About moving

[JoeCanuk 3]

Are you allowed to bring as much as you can and then have family members bring the rest of your stuff a couple of weeks later? A UHaul is out of the question at this time and the cheapest way we can do it is to bring what I can when I move and then have my parents bring the rest of my stuff a week or two later. Does anybody know about this?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Yes, you should be able to do this. You will need to provide your parents with a photocopy of your I-94 and K-1 visa to prove that you are authorized to live legally in the US. They should also have an itemized inventory of your belongings including serial numbers of any electronics. The law states that these must be goods that have been in your possession for at least a year prior to your move to the states if you want to import them duty free. Stuff newer than one year is subject to duty at the border. Your parents should also bring along proof of their ties to Canada to verify, in case the border authority wants to be difficult, that they are not the ones moving down. Make sure they know your address, your husband's name and what he does for a living as well - just to be prepared. They probably won't need it but if they do, it is good to have.

I moved here 3 years ago and moved my belongings down in a moving van. Among my possessions are a set of china dishes that my Mom had left me in her will. These were dishes that I had fallen in love with when we used them while I still lived at home. She had died shortly before I immigrated. My Dad, while going through the house, came across more of these dishes that were kept in a separate place. He drove down this past March and brought the dishes with him. The border authorities challenged him not so much about the dishes but about what my status was in the US. Poor man - his mind went blank on Permanent Resident and kept saying she married an American. She did the immigration thing but I can't remember what it is called! The border guard finally took pity on him and let him through.

Edited July 19, 2007 by Kathryn41

[JoeCanuk 3]

Thank you for your advice. I hope I can find the serial number on some older things. I don't understand why they have that law but oh well.

The process is confusing though because I was under the impression that they don't look at your stuff. That they have an x ray machine or something. Do they really go through all of everybody's stuff?

PS sorry about your mom:(

[Kathryn41 3,205]

They have xray overhead scanners at some land port of entries (Windsor is one) for commercial cargoes but not for non-commercial vehicles. The most likely thing to happen is that they will just wave your parents through, but they do have the right to pull them into secondary and search the vehicle. If there is anything suspicious about the vehicle or the occupant, or if they think the person is lying, is when they normally would do a search. From what I was told, the serial numbers are used to help to prevent cross border marketeering. I am not sure of the specifics, but it was an easy matter to just write down the numbers of any electronics. Don't worry about electric appliances or stuff like that - just electronics like the computer or digital cameras, etc. You and your parents should be fine.

Thanks, about my Mom.

[Cassie 8]

Since you are not personally accompanying some of your property over the border, methinks you have to fill out a form.

Customs Form #3299 - Declaration of Free Entry is the name of it, I think you can download it from the US Customs website. It's the form I had to fill out to let the moving company bring my stuff over the border, so methinks this will apply to you as well.

Edited July 20, 2007 by Cassie

[JoeCanuk 3]

They have xray overhead scanners at some land port of entries (Windsor is one) for commercial cargoes but not for non-commercial vehicles. The most likely thing to happen is that they will just wave your parents through, but they do have the right to pull them into secondary and search the vehicle. If there is anything suspicious about the vehicle or the occupant, or if they think the person is lying, is when they normally would do a search. From what I was told, the serial numbers are used to help to prevent cross border marketeering. I am not sure of the specifics, but it was an easy matter to just write down the numbers of any electronics. Don't worry about electric appliances or stuff like that - just electronics like the computer or digital cameras, etc. You and your parents should be fine.

Thanks, about my Mom.

Ok thanks. Oh oh, I forget which box I put my radio in.

Does a telescope fall under that category?

Today is the big day. Thank you for the reassurance.

You are welcome. Take care.

Since you are not personally accompanying some of your property over the border, methinks you have to fill out a form.

Customs Form #3299 - Declaration of Free Entry is the name of it, I think you can download it from the US Customs website. It's the form I had to fill out to let the moving company bring my stuff over the border, so methinks this will apply to you as well.

Ok thanks. Hey I tried to find that form on the USCIS site and I couldn't find it. Where do you find it at?

[Cassie 8]

From the US Customs website, under the forms section:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/forms/

Scroll down the list and look for #3299 and download.