Importing a car into the USA

[joshr]

Hello,

I am going to be in the US for 7 years (J1 visa) but only need a car for 1 year, after which I plan on driving it back to Canada. I purchased the japanese-made car 1 month ago.

I read that I can import a vehicle duty-free if it is for personal use for the maximum duration of 1 year. I have a few questions:

I read somewhere that I must have owned the car for at least 1 year. Unfortunately, the car was recently purchased (1 month ago), does that mean I disqualify?

Thanks

Josh

[Steven]

CBP defines personal effects as something you've owned for more than a year. For a saucepan they probably won't care, but a car could be a problem.

Under Federal law you can take your car in for up to a year without formally importing it (i.e. as a visitor), however State law may make that tricky. If you're going in as J-1 you might be able to claim you're a student and not have to register it in the State you're moving to, depends on what State law says, you'd have to check. Obviously if you need to register it, you need to formally import it.