Noorah101

Uh, yeah....the whole point is to bring the money home so we can pay off our debts here!

Thanks for the suggestions, though, everyone.

Rene

Ray

ask these people who are on this site
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=721682

Night Crawler

I would not declare the money. They can and often will seize it until things are sorted out. Credible proof of it's origins would help but it will probably take a few hours. Keep the money on your body and play dumb if it's discovered.

Ray

Thank you Mr Moron ....

Night Crawler

I've done it numerous times without any trouble. The one time I declared the money it was held up for six weeks until I could prove it was acquired legally.

Jerseygirl

Please do not encourage others to break the law.

Elvira

I agree. Ask these chaps and/or some of the other money transfer organizations like XE Trade, Forex etc. Even if they themselves can't do the transfer, they might know someone who does - though you might have to ask to speak to someone senior, rather than just the people who answer the phone.

Also, there must be forums for Iranian expats somewhere out there - maybe they'll have some ideas.

Personally I would not take cash.

Englishmum

Agreed.

Not only is it unsafe to take large amounts of cash (potential problems include theft/mugging/lost/taken as a bribe on exiting Iran etc.) but how would Sagedh be 100% confident that if he has US$ in cash, some or all of it isn't fake? I doubt that if he is carrying Iranian currency he won't even be able to change it unless he does so in Arab countries eg. the UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi etc.)

Perhaps the Noorah could contact the CPB and ask a manager there for advice or suggestions, in light of the fact that there are no diplomatic relations between the US and Iran and therefore there is no US Embassy there for her to get in touch with? Perhaps there is a Mission in Iran representing US interests.

(Going totally off-topic, I wonder which airline Sagdegh will fly with to get to the US. I often see the Iran Air jumbo jet flying into Heathrow airport...come to think of it, there must be some Islamic banks in London where he may be able to arrange - before he begins his journey - to exchange his money, and again large amounts of cash need to be declared to UK customs and just about every other country too AFAIK....although apparently not Switzerland)

Ray

Why would you go on a web site boasting about your crimes ....

Noorah101

He's traveling on Emirate Airlines through Dubai. As a USC, he's not allowed to travel on Iran Air (part of the US sanctions on Iran).

And yes, thank you very much for your advice Night Crawler. I think I'll pass. LOL Even if we wanted to do that, how in the world could someone explain how that much money suddenly happened to be ON him!? Oh gosh officer, I have NO idea how I suddenly got this much money in my pocket!? Someone must have meant to put it in theirs and mistakenly put it in mine? LOL

I will call the Iranian Interest section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, I think that will be the official source. Thanks everyone!

Rene

Jerseygirl

A sandwich short of a picnic springs to mind.

Bartowel

Hey there, we have had the same issues as we lived in Dubai and would regularly send over $10k back to the US.

As long as there is a paper trail you are OK. We would usually wire money, and could show it was from salary payments in the Middle East.

We also turned up a few times with cash stuffed into pockets, over 10K, and again, had a copy of salary / bank statements to show where it had originated from. Just make sure it is declared, and then you will be fine.

The 10k rule is there to disrupt money laundering activities, and not to actually stop over 10k entering the US.

In all the years we have been doing this, over 6 years now, we have NEVER had to actually show the documentation to any official, but we have it all in a file just in case.....

The only time I had to justify a large amount was when we purchased a house in the US, and because the deposit was large, we had to explain where it had come from. A simple letter stating it was from savings accrued overseas did the trick (it was not even an official form!).

tonrob

But will the bank still take it if it's been up your bum?

Noorah101

Thank you so much for your insight.

Part of the problem is that Dubai and USA are on good terms, whereas Iran and USA are not. One personal source of mine said that Iranians are not allowed to physically take out more than $5,000 cash from Iran. There seem to be some kind of agents in Iran who can transfer money to the USA...still looking into how it's done, though. I asked our bank, Wells Fargo, and they had no idea.

I contacted the Iranian interest section in Washington, and they referred me to the State Department. Guess I'll have to contact them.

Rene

Noorah101

Just spoke to hubby and he seems well aware of what needs to be done. He's been doing his own research as well. Taking money into Iran is no problem, we've both found out.

He will bring back whatever he can in cash (sounds like around $5,000 is allowed by Iran), and the rest he will manage to transfer...after comparing our research notes, it sounds like we both ended up on the same track.

That is, hopefully, if his property sells while he's there. Fingers crossed.

Thanks everyone for your support and input.

Rene