JFK customs

All being well I should be attempting to get the bike through customs at JFK in about a month - coming up quick! I've applied for the EPA letter and just waiting on this.

Just wondering if anyone has any info about what to expect at the JFK cargo terminal or any tips or pitfalls etc....

I basically don't know what to expect so any advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Not been through JFK but if it's the same as all the other entry ports into the US, be prepared for reams of paperwork. If your bike is being shipped by someone like james Cargo, they should give you all the right pointers.

My tip with US customs is be very, very patient as they do not have a sense of humour.

Good luck with it and have a great trip

I remember going tru customs Canada to USA got pulled by homeland boys. When he discovered we were Irish he started cracking jokes about Ireland and was generaly a decent sort. Of course he had a gun and my 4 year old son James whispered da he's got a gun ok says I not to worry of course James gets louder and louder till he is hollering at the top of his voice whereupon homeland guy takes the time to show James the offending weapon. Dead sound bloke. JJH

JJH said:

I remember going tru customs Canada to USA got pulled by homeland boys. When he discovered we were Irish he started cracking jokes about Ireland and was generaly a decent sort. Of course he had a gun and my 4 year old son James whispered da he's got a gun ok says I not to worry of course James gets louder and louder till he is hollering at the top of his voice whereupon homeland guy takes the time to show James the offending weapon. Dead sound bloke. JJH

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The guys jamieboy will be dealing with are different from the guys on the immigration desks. Most of them are convinced it's illegal to temporarily import a bike so you need endless patience!!

The thing to remember about dealing with US Customs is that what you are doing is unusual. They are used to importing container-loads of garden furniture from Guatemala and suchlike - a temporary import of a motorcycle is not something they deal with often and they will be naturally resistant to anything they aren't sure about.

My advice (gained from painful experience of delays at Miami in 2004) is to go online and print out the relevant pages of the US Customs manual, with the important bits highlighted. I did this the second time I took the Adv to the US (Portland OR 2006) and it took me fifteen minutes to get it cleared. The first time it took the best part of a week...

Everything you need is available online - try to make the Customs guy's job easy and it'll pay dividends...

Mike

Thanks for the input guys - much appreciated.

Have just printed off the various info sheets from the USCBP website and will bring them with - good tip.

I'm shipping with James Cargo, so in any event sounds like I'm in the right hands.

Cheers

Just one more thing, if you are flying on the same flight as the bike, I don't think you will be able to get the bike the same day. I may be wrong but everyone I know who has flown into the US and Canada has to wait around 24 hours for US customs to sort their stuff out. Maybe worth checking with James Cargo.

Incidentally, I'll be flying 8 bikes to Anchorage next year and I've been advised to allow 2/3 days before collecting them.

Further to my questions in this thread, i've just gone through customs earlier today so thought i'd record it in case anyone looks this up in the future.

I took the waybill and my EPA approval letter to US customs. Building 77 in cargo area D - second floor. I arrived very early (jet lag) at about 7.30. It was open and I simply went up to the desk and gave my papers to a customs officer. She gave me a simple form to fill in, then made copies of all the documents, tapped a few keys on her computer - and said I was good to go. Took about 15 mins and the officers couldn't have been nicer.

Then you have to go to the hangar of the airline the bike flew with and they have already got electronic notification that you've cleared customs.

I had to pay 45 dollars and then take apart the crate which james cargo built around the bike.

Whole process was probably an hour and a half, including taking the free shuttle bus from cargo area D to B where the Virgin hangar was.

Everyone incredibly helpful and fun. Such a positive experience. Maybe i've been lucky, but hopefully anyone else will find it the same.

Great stuff Jamie and have a brilliant and safe trip

Just to add my experience of JFK from the beginning of May. Bike was handled by Dave Wyborn of James Cargo - excellent by the way. Manchester to JFK on an American Airlines flight.

It all went swimmingly well at JFK - shuttle buses, waybills, EPA form etc but customs took all of 45secs and concluded with "that's it, go get your motorcycle". "Don't I need a form or anything" I said. "Nope, you are good to go" he said. An hour later and we were on our way into Manhattan.

Later Dave at James Cargo emailed me to ask for copies of the important import forms 3461 and 7501 that customs should have given me. We were in Tennessee by then. These are very important forms as one proves to the police your bike is a legal import the other is required to get the bike out the country. Guess what, in the 45 second transaction with customs I didn't get these.

The guys at Schumacher logistics in LA who handled the return leg said it happens all the time, describing JFK customs as lazy M-Fs as the forms need a lot of manual input and take around 10 mins to complete. The solution was to spoof a fresh import of the bike to trigger all right forms again, wait three days, then export it. This meant me handing over the V5, and signing a power of attorney for Schumacher. Worrying days until the bike arrived back last week.

So, make sure you get the import forms. It's not all electronic yet.


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