Moving to USA

The United States is, and has always been, a popular and exciting destination for Irish nation. Moving to the USA to further one’s professional training, skill base, and or career opportunities are common occurrences.

Moving to East or West Coast, New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Miami, Washington, Los Angeles or Chicago, we offer door to door services to suit your needs. Please check the services provided below:

Sea Freight Service

Air Freight Service

We cover all major cities in USA, such as San Francisco, New Your, Washington, Miami, Boston, Dallas, Oahu, Los Angeles, Texas, Dallas, Las Vegas and everything between them.

The Government of the United States of America have very strict guidelines controlling the movement of goods across its borders. This includes the import of personal / household goods for people moving to the USA. It is permitted to import household goods and personal effects into the USA duty-free, but these items / goods must have been owned by the person wishing to import them for at least a year before their arrival into the USA. Customs officers in the USA will examine most of the containers arriving into their country. Please ensure that your visa for entry to the USA is the appropriate one. Get Cracking will provide you with the correct customs form to allow you to import your household goods into the USA. This must be completed before your goods leave Ireland.

The USA customs service must clear all shipments into their country. Once you have owned and used your household goods for at least a year abroad, it is permitted to import them into the United States without paying duty and tax. You must ensure that your shipment does not arrive into the USA before you do; this is because it will incur significant charges and will not be cleared by USA Customs officials. There are different regulations according to the different States in America, so we highly recommend that you do not attempt to import any alcohol or food; these may be subject to expensive charges and can cause major delays in the movement of your household goods.

As previously mentioned, almost every shipment that arrives into the USA is expected in some way. The type of inspection ranges from an external container x-ray to a thorough container inspection. This inspection results in the container being completely unloaded and every item / package contained within being inspected. There are additional costs for this type of inspection, and the charges can be significant.

The USA have very strict and specific rules in relation to motor vehicle safety, bumper design and emissions .

Before you undertake shipping your car to the USA it is advisable to ascertain if your vehicle is eligible to be imported and if any modifications to your vehicle will be required. The importation of motor vehicles not manufactured in and conforming to U.S safety and emission standards is strictly regulated and applicable import regulations can vary dependent on the type of vehicle being shipped. Your reason for importing the vehicle and your personal status in the U.S may also have an impact on regulations that will apply.

Regulations governing the importation of motor vehicles manufactured outside of the U.S and that do not conform to U.S Safety and Emission standards, in the first instance, are dependent on the age of the vehicle. While there are stringent safety and emissions requirements that must be met by vehicles under 25 years old, if you are importing a car that is over 25 years old it qualifies for exemption from regulations governing both safety and emissions standards.

Information on requirements for different types of vehicles and for varying purposes of importation can be found on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website here.

Importing your motor vehicle is usually depot to depot. This means that, following USA customs clearance, your motor vehicle may be collected by you from the depot of our partner. You may have to show your passport with the date of your arrival in the USA to prove to USA Customs that you, as owner of the motor vehicle, have lived abroad for 12 months or longer.

Depending on the method of shipping we can advise the following approximate door to door transit times to the United States.

• Via the East Coast of USA Sole Use Container & Crated LCL 2-4 weeks, Shared Container 8-11 weeks
• Via the West Coast of USA Sole Use Container & Crated LCL 4-6 weeks, Shared Container 11-14 weeks
• Air freight: 1 week

Note: The provides transit times can only be used as an estimate and are approximate.

Whilst it is not mandatory to have your goods professionally packed by us we strongly recommend it. This is due to the fact that the US Customs service tend to look less favourably at ‘owner packed’ shipments and there is a much higher chance of an intensive inspection with very high costs. This is because the inventory prepared by someone who packs their own goods is usually a lot less descript than that prepared by a professional moving company. Thus the Customs service may need to physically view a shipment to determine its exact contents.

In addition we use the best materials available and employ the best techniques to ensure your goods arrive safely. We also have a variety of speciality cartons purpose designed for items such as flat screen TV’s, golf clubs, hanging clothes, bikes, and artwork. Once packed all goods will be numbered with a label sticker and recorded on a removal inventory. If you chose to pack some or all of your goods yourself we can assist by providing you with our packing materials and a handy packing guide.

If you have the need to store your goods we can provide storage services in both Ireland or the United States. Knowing that you can’t ship your household goods to the United States unless you have the appropriate visa might mean that you store your goods here in Ireland until you receive your visa and get the shipping arranged. Or perhaps your shipment may arrive in the United States and you haven’t found a new home, no problems your shipment can be placed into storage until you are ready.

It is very important to consider the protection of your goods during relocation to USA as there is always an element of risk. Peace of mind is paramount, thankfully, we are able to offer a range of insurance options to ensure your personal possessions are well covered should the unlikely happen.

We can make your move to the United States complete by providing house cleaning after emptying your home, pet transport, unpacking of your goods at destination and arrange the transferring of your funds to USA with foreign exchange services.

If you require currency exchange for your move to the USA, we will introduce you to FC Exchange, one of Europe’s leading Foreign exchange companies, to arrange the transferring of your funds to USA. FC Exchange offers international money transfers that are safe, fast and can save you money. For more information on how to safe money please follow the below link.