Bringing our money into the USA from Canada.

[DBmusic 0]

 We are immigrating from Canada to the United States. What would be the best way to bring all of our money with us to minimize exchange rate fees while obeying all of the laws?

[Italian_in_NYC 259]

If you bring the cash over the border, you have to declare it at Customs if over US$10,000 (or the equivalent of).

Otherwise, wiring is fine. There are plenty of intermediaries that offer better exchange rates than most commercial banks. I personally use USForex, but there are many other.

[LittleLeaf 38]

I also vouch for USForex, now OFX . It's all done online and they don't charge any fees, so you're only dealing with the exchange rate. They are also very easy to deal with and quick.  You will need a US account for them to deposit the funds into and the receiving bank may charge you a wire fee- for me about 12 bucks, but it's the cheapest I found. Depending on where you bank within CA you could potentially set up an online payment to them, and they'll take care of the rest within 48 hours. They deal with declaring the money too. 

 

Or if you did want to just go the cash route, you are able to bring unlimited amounts of cash through customs, you just have to declare it when over 10k. I would recommend the digital route though.