I am moving from Toronto to Illinois for graduate school on an F-1 visa; what is the most efficient way to transport my belongings and manage the logistics of a cross-border move given the challenges of international one-way rentals and shipping?
You can rent a moving truck and drive your personal belongings across the US border without paying customs duties or filing formal entry paperwork, as long as you travel with your goods and have owned them for at least one year.
You can cross this worry off your list. Because you are traveling with your belongings, US Customs and Border Protection does not require you to fill out the complex formal entry forms that unaccompanied shipments need.
If you bring household goods that you used outside the US for less than one year, they do not qualify for duty-free entry. US Customs and Border Protection applies standard duty rates to these newer items.
