How to Move Household Goods from China to the US? (US Citizen Going Home)

[ethannon 1]

Hello everyone,

 

We are a couple currently living and working in China. I’m a Chinese citizen. My husband is a US citizen from Texas. He has worked in China for about 9 years. We’ve been together for over 5 years and got married in the US last year when outbound travel from China resumed. My husband finished two master’s degrees over the last few years and has finally decided to pursue a doctor’s degree back in the US. 

 

While still considering school offers, we have started research on international moving. I’ve approached several “professional” international moving companies and they all provided quotes that seem exorbitant and somewhat opaque. (I’ll share more details about our moving needs and the quotes received below.)

 

So I thought why not try booking a container directly with shipping companies, and my husband should be able to apply for free entry of the household goods as a returning US citizen. I’ve checked some articles online and the US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) website, and learned about the Form 3299 "Declaration For Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles".

 

Unfortunately, I haven’t found any step-by-step guidance on the import process. I’d really appreciate it if anyone can shed some light on questions such as:

• What is the customs clearance process like? 
• When do we need to fill out/submit the form?
• How will we be notified?
• How should we list the things shipped in the form? Specifically, the form only has limited rows? Do we describe multiple items in one cell?
• Part IV involves the carrier. How is their input involved?
• Are there any other critical things that we should pay attention to?

 

I have contacted several shipping companies. So far most said they didn’t accept non-business customers, but I did find a couple that did. I’m waiting for more detailed quotes from them. Is there anyone who has handled international moving this way before? What kind of shipping companies should I look for? Any recommendations?

 

Thank you 

[Boiler 45,467]

What is your status

 

Freight Forwarders would handle the paper work.

[ethannon 1]

Here’s more information about our situation and needs:

• Estimated moving time: mid to end of June 2024
• Method of transportation: Sea freight (20GP container)
• Freight size: 23-25 cubic meters (777-883 cubic feet), according to survey results by 3 moving companies
• Packing service in China: willing to pay for it
• Customs clearance in China: willing to pay for it if reasonable, or handle by ourselves
• Sea Freight Cost: the current market rate should be USD 4,000-5,000
  • One companies quotes USD 6,500 and refused to explain why...
• Customs clearance in the US: can be handled by ourselves if possible
• Shipping in the US: willing to pay for it if reasonable, or handle by ourselves

We have had several moving companies come survey the house and provide quotes. We had a budget of around USD 7,000. However, the quotes we received are typically USD 12,000 and more, for door-to-door services. 

 

Granted sea freight cost is quite high right now, (USD 4,000-5,000 to ship a 20-foot (20GP) container from China to the US (New York)), these quotes all include high and vague destination fees of USD 3,000-5,000, essentially delivering the container to the home address (about 3-4 hours away from the port) and unloading and partial unpacking. Additional costs include customs clearance both in China and the US, about USD 1,400. I’ve been to the US a few times and understand the higher cost of living. But do such prices seem reasonable or truthful to you guys?

 

We don’t mind handling the packing and unpacking, as well as customs clearance ourselves, even pick-up at the port by ourselves, if it can keep the total cost down. Anyway, the high quotes aside, how these moving companies hesitate to explain the costs and revise service options to lower the costs seems concerning to me.

 

We really appreciate any advice or sharing from anyone who has similar experience moving household goods to the US, whether it’s fully handled by a moving company, or partially handled by self on tasks such as US-side customs clearance and self pick-up. Thank you.
 

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

14 minutes ago, ethannon said:

mid to end of June 2024

I assume your US immigration status is already a done deal.   That's a pretty quick departure.

Edited February 27 by Crazy Cat

[ethannon 1]

12 minutes ago, Boiler said:

What is your status

 

Freight Forwarders would handle the paper work.

Hi, I guess I've contacted a few "freight forwarders" and most of them said they took business-to-business orders only. I'm still getting familiar with the jargons, but I will keep looking into freight forwarders. Thanks for the suggestion! 

[NorthByNorthwest 351]

14 minutes ago, ethannon said:

We don’t mind handling the packing and unpacking, as well as customs clearance ourselves, even pick-up at the port by ourselves, if it can keep the total cost down. Anyway, the high quotes aside, how these moving companies hesitate to explain the costs and revise service options to lower the costs seems concerning to me.

 

We really appreciate any advice or sharing from anyone who has similar experience moving household goods to the US, whether it’s fully handled by a moving company, or partially handled by self on tasks such as US-side customs clearance and self pick-up. Thank you.

 

Usually a not-insignificant consideration would be insurance - do any of the quotes you've received include at least basic insurance (TVC - Total Value Cover) or coverage for individual items?

 

Just as a data point I paid about $10k USD to move from Japan to US West coast 8 years ago with packing service on Japan side and only delivery on US side. I would absolutely not want to deal with the logistics myself for the container freight or customs clearance unless I was working in the freight industry. I can totally see costs adding up quickly for you to rent trucks on both ends, container storage space in port if you can't deliver/collect the container exactly when required etc.

[ethannon 1]

10 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

I assume your US immigration status is already a done deal. 

Hi! I'm currently on my 10-year tourist visa. Personally I'm focused on the moving at the moment. 

 

My husband and his family are handling the green card application process, which I honestly don't know much about. Is there anything we should be worried about? I'm not planning to look for job right away in the US. Should we also look at the IR1 or CR1 visa?

 

Thanks

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

11 minutes ago, ethannon said:

Hi! I'm currently on my 10-year tourist visa.

If you are planning to live in the US, you and the US spouse should IMMEDIATELY (like yesterday) start the DCF (Direct Consular Filing) process for your spousal visa.  

 

The normal spousal visa process will take 18 months to 2 years.  The DCF process can reduce that to several months.....but you must have exceptional circumstances such as a short notice job/school re-location (US spouse).  

 

You can't legally go to the US via a B2 visa with the intent to live in the US.  You have to enter for the intended purpose of the visa. 

Edited February 27 by Crazy Cat

[ethannon 1]

6 minutes ago, NorthByNorthwest said:

Usually a not-insignificant consideration would be insurance - do any of the quotes you've received include at least basic insurance (TVC - Total Value Cover) or coverage for individual items?

 

Just as a data point I paid about $10k USD to move from Japan to US West coast 8 years ago with packing service on Japan side and only delivery on US side. I would absolutely not want to deal with the logistics myself for the container freight or customs clearance unless I was working in the freight industry. I can totally see costs adding up quickly for you to rent trucks on both ends, container storage space in port if you can't deliver/collect the container exactly when required etc.

Hi! Yes, they do include insurance, "3.5% of the total insured value". We don't have any items that are super valuable. We bought most of our furniture used. Shipping them to the US is out of the consideration that replacing them might cost more. But at this rate, we are more and more unsure whether it's worthwhile 😂

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. I wonder if sea freight cost as much as it does today back then. It's really high at the moment. 

 

The cost of labour in China is still relatively low compared to more developed markets. That said, the packing and loading service in China is still mostly quoted around USD 1,600. Some domestic moving company can do the packing and shipping to the port for around USD 1,100, but then the freight needs to be taken over by a company that can handle international shipping. I am under the impression that moving companies try really hard to sell their packaged services, and jack up the prices as much as they can. 

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

I wouldn't "put the cart in front of the horse".  Good luck.

[ethannon 1]

17 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

If you are planning to live in the US, you and the US spouse should IMMEDIATELY (like yesterday) start the DCF (Direct Consular Filing) process for your spousal visa.  

 

The normal spousal visa process will take 18 months to 2 years.  The DCF process can reduce that to several months.....but you must have exceptional circumstances such as a short notice job/school re-location (US spouse).  

 

You can't legally go to the US via a B2 visa with the intent to live in the US.  You have to enter for the intended purpose of the visa. 

Wow! That's really good to know! We will definitely look into that. Thank you.

 

If stuff doesn't happen in time, I guess I can just continue to "tour" for a while and come back around Chinese New Year. My family in China would be glad to see me back at least!

[Boiler 45,467]

1 hour ago, ethannon said:

Hi! I'm currently on my 10-year tourist visa. Personally I'm focused on the moving at the moment. 

 

My husband and his family are handling the green card application process, which I honestly don't know much about. Is there anything we should be worried about? I'm not planning to look for job right away in the US. Should we also look at the IR1 or CR1 visa?

 

Thanks

 

You are focussing on the wrong issue

 

Certainly from the UK there are plenty of options for companies that will handle the move with insurance as an add on.

[TBoneTX 45,266]

Country-specific thread is moved from the "Moving to the US" forum to the China regional forum.

[Thunderbolt 172]

You've said that your furniture is second hand already. For $7k you should be able to furnish a house/apartment in US. 

Why bother then if they give you outrageous quotes of $12k? 

As for the immigration side of things, you should worry more about that then about your old table...

 

[RamonGomez 271]

I know this is kind of late but moving that much #######, especially irregularly-shaped heavy stuff like bikes and couches and tables, is going to cost a fortune.

 

If it's just boxes, there are "agents" in most metro US areas that basically rent space on a cargo ship, once there is enough demand on the Chinese side (e.g. China -> Chicago), they ship from China to the US to a central point in your metro area, where you need to pick it up. Often it's someone's house or a random warehouse. The speed can be highly variable, and it's somewhat unreliable and prone to theft. But it's very very cheap.

 

Sell or toss whatever you can. Take as many suitcases with you as possible. Do the math so see if paying for extra checked bags and/or overweight bags is worth it. Save the less important stuff and bring it back home with you on a future visit if you can store some stuff in China.