Moving personal belongings to US

[Sofitalian 134]

Hello, I think this topic must have been discussed somewhere but I couldn't find any recent threads. If yes, please point me to the threads, thanks.

 

I'm planning on my move to US this Fall. I don't have that much stuff to worth booking a container/partial container. I figured that I most likely will use the Post Office to send some boxes via surface mail. 

 

- Is there any formal document I need to prepare (e.g. a checklist of "Goods to follow") to bring with me at POE? 

- Is there any info on the U.S. Customs & Border Protection website that gives details about what new immigrants should follow?

 

 

 

[Dashinka 24,508]

This may be helpful.

 

Good Luck!

 

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-107?language=en_US

[onek 306]

Your local post office will provide you all the necessary documentation/ forums to complete and follow.

[Sofitalian 134]

Thanks for the useful tips.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,092]

Probably worth considering is that

- most big & heavy things will likely cost more to ship than their replacement value

- almost anywhere in the US has a very different climate than HK, so you'll need different clothes anyway

[RLA 323]

On 8/7/2020 at 2:34 AM, mave said:

I'm planning on my move to US this Fall. I don't have that much stuff to worth booking a container/partial container. I figured that I most likely will use the Post Office to send some boxes via surface mail. 

 

- Is there any formal document I need to prepare (e.g. a checklist of "Goods to follow") to bring with me at POE? 

 

I mailed my stuff when I  moved here two years ago.  I attached a CBP form 3299 in a transparent envelope to the outside of each package.  Everything went through no problem. 

[Sofitalian 134]

10 hours ago, RLA said:

I mailed my stuff when I  moved here two years ago.  I attached a CBP form 3299 in a transparent envelope to the outside of each package.  Everything went through no problem. 

Thanks for sharing. Did you send all your boxes at the same time? I'm still going through my stuff. I'm thinking I might have around 10 boxes. Would that be an issue?

[Miss T 2]

On 8/7/2020 at 2:34 PM, mave said:

Hello, I think this topic must have been discussed somewhere but I couldn't find any recent threads. If yes, please point me to the threads, thanks.

 

I'm planning on my move to US this Fall. I don't have that much stuff to worth booking a container/partial container. I figured that I most likely will use the Post Office to send some boxes via surface mail. 

 

- Is there any formal document I need to prepare (e.g. a checklist of "Goods to follow") to bring with me at POE? 

- Is there any info on the U.S. Customs & Border Protection website that gives details about what new immigrants should follow?

 

 

 

Hey there! I believe you can also check with your airline how many extra luggage you can bring in additional to the normal two for international travels. 

 

I'm also on the same boat as well - don't have that much items that makes booking a container worth it, but still have belongings to ship back for sure. 

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

You'll need a declaration for free entry of unaccompanied articles and a packing list on each box. I also had a copy of my passport and visa together with it in a transparent envelope on the outside of the boxes. When everything arrived it was clear to see that nobody had bothered to look at anything but I guess it's better to have it 😊

And you need to stay under a certain amount of value or you have to pay taxes (I forgot how much it is ) but here again, nobody looked at my paperwork so they wouldn't know.

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

On 8/9/2020 at 11:07 AM, DaveAndAnastasia said:

Probably worth considering is that

- most big & heavy things will likely cost more to ship than their replacement value

- almost anywhere in the US has a very different climate than HK, so you'll need different clothes anyway

I actually shipped the cat tree because it was cheaper than getting a new one. Everybody thought I was crazy but the cats are happy 😂

[Sofitalian 134]

On 8/10/2020 at 12:07 AM, DaveAndAnastasia said:

Probably worth considering is that

- most big & heavy things will likely cost more to ship than their replacement value

- almost anywhere in the US has a very different climate than HK, so you'll need different clothes anyway

Agreed. I lived in Canada and US before so I know the difference, however, the summer in my state is as humid as in HK.

I'm going through stuff that I need to send, their nominal values vs cost for sending as parcels.

[Sofitalian 134]

1 hour ago, Letspaintcookies said:

You'll need a declaration for free entry of unaccompanied articles and a packing list on each box. I also had a copy of my passport and visa together with it in a transparent envelope on the outside of the boxes. When everything arrived it was clear to see that nobody had bothered to look at anything but I guess it's better to have it 😊

And you need to stay under a certain amount of value or you have to pay taxes (I forgot how much it is ) but here again, nobody looked at my paperwork so they wouldn't know.

Wouldn't it be too dangerous to put a copy of your passport and visa outside of the boxes?

 

2 hours ago, Miss T said:

Hey there! I believe you can also check with your airline how many extra luggage you can bring in additional to the normal two for international travels. 

 

I'm also on the same boat as well - don't have that much items that makes booking a container worth it, but still have belongings to ship back for sure. 

Unfortunately since I will change carrier on my connecting flight, I'm unsure if the extra luggage will be charged by both carriers, as both airlines cannot say for sure. I can only find out when I finally issue the tickets. In any case, I would have more boxes than I would want to pay as extra luggage. I will go for sending them by surface mail. 

 

 

[RLA 323]

On 8/10/2020 at 11:35 PM, mave said:

Did you send all your boxes at the same time? I'm still going through my stuff. I'm thinking I might have around 10 boxes. Would that be an issue?

I sent most of the boxes (10-ish) at the same time -- on the day I moved out.  The only issue was with the post office here in America.  Seems they were overwhelmed by the number and size of my packages, and so they didn't bother delivering them 😠 

 

But they also couldn't be bothered to notify me 🤬

 

Had to ask around a lot at two different post offices and finally rent a U-Haul and get the boxes myself.  Good thing that I didn't have much else to do at that time, having just arrived on a K1.

[Sofitalian 134]

1 hour ago, RLA said:

I sent most of the boxes (10-ish) at the same time -- on the day I moved out.  The only issue was with the post office here in America.  Seems they were overwhelmed by the number and size of my packages, and so they didn't bother delivering them 😠 

 

But they also couldn't be bothered to notify me 🤬

 

Had to ask around a lot at two different post offices and finally rent a U-Haul and get the boxes myself.  Good thing that I didn't have much else to do at that time, having just arrived on a K1.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I do have to plan it our carefully then.

 

[Sofitalian 134]

It's been a bit hectic for the parcel packing part - mainly due to the lack of space in my apartment lol.

 

I reached out to CBP to ask if I should attach the CBP Form 3299, copies of visa and passport outside of the boxes. They replied to say that forms with your personal information should be inside the box.