Ian_R

Hi all,

I will be marrying my fiancee (a USC) in May after which we plan to immediately begin the process of applying for a CR-1 visa. I will of course be returning to the UK, but I have been advised that I must ensure that I have the legal right to reside in the USA before any of my household/personal belongings are shipped to the USA. Is this correct or is there a way to ship my belongings during the CR-1 process?

Thank you in advance for any advice and assistance!

civilservant

I don't know who told you that, but US customs are not going to give a hoot about what it is and where it's going when it passes the port of entry unless it is otherwise dangerous/illegal goods/foodstuffs etc.

I shipped $4k worth of metal model aircraft well in advance of me moving here.

tom169

I thought I've read on here shipping companies asking for copies of visas to satisfy exemption from import taxes.

Tkd67

civilservant

I can't speak to shipping companies, I literally boxed and fedex'd my items myself - it cost a fair wack, but it was labelled as personal items and there were no tax issues on the other end.

Rete

It was 21 years ago when my husband emigrated from Canada to the US. We did the fiancée visa and he had his belonging moved to the US by commercial truck. They were not allowed to enter the US with his belongings until they had a copy of his K-1 visa and his entry stamp from the POE.

If that still stands with commercial transporters and the custom bureau at the POE, I can't say. Certainly you can mail or carry in your personal belongings.

Pulaski

When we shipped our household contents from the UK to the US, including furniture (so obviously we couldn't carry it as luggage on a plane), we were asked (by the shipping company in the UK) for visa and/or citizenship information for the customs paperwork, and in fact we shipped everything in my wife's name, as she is a USC and that seemed to make the paperwork easier.

I doubt you'd have much of an issue if you wanted to bring an extra suitcase each time you visit the US and return with it empty, but I got the impression that you wanted to "pack up a house full of stuff" and use a removal/ shipping company.

civilservant

Actually since Pulaski has mentioned it, I did ship everything to my US wife (as I was still living in the UK at the time) and obviously she is a USC. Not sure if that was why I didn't have any issues or not.

Ian_R

Thank you all for your replies, much appreciated. Yes, just to clarify, I will be shipping everything to my (by then) wife's home address and was hoping that it would be relatively straightforward what with her being a USC. It works out at about half a 20ft container of furniture and stuff (so would be sent groupage) and I was looking to ship it whilst the CR-1 process was still going through. I had thought that perhaps her having Power of Attorney might be the answer, but the removal company seem pretty sure that I will still have to wait until I have the legal status to reside in the US. What I definitely don't want is to have the shipment get stuck in a Bonded Customs warehouse!

tom169

Considering home sizes are generally bigger, designs are different, have you evaluated whether it is worth just having a garage sale / ebay of these items?