When your shipment arrives to your destination, your city where you reside or your business is located, or simply where you wanted the shipment to be shipped to, you will receive an Arrival Notice from the US Customs.
 
It is best to have your shipments addressed to you or your company name in care of your customhouse broker. This way your broker gets the notification first and can immediately begin the entry process to clear your goods through the US Customs, notifying you of the same.
 
When your shipment leaves the country of origin by sea (ocean freight) it arrives to a US seaport from where it then may continue to the final destination (your hometown) by air, rail or truck. Whichever carrier brings the shipment to its final destination last, it will end up in their US Customs bonded warehouse where you will go to pick it up after it has cleared the US Customs.
 
It is the responsibility of the importer to arrange for the examination and release of the goods thus hiring a customs broker he/she can start the process for you. In other words, Entry of Goods can be undertaken only by the owner of goods, or by a licensed Customs Broker.
 
To start the entry process, you or your broker must have the evidence of the right to make an Entry. This requirement is satisfied with having an airway bill or bill of lading in your or your broker’s name.

Request product sourcing, find suppliers overseas, supplier evaluation, product design,  development , outsourcing manufacturing of your product overseas
 
Your goods can clear the US Customs under a Formal or an Informal Entry process.

If the invoice value of your goods is less than $2,000, then you can clear it as an Informal Entry. If your goods are over $2,000 invoiced value, then you’ll have to file a Formal Entry.
 
Even though in theory you are allowed to fill out all of the pertinent documentation for Formal Entry yourself, it’s best to hire a customs broker to do it for you.

Customs Brokers are licensed by the US Customs and trained to prepare the entries the way US Customs wants them to be prepared. In other words, US Customs will not likely assist you much in the process of the preparation of the entry documents and make sure you have them filled out correctly. Having mistakes in your paperwork will only delay your entry process and possibly target all of your future shipments for extra scrutiny if not delays. The extra expense that hiring a customs broker will entail is well worth the peace of mind and speedy and professional entry process.
 
To start the entry process, you or your broker must have all the documents necessary to clear the US Customs. If, for example, you are bringing in ‘pillow cases,’ your shipment must be accompanied by a textile visa. If this document is missing, you won’t be able to clear US Customs until you or your broker will procure this document from your shipper or directly from the trade authority in the country of origin. The waiting process will result in your shipment being assessed storage charges and thus inherently increase the landed cost of your goods and diminish your profit.
 
If all the documents are present, then the only other thing you’ll need to be able to start an entry process is an evidence of a bond being posted.

As part of the entry process, your broker will fill out many documents, from an Entry Manifest, Form 7533, to an Entry Summary, Form 7501. If customs agree to the classifications used in the entry process, they’ll stamp the documents Passed Customs and you can go ahead and pick up your goods.
 
If customs, however, doesn’t agree with the classifications used by your broker, they’ll send the paperwork back to your broker for reclassification. This can constitute further delay in the clearing process which can be made even more time consuming if customs once again won’t agree to the classification used based on the invoice description of the goods. Often in such a case US Customs orders a physical inspection. Another reason, as already noted above, that may trigger an inspection is when your invoice and packing list show discrepancies - your invoice is not corresponding with the packing list.
 
US Customs inspection is performed in a bonded warehouse or requires a move to a special inspection site. In essence, the inspection results in a proper classification of goods. In any case, the inspection constitutes delays in the clearing process as well as results in inspection charges being assessed to be paid by you, the importer; typically those charges are billed as Move to an Inspection Site and you’ll see it on your broker’s bill. Often, the inspection process can also entail damages incurred in the process of the inspection. Customs stipulates that you should pack in such a way so as to facilitate an inspection. Beware, if damages to your goods occur during the inspection, you won’t be reimbursed as Customs is not liable for damages sustained during inspection.
 
Once the inspection is completed and/or the customs is satisfied with the Entry Summary as presented by your broker, a Release Form, stamped Passed Customs, is issued by the Customs; at this point you can pick up your goods. 

Learn the import export business the right way:

Insider's Guide to Successful Importing from the Third World 9-hours MP3 or WMA Classroom Audio

 

Learn How-to Get Started in Import Export Business -
- Intensive Workshop

	Import export business startup considerations; cost of doing business; sourcing product supply and outsourcing manufacturing to the Third World.
	Where to go and what to buy, facts and opportunities; ideas associated with product design and development, and lots of inside info you never get elsewhere. Yes indeed, you must think Italian sausage from Bangkok!! There really is more to this business than meets the eye! (What I just said, Italian sausage from Bangkok, is meant figuratively, not literally! Or is it really?)
	How to find overseas suppliers, whom to buy from and whom not to buy from, and how much should you pay for the product you want to import.
	Product price overseas vs. landed price in the US; how to cost-analyze your import venture and calculate your product landed cost.
	Dealing with shippers and freight forwarders overseas, your purchases and shipping logistics, packing pratices, dealing with licensed vs. unlicensed exporters, freight insurance and claims and surprises that will give you more than Goosebumps and how to avoid them!
	Financing and paying for your purchases - cash, credit cards, debit cards, wire transfers, letters of credit, documents against payment, and what strategy to use in dealing with your suppliers that's best for your cash flow, assures you get what you ordered, get it on time and make a profit.
	Customs entry process; pitfalls of handcarrying your commercial purchases, Harmonized Tariff Schedule and the classification process, tax issues and Liquidated Entry, and information you won't get by calling your local Customs office.
	Find the best strategy for financing your deal and avoid problems in shipping and customs clearance to insure that you make a profit.

 

For more on how to import from developing nations and clearing US Customs without problems, go to:

Insider's Guide to Successful Importing from the Third World

 

	"Tomas is so knowledgeable that he makes import business sound like an adventure and at the same time he gives a real sense of the pitfalls of the business." Audrey Brennecke