Shipping personal effects to US: how to clear goods?

Hello,

I am a recent university graduate about to start work in New York City as a computer systems analyst under TN status. This forum has been a great resource!

I am flying from Ottawa to NYC. I have about five boxes of personal effects that I would like to ship with me (mostly computer stuff, including a large monitor, printer, scanner, plus a few books).

My last experience sending personal effects from Chicago to Ontario by FedEx was a customs nightmare. FedEx refused to clear it for me because they were marked personal effects. CBSA insisted that I go to Mississauga and clear them myself. Anyways, it took two weeks and a ransom paid to FedEx Trade Networks before they would release my stuff.

Here is what I found on the CBP website:

Household effects entitled to duty-free entry do not need to accompany you to the United States; you may have them shipped to your U.S. address at a later time if you choose. Your shipment of personal and/or household goods must be cleared through Customs at its first port of arrival unless you have made arrangements with a foreign freight forwarder to have your effects sent in Customs custody in-bond from the port of arrival to a more convenient port of entry for clearance. (Ask your moving company if they offer this service.) Customs will not notify you that your goods have arrived. It is the responsibility of the shipper to notify you of the arrival of your goods. After receiving this notification you must enter the merchandise. Failure to enter the merchandise within 15 days after its arrival in port may result in the merchandise being moved to a general order warehouse. If merchandise is placed in a general order warehouse, storage charges will accrue and payment of those charges is the responsibility of the party importing the household goods. Failure to obtain that merchandise from the general order warehouse within six months may result in its sale. When you come to Customs to enter your goods, you must complete Customs Form 3299 “Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles,” to give to the Customs officer. If you cannot come to the Customs office yourself, you may designate a friend or relative to represent you in Customs matters. You must give that person a letter addressed to “Officer in Charge of Customs” authorizing that individual to represent you as your agent on a one-time basis to clear your shipment through Customs.

What is the simplest way for me to send a few boxes of personal effects from Ottawa to NYC? I do not have a vehicle and so want to clear the shipment either in Ottawa or New York. I have found lots of "customs brokers" and "freight forwarders" in the area but they seem either dodgy or uninterested in small shipments.

It seems I could just send the boxes by FedEx/UPS and attach Form 3299, but what would be the "port of arrival" where I would "enter my merchandise"? It's not practical for me to go from NYC to Buffalo (or Memphis for that matter, which is where most of the FedEx stuff seems to go) to clear my shipment.

In my past experience with this, if you do it by mail you have to go to the international clearance for USPS and present the form 3299. I had to do it once years ago and it was a pig, not because of the drive but sitting around waiting for ages to do the clearance.

Not sure what POE USPS use for NYC, I would have thought it must be reasonably close. Call them and check, I guess.

You could always rent a U-haul, more likely to arrive in one piece that way.