and go somewhere else. Worst bank ever.

 

- Victor from Russia

Thanks for the heads up! I'll never use Chase then. Good to know!

 

We're using a local bank (Umpqua) which seems like it's one of the better options from what I've read. They have a flat $15 fee for receiving international transfers. I have the same issue that my main bank (USAA) doesn't use SWIFT. I seriously had no idea....I thought that all banks accepted SWIFT transfers. If I had known this I would've opened an account in my name when I was in the States a few months back.

 

Too bad about the AmEx traveler's checks being cancelled in Russia.   I think our best bet at this point is the bank transfer because I honestly don't feel comfortable walking around with that much cash now that I think about it. We can carry some cash with us at the POE but without the convenience of traveller's or cashier's checks, I feel like it's just too risky in general to travel with cash.

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

2 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Too bad about the AmEx traveler's checks being cancelled in Russia.   I think our best bet at this point is the bank transfer because I honestly don't feel comfortable walking around with that much cash now that I think about it. We can carry some cash with us at the POE but without the convenience of traveller's or cashier's checks, I feel like it's just too risky in general to travel with cash.

By the way I'm not sure if you're aware, but if you're leaving Russia with more than $10K cash per person (so over $20K for you both total), as far as I know you must obtain a special permit from Russian Central Bank (Центробанк) ahead of time or you will be in troubles with Russian customs. There is one exception - if you can prove by custom declaration that you've brought these money to Russia and now simply taking them back.

 

- Victor from Russia

[millefleur 5,047]

Just now, Amy_and_Victor said:

By the way I'm not sure if you're aware, but if you're leaving Russia with more than $10K cash per person (so over $20K for you both total), as far as I know you must obtain a special permit from Russian Central Bank (Центробанк) ahead of time or you will be in troubles with Russian customs. There is one exception - if you can prove by custom declaration that you've brought these money to Russia and now simply taking them back.

 

- Victor from Russia

Another good reason to just go with the bank transfer! Thank you. Whatever cash we do decide to bring with us on our person, we'll make sure it's under $10k to avoid that as well. I really don't like dealing with Russian customs officers....so the less I have to deal with them, the better.

 

I'm just hoping now that the wire transfer from Russia will go smoothly. Do you know any trustworthy banks here you could recommend for sending money to the US?

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

1 minute ago, millefleur said:

Another good reason to just go with the bank transfer! Thank you. Whatever cash we do decide to bring with us on our person, we'll make sure it's under $10k to avoid that as well. I really don't like dealing with Russian customs officers....so the less I have to deal with them, the better.

 

I'm just hoping now that the wire transfer from Russia will go smoothly. Do you know any trustworthy banks here you could recommend for sending money to the US?

Myself I've never had any issues with Sberbank. I know many people don't like this bank, and Sberbank doesn't offer the best currency exchange rates (so it may be better to convert money somewhere else before the transfer but then you may have to pay higher transfer fee) but as long as you follow all of the rules and have proper documentation, I've never had any issues with wire transfers made from Sberbank to the US. I've done several recent SWIFT transfers from Sberbank and they all went through within 2-4 business days, my Dad also used Sberbank in the past years to send us some money gifts and everything went fast and smooth every time. Again, it's my personal experience and I've read someone had troubles with Sberbank here but I have no idea if it's a gamble and I was lucky or may be whoever had issues did something wrong with paperwork or supplemental documents.

 

 

- Victor from Russia