Do I need to import my car?

I am going to grad school in the US on a F1 student VISA and driving down. I am unclear as to whether I need to import my car, and what i need to do. I may only be in the US for 1 year (finish my 2nd year of grad school back in Canada) or I might stay in the US for 2 yrs.

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks, Jason

You do not need to import your car if you are only staying temporarily.

Google the state DMV for whichever state you're going to.

You can drive your car in the US for up to a year without formally importing it, after that you need to clear it with CBP, the info is on their website, www.cbp.gov - there is NO DUTY or other taxes for a vehicle imported as personal effects.

The snag is that some States require you to register the car in their State after you've been there for however long, and you can't do that until you've imported it and transferred the title to a local one.

Some States do have a provision that exempts non-resident students from this requirement, you need to have a poke through their State laws.

Obviously it's going to save you a lot of hassle if you can determine now how long you will be there, then you can get it all out of the way if you're staying longer than a year.