For some reason the import rules for temporarily importing a vehicle into the USA by sea are different from driving in across the Canadian or Mexican border.
This entry deals purely with import by sea, the land crossing is dealt with separately.
See: Overland from Mexico or Canada
Pre-Travel Paperwork Requirements:
a.A USA Visa is required for the length of time the vehicle is to remain in the USA. A three month visa will only allow the vehicle into the USA for three months.
b.Many Automobile Clubs have affiliations with the AAA, American Automobile Association, which will allow you access to free maps, discounts, road side assist etc. So speak to your local club before travel.
Personal Paperwork:
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a.Country of origin Driving Licence or preferably an International Licence.
Importing by sea to the USA:
The Rules:
From:http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CARS/RULES/IMPORT/FAQ%20Site/pages/page2.html#Anchor-15-15421
15. Temporary importation by non-U.S. residents.
Non-residents of the U.S. (including U.S. citizens living abroad) may temporarily import nonconforming motor vehicles into the U.S. for personal use, for a period not to exceed one year. The vehicle must be registered in a country other than the U.S. at the time of entry, must not be sold while it is in the U.S., and must be exported when the year is up. If you wish to import your vehicle under these conditions, you should check Box 5 on the HS-7 Declaration Form to be given to Customs at the time of entry. Your passport number and the country that issued the passport must be specified on the declaration. An international convention governs the importation of these vehicles. The U.S. is a signatory to this convention. The convention provides that vehicles can be imported under its terms for a period of up to one year. NHTSA has no authority to extend the one-year period that a vehicle imported in this manner is allowed to remain in the U.S.
From: http://www.lbl.gov/Workplace/HumanResources/html/irss/VehicleImport.html
Non-residents of the United States may import a vehicle registered in another country for personal use for a period not to exceed one year (for imports of longer than one year, see below). The vehicle cannot be sold and it must be exported within one year from the date of entry. A form HS-7 (available at ports of entry or in PDF format from NHSTA: http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/) must be completed and presented to U.S. Customs. Your passport number and country of issue are required on the HS-7 form. Use Box 5 on HS-7 form.
From: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/basic_trade/importing_car.xml
Free Entry
Non-residents may import a vehicle duty-free for personal use up to (1) one year if the vehicle is imported in conjunction with the owner’s arrival. Vehicles imported under this provision that do not conform to U.S. safety and emission standards must be exported within one year and may not be sold in the U.S. There is no exemption or extension of the export requirements.
Further Notes:
On further investigation, I found that our Customs agent (Cali America, see below) imported the vehicles as ‘personal effects’ and they maintained there was no 12 month stipulation under this arrangement.. However I am not totally convinced.
However, one only has to drive to Mexico or Canada within that 12 months and as there is no ‘check-out’ of the vehicle when leaving the USA, and no vehicle time frame stipulation placed on the vehicle on re-entry to the USA this is a sure way around the situation.
Customs:
Allow 3 to 4 days for the process after the ship arrives for the unloading and the completion of the customs formalities. Should Customs decide to do a spot check on the contents it is possible to more than double this time, and the associated costs.
Our customs import work was handled by :
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Cali America Logistics Inc,
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Suite 220, 161 W. Victoria Street Long Beach 90805
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Ph 310-762-2676
E-mail: jritter@caliamerica.com
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Update:
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Cali America has merged with Suddath Logistics Inc.
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Suddath Global Logistics Inc.
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(formerly Cali America Logisics Inc)
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Tel: 310-762-2676 / Fax: 310-762-2284
In trying to find an agent for such an import many agents and customs brokers did not understand the process or simply did not reply to our correspondence.
For that reason I speak highly of both John Ritter and Logan Moore of Cali America.
Requirements:
1)A Customs Power of Attorney letter appointing the agent as your representative.
2)A Bill of Lading: Showing Shipper- owner’s name c/- agent in country of origin; Consignee – Owners name c/- agent in country of destination; Notify Party – the agent; Contents- Privately owned used vehicle, description, Vin No, weight, container number. This is completed by the export agent in the origin country
3)72 Hours PROIR to departure of the vessel to the USA an ISF security filing for U.S. Customs must be completed. This is handled by the US agent
4)A ‘CBP Form 3299 (10/95)’: A Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles.
5)A ‘HS-7’ Form: A Declaration re Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Tick box (5) stating that the vehicle does NOT comply with USA standards and that you will export it within 12 months.
6)An ‘EPA Form 3520-1’: A Declaration form re Environmental Protection. Tick box Code ‘O’ stating imported by a non resident for personal use for a period of one year.
7)A U.S. Customs Attachment ‘A’ Form titled “Vehicle Importation Declaration For Non-Residents
8)A ‘Treasury Department U.S. Customs Service’ -Supplementary Declaration for Unaccompanied Personal & Household Effects form.
9)A ‘To Whom It May Concern’ letter stating you wish to bring the below detailed vehicle to the USA for private touring purposes. Also detail your approximate itinerary.
10)Copy of Registration papers.
11)Copy of USA Visa. Note the import will ONLY be allowed for as long as your visa is valid. i.e. a 3 month visa will only allow a 3 month vehicle entry. A 5 year visa will allow a 12 month entry. ( See 5 & 6 above)
12)A number of the above ORIGIONAL papers need to be sent to the agent before they can process the import documents.
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13)The documents cannot be lodged more than 5 days before the vehicle owner arrives.
Unloading:
Because of the nature of the vehicles we insisted that we unload the vehicles ourselves. This is unusual, however Cali America was able to organise this in conjunction with Cargo House. It did cost us extra transport costs however we felt the extra US$200 shared between two vehicles was worth the peace of mind. That cost is included our total costs detailed below.
Costs:
For two vehicles in one container expect the fee to be approximately US$800 per vehicle. For one vehicle the costs will be higher because the container transport and some processing costs were shared between two parties would be for one vehicle.
A customs inspection, should that could be randomly applied, will incur at least double the above charges. In Long Beach/Los Angeles this would be handled at Price Transfer. They do not accept international credit cards so cash is the only way to pay the inspection and unloading charge. With a customs inspection it is impossible to arrange self unloading.
DMV – Department of Motor Vehicles:
According to Customs an inspection of the vehicles is necessary by the Department of Motor Vehicles for a ‘Permit to Drive on US Roads’. The main office address in Los Angeles is 3700 East Willows Street, Signal Hill 90815.
By completing an ‘Application for Title or Registration’ form they inspected our vehicles (at the rear of the building) and signed the inspection papers noting that they complied to USA Emissions and safety standards, with a local address it would have been possible to register the vehicles in California should we have so wanted. However giving up our Australian registration would have made onward travel to other countries technically impossible.
When asked for a ‘Permit to Drive on US Roads’ all three senior supervisors knew of no such permit. Contacting both the Police and the California Highway Patrol neither knew of such permits, and we can only conclude that this is a bureaucratic glitch. All our endeavours proved we do not need such a document.
3rd Party Liability Insurance:
Both Personal injuries and Property damage is a compulsory requirement. Not all insurance companies will accept such cover for a non-resident, non USA registered vehicle. The American Automobile Association (AAA) for example does not offer such insurance.
After much searching we found Progressive Casualty Insurance Co (and their agent in Los Angeles, Galaxy Insurance very helpful.
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Galaxy Insurance
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Suite 7 1001 East Pacific H’way Long Beach.
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Email: csr@galaxyinsurance.com
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To complete the paperwork you will need your registration papers, international drivers licence, and a local address for the posting of the original insurance documents. You could use Galaxy’s address and collect your policy from them.
The value of insurance will depend on the zip code for the ‘garaging’ of the vehicle. Although the vehicle may well be continually travelling this is a computer field on the policy that must be completed. We used the zip code for Long Beach. The cost of the policy is also less if both spouses sign the form.
The amount of minimal limit coverage for personal and property does vary by state, and this should be taken into account when selecting the policy values.
The policy covers all of the USA, Alaska and Canada; however before travel to Canada either the insurer or the selling agent must be contacted for them issue a ‘cover note for Canada’. Galaxy also stated that they can also organise 3rd Party insurance for Mexico.
For 12 months 3rd Party Insurance we paid US$125.00. This covered us for Body Injury Liability $100,000 each person/$300,000 each accident and Property Damage Liability $50,000 each accident.
Other Helpful Contacts:
Vehicle Service and Repairs of Mitsubishi Fuso and other Expedition vehicles we highly recommend:
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Kearny Mesa Truck Centre
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5624 Kearny Villa Road
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San Diego CA 9212
Ron is the service manager. This dealership won dealer of the year in the USA so others obviously recognise how good they are.
Leaf and Coil Spring Work we used:
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Betts Truck Parts and Spring Works:
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9315 Santa Fe Springs Road, Santa Fe CA 90670
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Ph (562) 941-2300
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