The India-to-USA corridor is one of the busiest skilled-migration routes on earth, carrying H-1B professionals, F-1 students, and family-sponsored immigrants every week. Getting your visa is only half the move — your furniture, personal effects, and pets face a separate set of rules at both the Indian export desk and US Customs. This guide walks the whole door-to-door journey, with the specific Indian and American authorities, forms, and thresholds you actually need in 2026.

Key takeaways

• Your used household goods can enter the USA duty-free under HTS subheading 9804.00.05 if they were owned and used abroad for at least one year, declared on CBP Form 3299 (19 CFR 148.52; CBP Form 3299).
• India’s customs authority (CBIC) lets you export your bona fide personal baggage freely, but a departing resident may carry only Rs 25,000 in Indian currency (Mumbai Customs Zone-III).
• Declare foreign currency to Indian Customs on a Currency Declaration Form if notes exceed USD 5,000, or total instruments exceed USD 10,000 (Mumbai Customs Zone-III).
• Get an Export Certificate (Form CBD-III) from Indian Customs for high-value jewellery, cameras, and laptops you carry out, so re-import later is duty-free (Mumbai Customs Zone-III).
• India is a high-risk rabies country. A foreign-vaccinated dog must be microchipped, at least 6 months old, carry a valid rabies serology titre (≥0.5 IU/mL) from a CDC-approved lab, a CDC Dog Import Form receipt, a vet-completed and government-endorsed Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form, and a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility (CDC).
• Report cash and monetary instruments of USD 10,000 or more to US CBP on arrival via FinCEN Form 105 (CBP).
• Time your immigrant or non-immigrant visa early — Indian nationals face some of the longest queues in the system (travel.state.gov).

1. Get your US visa status right first

Nothing ships until your right to enter the USA is settled. The main routes from India are the H-1B speciality-occupation work visa, the L-1 intra-company transfer, the F-1 student visa (often followed by OPT and an employer H-1B petition), and family- or employment-based immigrant visas leading to a green card. Indian nationals receive a large share of H-1B approvals each year, and consequently sit in the longest employment-based green-card backlogs, so plan multi-year timelines rather than months. Check current appointment and processing waits before you book anything at travel.state.gov.

Your visa category also shapes your customs treatment. A returning US resident, a new immigrant on an IR/CR or EB visa, and a temporary H-1B or F-1 holder can all claim duty-free entry for genuinely used household goods — the eligibility rests on how the goods were used, not on citizenship (see Section 4).

2. Indian export side: what CBIC lets you take

Indian Customs, under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), clears all departing passengers and their baggage. Bona fide personal and household effects that you are genuinely relocating with are allowed out without export duty. The friction points are cash, gold, and high-value electronics.

• Indian currency: A resident leaving India may carry no more than Rs 25,000 in Indian banknotes; export beyond that is restricted (Mumbai Customs Zone-III).
• Foreign currency: You may take foreign exchange purchased through an RBI-authorised dealer. You must complete a Currency Declaration Form (CDF) if foreign-currency notes exceed USD 5,000, or the aggregate of notes plus travellers’ cheques exceeds USD 10,000 (Mumbai Customs Zone-III).
• Gold and jewellery: For anything valuable — jewellery, cameras, laptops, professional equipment — declare it at the departure Customs counter and obtain an Export Certificate (Form CBD-III). This certificate proves the item left with you, so you avoid paying import duty if you later return to India with it (Mumbai Customs Zone-III; Chennai Customs). Quantities and values still draw Customs scrutiny, so confirm current limits with the departure Customs officer before you fly.

For a full container or air-freight consignment, your Indian origin agent files the shipping bill and export documentation with Customs at the loading port. Sea freight typically routes through Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) near Mumbai, Chennai, or Mundra; air freight moves via Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, or Hyderabad. Build in time for an itemised, valued packing list in English — US Customs will require it at the other end.

3. Restricted and prohibited exports

Wildlife products, ivory, and protected flora and fauna cannot leave India. Antiquities and art treasures more than 100 years old are separately controlled and need clearance from the Archaeological Survey of India before export. Note too that some everyday items you might pack — certain plant material, seeds, and foodstuffs — are separately controlled on the US import side by USDA/APHIS, so screen the pantry and garden before it goes in the box.

4. US import side: duty-free household goods and Form 3299

On the American end, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) administers entry. The core relief you rely on is the exemption for household effects used abroad, codified at 19 CFR 148.52. Furniture, carpets, paintings, tableware, books, and other usual furnishings enter free of duty under HTS subheading 9804.00.05 provided they were actually used abroad for at least one year by you or your family, and are not intended for sale or for anyone else. The year of use need not be continuous nor immediately before the move.

Because your shipment almost always arrives separately from you, you file CBP Form 3299 — Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles (CBP Form 3299 PDF). You will need:

• A completed, signed Form 3299;
• A copy of your passport and US visa;
• A detailed, itemised packing list (the inventory your movers prepared);
• Ocean bill of lading or air waybill.

Personal effects — clothing, jewellery, personal tools of trade you owned and used — also qualify for free entry. Items you bought new for the move, or anything for resale, are dutiable and must be listed separately. Alcohol and tobacco are never duty-free in a household shipment and can trigger federal and state licensing issues, so most movers exclude them.

Practically, a full-container shipment from India clears at the US port of arrival (Los Angeles/Long Beach, New York/Newark, Houston, or Savannah are common), and CBP may examine the container. Your customs broker or moving agent lodges the entry; you do not usually need to appear in person, but you must have signed Form 3299 in advance.

5. Bringing money into the USA

There is no limit on how much money you may bring, but there is a hard reporting duty. If you (or your family travelling together) carry USD 10,000 or more in cash or monetary instruments, you must declare it to CBP on the CBP Form 6059B arrival declaration and file FinCEN Form 105 (CBP — Money and Monetary Instruments). This applies regardless of visa status, and failure to report can mean seizure. For larger relocations, wiring funds bank-to-bank and keeping documentation of the source is cleaner than carrying cash.

6. Moving pets: dogs from a high-risk rabies country

This is the single most exacting part of an India-to-USA move. The CDC classifies India as high-risk for dog rabies, so a dog vaccinated in India ("foreign-vaccinated") faces the strictest tier of the CDC’s dog-import rules (CDC). Every such dog must:

• Appear healthy on arrival and be at least 6 months old;
• Have an ISO-compatible microchip implanted before its rabies vaccination;
• Have a CDC Dog Import Form online receipt — CDC advises submitting it 2–10 days before arrival; for a high-risk-country dog the receipt is valid for a single entry on the arrival date shown (CDC);
• Carry a Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form, completed by the vaccinating veterinarian and endorsed by an official government veterinarian in India, no more than 30 days before travel and valid for one US entry (CDC);
• Have a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility (ACF) and arrive at the airport where that facility is located (CDC).

The ACF reservation is mandatory for every foreign-vaccinated dog from a high-risk country, regardless of titre — only a limited set of US airports have an approved facility. What the titre changes is the outcome once the dog arrives. A dog with a valid rabies serology (titre) result of ≥0.5 IU/mL from a CDC-approved laboratory is examined and released at the facility with no quarantine. A dog without a valid titre is revaccinated in the US and held about 28 days at the facility, at your expense (CDC). Book the ACF before you book the flight, and start the microchip → vaccinate → titre sequence months ahead — the titre has its own timing windows. Cats have no CDC rabies-vaccination requirement, but other species and the general pet framework fall under USDA APHIS (APHIS Pet Travel).

7. Timeline and sequencing

A realistic India-to-USA relocation runs 8–14 weeks door to door once shipping starts, on top of visa lead time. Sea freight from Nhava Sheva or Chennai to a US coast typically takes several weeks in transit plus packing and customs at both ends; air freight is days but a multiple of the cost. Sequence it: confirm visa → book survey and shipping → obtain Export Certificate for valuables → start the dog’s rabies titre clock and reserve the ACF early → sign Form 3299 → ship → clear US Customs → final delivery.

How Flyto handles this move

Flyto runs India-to-USA relocations as a single door-to-door Platinum service — the only tier we offer on intercontinental corridors, because these moves have too many failure points for anything less. One coordinator owns the whole chain: professional export packing at your Indian address, Customs documentation and the Export Certificate on the origin side, sea or air freight, US customs brokerage including your CBP Form 3299 and 9804.00.05 duty-free entry, and final delivery and unpacking at your American home. We manage the CDC pet pathway — microchip and titre timing, the Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form, ACF reservations, the Dog Import Form — as part of the same plan, so nothing slips between agents. You get one point of contact across two continents and both customs regimes. See our USA relocation hub and the [main relocation guide]https://flytorelocation.com/moving-to-and-from-the-usa-2026-complete-relocation-guide/ for how the wider network fits together.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay US import duty on my used furniture from India?
No, provided it was owned and used abroad for at least one year and is not for resale, it enters free under HTS 9804.00.05 on CBP Form 3299 (19 CFR 148.52).

How much cash can I carry from India to the USA?
India caps Indian-currency export at Rs 25,000 and requires a Currency Declaration Form for foreign notes over USD 5,000; the USA requires a FinCEN 105 report at USD 10,000 or more (Mumbai Customs; CBP).

Can I bring my gold jewellery to the USA?
Declare valuable jewellery at the Indian departure counter and get an Export Certificate (Form CBD-III) so you can re-import it duty-free later; confirm current quantity and value limits with the Customs officer, and declare high value to US CBP on arrival (Mumbai Customs).

What’s the hardest part of bringing my dog?
The titre timing and the CDC-registered facility reservation, which every foreign-vaccinated dog from India needs regardless of titre. With a ≥0.5 IU/mL titre from a CDC-approved lab the dog is examined and released; without one it is revaccinated and held about 28 days. It must fly into an airport that has an approved facility (CDC).

Does my visa type change my customs treatment?
Duty-free household-effects relief depends on genuine use abroad, not visa class, so H-1B, F-1, L-1, and immigrant-visa holders can all qualify if the one-year-use test is met (19 CFR 148.52).

Do I have to be present when my shipment clears US Customs?
Usually no — your broker or agent lodges the entry — but you must have signed Form 3299 and supplied passport, visa, and packing list in advance (CBP Form 3299).

Which Indian ports handle US-bound sea freight?
Most containers load at Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva), Chennai, or Mundra, with air freight via Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, or Hyderabad.

Freshness note: customs thresholds, CDC pet rules, and visa policies change. Verify every figure with the linked authority before you ship.

Sources

• CBP Form 3299 — Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles (PDF)
• 19 CFR 148.52 — Exemption for household effects used abroad
• US CBP — Money and Other Monetary Instruments (FinCEN 105)
• CDC — Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries
• CDC — Dog Import Form and Instructions
• CDC — Instructions for Completing the Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip Form
• AVMA — CDC Dog Importation Requirements: FAQs for Veterinarians
• USDA APHIS — Pet Dogs Import into the US
• US Department of State — US Visas
• Mumbai Customs Zone-III — Departure Passenger Guidelines (CBIC)
• Chennai Customs Zone — Passenger Clearance FAQ (CBIC)