Shipping furniture from Beijing to Boston, USA by sea

Client Information: Mr. Le
Shipping Route: Beijing to Boston;
Service Date: 2018.7.19;
Case Summary: Mr. Le from Beijing entrusted Seapoe Relo to ship some furniture and other personal belongings from Beijing to Boston, USA.

Among the many American cities favored by immigrants, Boston is one of the oldest and most culturally valuable. When people think of Boston, the first thing that comes to mind is the city's developed healthcare and education industries. As the most educated city in the United States, Boston is home to numerous prestigious institutions of higher learning, so many immigrants considering their children's education choose Boston.

To give his child access to a better education, Mr. Le from Beijing thought it over and decided to apply for immigration to Boston. He received his immigrant visa early on, and once his Beijing apartment was put up for sale, he set about finding a moving company that could help him ship furniture from Beijing to Boston. After all, he had used this furniture and other items for many years and had grown attached to them, and he wanted them delivered to his new home in Boston in perfect condition. A friend recommended Seapoe Relo, which had already handled many moves from China to Boston, USA, and was widely praised for its safety and efficiency. After a brief conversation, Mr. Le signed a shipping contract with Seapoe.

According to the schedule set out in the moving plan, Seapoe arranged for a packing team to go to Mr. Le's old home in Beijing and pack the furniture and items to be shipped using a variety of packing materials: first wrapping them in bubble wrap, placing corner protectors on the edges and corners of the furniture, and finally cutting cardboard to the shape of each piece of furniture to wrap it, with marks noted for monitoring and tracking purposes.

After packing was completed, the items were transported to Seapoe's warehouse in Beijing, and then customs declaration and booking were arranged for shipment. Upon arrival in the United States, Seapoe's agent in the US handled customs clearance and delivery to Mr. Le's new home.

Notes on Moving from Beijing to Boston:

1. New US immigrants may bring personal belongings owned and used in their former place of residence for more than 12 months into the United States duty-free.

2. Documents required for immigrant moves to Boston: passport photo page, copy of visa, customs clearance authorization letter, Form 3299, packing list, and ocean bill of lading.

3. Brand-new items or items used for less than 12 months must be declared to customs in advance; after declaration, customs will levy duties based on the type and value of the items. US customs duties on ordinary brand-new items are around 6%, but anti-dumping duties are imposed on brand-new textiles, bedroom furniture, etc., typically around 30%–45%.

4. Due to counter-terrorism requirements, the US customs inspection rate is as high as 90%, usually conducted by X-ray scanning. If prohibited items are detected by scanning, customs will conduct a manual inspection, which will incur additional costs.