Whitbian

Hello All,

I have been through as much of this amazingly helpful forum to find an answer to my query but it is not happening so I hope someone could offer some information that I can provide to my shippers or recommendations.
I (hopefully) arrive in the US on the last day of March on a K-1 Visa which itself expires 1st week of May. I am leaving the UK for two weeks travelling in Ireland with my US Fiancée so I leave the UK itself in two weeks and so wanted to get the shipping off my hands soon.

My plan had been based on the last year of research and preparing for my move. I’ve seen the K-1 mover’s queries and believed that the transfer was practical and straightforward.

I shot out emails with my shipment details for quotes to 10 companies who sent back decent quotes but when I asked for confirmation of the process using a K1 Visa I get stonewalled.

Their standard replies are:

• Can’t ship on Temporary Visa

• Those that do say I can ship on a K1 then say the Vessel must arrive before Visa Expires.

• You will either need to the goods to arrive whilst the visa is valid. If not, you will not be able to ship the goods until you have your residency visa in your passport.

• If anything the process has become more strict to stop people entering the USA with no visa to stay there.



I have explained the K1 and its process to them but they say I need an unexpired Visa or a Green-Card to ship my items.



Did I completely miss-judge the situation or can someone help me out with some definitive proof that I can ship to the US in this situation (Good arrived after K1 Expired and no green card yet)

Thanks for your time
John

Rete

The K-1 is only good for 90 days so their position is understandable.

Back in 1998 when my husband had a K-1 and shipped his belongings to the US, he had to enter the US first and then fax a copy of the I-94 to the moving company who in turn then shipped the furniture to him. Looks like it is still the same in 2017.

Whitbian

Thanks very much for your reply,

I do understand the expired Visa but its a grey area between the Visa Expiring and the Adjustment of Status that I cannot get through to them. I certainly expect the I-94 etc. to be passed through to the shippers but these constraints are new to me.

I don't suppose you remember who your husband used?

Thanks
John

Pulaski

It's unlikely to help you, Rete's husband came from Canada.

FWIW We circumvented the visa issue entirely by shipping all our stuff in my wife's name; I am not sure if your shipper would accept that in your situation, which is different from ours.

Whitbian

Ah...

Thanks anyway

John

Smartyy

Just going to throw this out there but what is it you're moving? Could you not sell the stuff you have and buy similar things out there? I understand some you may not such as heirlooms etc.

I left most of my stuff in the UK and took pretty much everything via 1st class Virgin Atlantic but I was only shipping a monstrous PC, books, clothes etc. not furniture.

However, I was looking at using https://www.transglobalexpress.co.uk/ (cannot vouch for life-moving shipping but my parents sent a 25kg care package to me at Christmas and they had nothing but good things to say about them.

Grapes

Hi Whitbian,

I am currently having exactly the same problem... It does appear to be a grey area whereby the shipping companies want proof of residence before despatch, although one told me that by all means I can send my things but I should expect to then pay duty on arrival if I'm only on a K1.

I've tried to speak to US Port & Customs but I'm getting 'stock' answers from them on email, they're not specifically replying to my question which is frustrating.

I'm moving out there at the end of April and don't much fancy waiting until Sept/October before I get my things (we only get married in early June). I'll be taking as much as I can in luggage but I have lots of books and larger personal effects which I can't do that with (although I'm taking no furniture). If the worst comes to the worse there's nothing I can't live without for a while.

As far as shipping companies go, I've used Trans Global for a number of bits and pieces and they're excellent, but that is for small items. For the bulk move, it was between Brittania and Anglo Overseas, both of whom seem to know their stuff and provide exactly what I was looking for.

If you manage to figure it all out, drop me a PM and I'll do likewise. Good luck!

livinginnyc

Hi,

I came to the US in 2015 on a K1 Visa - and like Smarty, flew over on Virgin, and managed to get upgraded to first class about a week before the flight - which meant I could take more suitcases (I flew with 5 or 6 IIRC and 2 carry-ons). I personally flew with anything I considered valuable, my imac, xbox and macbook and a ton of clothes.

In prep for the 'move' every time either I flew to my fiance I pretty much bought a suitcase from TKMaxx, filled it with clothes and personal effects, flew and left it there 'as is' and came home with literally nothing. I should note each time I did so, I filled out the border card in full. CBP never questioned it.

Anyhoo I also used trans global (looks like they've tarted up their site), and shipped from me to me - I *think* i noted on the boxes themselves that I was on a K1 but made no mention to the shipping company themselves (did it all online). No issues, and they arrived about a week later. I did however make a full itinerary with cost of item (I depreciated on some of my crap) in pounds and dollars, for the benefit of CBP.

Protip - buy some vacuum bags from ebay, fold and stuff your clothes in it and vacuum it down so you can fill more in your suitcase. Just keep an eye on the weight.

KK85

Trans Global appears to offer a service that delivers relatively large (up to 375x270cm), heavy (up to 70kg) boxes through UPS. Can I just ask, does anybody know if this means the boxes would be sent to an address in the States as though they were a regular, UPS-delivered parcel, i.e. something we'd send over as a (albeit larger, heavier) Christmas present? Or would it still be considered something worthy of all this paperwork/questioning we're receiving from freight companies? (I still don't really understand the difference between freight/shipping companies. Sorry if I'm being a dullard!)

I, too, am in the midst of figuring out shipping for personal effects - I have read the wiki, I've received a number of quotes from a number of companies, I've trawled this forum for hours and I'm still utterly befuddled. I'm wondering if this kind of more general 'postal' service might be a feasible option to those of us just wishing to ship a few boxes, or if we really have no choice but to go through the processes of a freight/shipping company? The estimated quote I just received through Trans Global, to use UPS, was barely any more expensive than the quotes I've received from Pickfords et al. If I can just send a few boxes from Cardiff to my husband's address as I normally would, it would be a weight off!

Good luck, OP. (And sorry to barge in on your thread! Hopefully any advice/answers given to me might also be of use to you.)

Whitbian

All,

Thanks for your replies and please KK85 don't worry about barging, We are all in the same boat!

I have placed my stuff in storage with friends who are going to let t be picked up once I know what the deal is.

I continued to get stock emails from CBP with zero appreciation of the situation so I will ask the CBP Officer at the border (I'm expecting an "interview" and will pose the question then or ask for a genuine reference on my situation)

I will let everyone know what the official requirements are once I can figure it out

John

KK85

If budget isn't too much of an issue for anyone, maybe try Mail Boxes Etc. It's relatively expensive compared to some of the larger shipping companies (like, double the cost), but I believe they operate on a more standard 'postal service' type system (i.e. chuck the box in the post, less questions asked), so it might do away with some of these complications you're facing?

For four 21inch cubed boxes, they quoted me £579, and for six of the same, they quoted £861. They also said 'I’m sure we could give you discount if you were to send with us.'

I'm thinking I'll be going ahead with Pickfords. I am fortunate to not have the same issues that you guys are facing with postal legislation versus K-1 visas - Pickfords have expressed no such issue to me. Fingers crossed, anyway!

I wish you all the best of luck, and I will let you know if I stumble upon anything else.

Pulaski

Don't get your hopes up - CBP officers at the border are often either not well versed in the regulations they are supposed to be enforcing, or blatantly lie (my first visit to the US was notable for the utter BS told to me, repeatedly, by the CBP officer at Podunk International Airport). I am not sure how you can tell the difference, but either way you cannot rely on anything told to you by a CBP officer (there was a US Supreme Court case that ruled exactly that), and personally I wouldn't waste my time trying to learn anything useful from them.

livinginnyc

Yes - I did it almost exactly this, shipping 2-4 boxes at a time and having them arrive on my doorstop via UPS or FedEx. I still shipped via Trans global who dealt with all the logistics. My job started and ended from handing the courier my packages, flying to the USA and then answering the door. And every now and again, my parents ship me an additional box of my crap to clear the backlog. I'll be flying to the UK sometime this year where I'll probably shove whats left in an empty suitcase and be done with it.

Be aware I didn't ship much furniture or large bulky items - Opting to sell most and dump the minority at my ever-loving parents house, for a 'to-ship-in-the-future' mission (a custom bed frame I had made and a canoe...).

Be prepared for your boxes to be opened by CBP (read: slashed), and then slapped back together despite a clear itinerary. Even boxes that literally have a single (fold up, but bulky) item, that's pretty visible in an X-ray were opened in my case.

For the packaging items, I bought a large lot of cardboard flat packed boxes from eBay (40 boxes) for roughly £12, a giant roll of bubble wrap and industrial amounts of packing tape, and spent a full week packing and documenting what box had what contents in it, and listing costs on my ipad. It wasn't fun. But I managed to binge watch 3 full seasons of Suits in the process.

KK85

This is incredibly useful, livinginnyc - thank you! Like you, I don't have a lot in the way of bulky items that I intend to ship. A tatty old (very small) bookshelf that has somehow garnered some sentimental value, but otherwise it's all just personal tit-tat that I've collected over the years and don't really want to leave behind.
I asked some of my family, when they flew over for the wedding, if they would mind shoving a suitcase full of all my stuff and bringing it with them, but I was a little too late with the suggestion. It's the ideal trick, though!

I'll look further into the UPS option. Pickfords have offered me a quote that's slightly cheaper than Trans Global and, after speaking to them again, I'm thinking they might still be my best bet. But perhaps UPS and Trans Global will suit some of the other posters on this thread, if not me!