2nd trip with Personal Belongings from Canada to US

[Emancipation 2]

Just wanted to let everyone know my experience at the border yesterday with our carload of stuff!

We were in Canada for 4 days for my birthday party, a friends wedding and to take some more of my stuff back to CT. We had taken the essentials back in February when I came down on K-1 and now this trip we wanted to take another car load.

The POE was at Holton, ME.

I had receipts for the purchases we had made (groceries and souvenirs for my husbands children), but no "list" for my other things (aprox 4 plastic lg rubbermaid tubs and baskets and trinkets strewn everywhere). We showed up at the US side and they asked for our ID, where we had been and if we had acquired anything and if we were carrying any beef, citrus or vegetables. We told him about the groceries, and the birthday presents that we had in the back but didn't mention the other things (as I have always owned them - didn't seem to fit). He looked in our car and said - who owns the other stuff - and my husband said "she does" pointing at me, and then he started to get a little perturbed and said " you mean you brought this all up here and are taking it back again? At that point I explained to him that we were married in February and I was bringing another load of my stuff down to CT. Then he stopped me and he said "So you mean you are just finishing a move right?" apparently he was trying to help me out to say the "right" words. And I repeated, "yes, we are just finishing up a move". He then said thank you and gave us back our ID and waved us on.

Painless, and didn't ask to see a manifest of any type. Which is good because I didn't have anything written down about the boxes or what they contained!

[Krikit 1,165]

Yay! Glad you made it back safe and sound, Michelle! Sounds like it was a fun trip. I did the same thing in July. Drove home for our birthdays (hubby's is 2 days after mine) so that I could bring back a bunch of my belongings which never made it onto the moving truck. (That's what happens when you have to abandon everything and leave Canada just before your visa's about to expire. ) Anyway, never had a problem with my things either. In fact, they never even asked me about it at all!

Happy belated birthday, Michelle!!

[L_n_O 3]

hehe

love border guys like that!

you've got up to 10 yrs to finish up a move though, right?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Good advice to know, though, if you are completing a move or a transfer of your belongings after you have already arrived.

My Dad came to visit last March. After my Mom passed away the year before I moved to the States, I inherited her grandmother's china. I brought it with me when I came. My Dad, however, when going through the house, discovered more of the set. He decided to drive down so he could bring it with him undamaged. I had explained to him that I was allowed to have my personal belongings follow me to the US for a few years after my actual move so he knew he was legally allowed to bring it down. The poor man couldn't remember my status as' green card holder', though, and kept telling them I was married to an American. He was royally grilled by the border authority who wanted to know if I was in the country legally or not. He finally convinced them that I must be here legally and they let him through. I should have thought to provide Dad with a photocopy of my greencard and if he has anything more like that to bring down another time, I certainly will.