You have bought a place in Florida, or Arizona, or the Carolinas, and you want to furnish it with things from home. It is the most reasonable plan in the world and it is the hardest one to get a straight answer about.
We connect your enquiry with a vetted international moving company from our network. What we are not going to do is tell you this is straightforward, because it is not.
The published test is residence based. Household effects enter free of duty where they were for your personal use, or used in a household where you were a resident, for one year, and are not intended for sale or for another person.
the relief covers effects used by you in a household where you were a resident. A property you visit rather than live in may not satisfy that, which makes this the one page you should not take on trust from anybody.
Operators contradict each other openly on whether visitor status permits duty free import. One states a long term visa is required and another states the opposite. Neither of those is a basis for shipping a container, so get your own answer from CBP in writing.
Not a mover, not a forum, not us. Your circumstances, in writing, from the authority that decides.
If the honest answer is that duty applies, the comparison against buying locally changes considerably.
Sentimental and irreplaceable items justify the cost. A three piece suite generally does not.
Not automatically. The relief covers effects used by you in a household where you were a resident, and a property you visit may not satisfy that test.
Because published positions in the industry contradict each other on visitor status. That is a real disagreement rather than a gap in this page.
Put your own circumstances to US Customs and Border Protection, get the answer in writing, and decide once you have it.
Then it becomes a commercial question. Compare duty plus freight against what furnishing the property locally would cost.
It can be, because the relief is tied to a change of residence. That is exactly the sort of detail worth putting to CBP.
They are usually the strongest case for shipping, since the cost is easier to justify for things that cannot be bought again.
It may, because the test is about residence. It is one of the specifics worth including when you ask.
They can tell you how shipping works. Whether your circumstances qualify for relief is a question for CBP.
Because there is not one to give. Published positions in the industry contradict each other on visitor status, and we would rather say so than pick the version that suits us.
Send your collection address, the US property address, your dates and a rough inventory, and say whether it will be your main home. A moving company from our network prices it honestly.
Send your move detailsA Working Member of AGM Group. Enquiries are connected with vetted FIDI FAIM certified and BAR Overseas accredited international moving companies from the network.
We are an enquiry service and neither immigration nor customs advisers. This page describes an unsettled area, and your own position must be confirmed with US Customs and Border Protection.
Written by Darren Benjamin, Founder.