Importing and exporting

[timgunfreak]

As some of you may know, after many years of people (including UT members) telling me to make the move to the US, I recently obtained my US immigration visa after winning the green card lottery last year, and I am looking forward to living in a free(er) country soon.

I suspect most of my guns cannot move with me to the US, as I own a number of registered machine guns and guns that would be caught by the 1989 US assault weapon import ban.

I also have some registered guns that can be imported into the US, but these guns and their parts to suit cannot be legally imported into Australia. The reason for this is while these guns are not semi autos, these firearms are manual action firearms that resemble assault weapons in appearance and therefore under Australia's absurd "appearance laws" are considered assault weapons.

Here is a good example of this absurd law at its finest:

https://youtu.be/VpRTJ8hmCQY

Some of my manual action firearms need repairs and I cannot import parts into Australia to repair them.

The good news is I can legally export my manual action "assault weapons" have them repaired outside of Australia, then legally import them back into Australia.

You may ask why? Well just like pre 89 imported assault weapons in the US, these manual action assault weapons in Australia are worth alot of money, and i intend to sell them for as much as I can get before I move to the US to live. I look forward to spending the profits on real assault weapons in the US when I'm living in the US.

The way winning the green card lottery works is once you are issued the immigrant visa (called a diversity visa) you have six (6) months to "activate" the visa. To activate the visa you have to enter a US port of entry. Once activated, you can if you want return to your home country for up to a year to finalize your affairs without permission before returning to the US to reside, or over one year with permission from the US government after paying a $500+ Fee.

So simply put, I will be entering the US as an immigrant before March 2023 and will become a US lawful permanent resident the moment my US immigrant visa is activated. As a US lawful permanent resident I can lawfully possess firearms in the US.

So my visa activation trip to the US will be the perfect opportunity to bring my manual action firearms to the US for repairs, before taking them back to Australia with me for sale, before I make my final move to the US to live.

Therefore my questions are what are the procedures for someone entering the US on an IMMIGRANT visa to bring firearms into the US? and then to export these firearms (once repaired) out of the US?

Can I import these firearms myself? Or can only an FFL import these firearms? or can I Import the firearms on behalf of the FFL (basically I would be a courier)? Or must the FFL import the firearms themselves?

Does anyone have any links to any import permit application forms, either for an immigrant or FFL to complete or other information that would assist?

What are the procedures and permits required to export these firearms out of the US?

I did email the ATF at their imports enquiry email address back in March 2022 asking these questions, but importing on a non-immigrant visa (as that appears to be lawful) and got not reply from the ATF.

My visa activation trip is the perfect and.cost effective opportunity to bring my manual action firearms to the US for repairs, so I want to get this right and not end up breaking any US laws.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TheColtCollector]

I would never tell you to take a sailboat…but…

 

[slimshady]

Ian at forgotten weapons uses Polaris Logistics to export and import his personal weapons when he goes to Finland to compete, for example. He recommends them, I think their website is at the link below. They probably have experience for a "temporary import" for the duration of your stay which is what I would think your situation would fall under. International competitors in the shooting sports here seem to be able to do this so I would think you could too. If Polaris can't help you might try talking to the US State Dpt. and Immigration as they would be the ones that would probably be handling the nuts and bolts of the forms and permits and such. May want to tell them you are competing in a match or two (and sign up for them) as that may be something they are more familiar with than doing it to repair them. Bureaucrats get confused easily and default to no when they have no idea what to do.

https://polarislogisticsgroup.com/

 

[heimue]

You need a licensed importer to bring firearms into the US. Do NOT bring them with you if you are coming here.

Dieter

 

[timgunfreak]

You need a licensed importer to bring firearms into the US. Do NOT bring them with you if you are coming here.

Dieter

I did a bit of further research and it does appear If importing firearms into the US the importation must be by a licencensed importer. I'm assuming to be a licensed US importer you have to be physically in the US to begin with? which would ruled out me getting an import licence.

The other way is to enter the US on a non- immigrant visa, then you can temporarily import firearms into the US for sports or hunting, and you take them with you when you leave, which is perfect for me but my visa is an immigrant visa. I guess I could get an ESTA tourist visa and enter with my firearms, do some sports shooting, get them repaired, leave with my firearms then return without my firearms and activate my immigrant visa and leave again, but it's a lot of jerking around and expensive.

So looks like I will need to hire a US importer. Do we have any members on UT who are licensed importers, preferably in the Dallas TX area? would rather pay a UT member before hiring anyone else, and I can travel anywhere in mainland US.

 

[sharps_74]

Congratulations on the immigration Visa and Green Card. My bride to be and I are getting ready to get a K12. We're going with a company who specializes in K12 Visas.

 

[timgunfreak]

Congratulations on the immigration Visa and Green Card. My bride to be and I are getting ready to get a K12. We're going with a company who specializes in K12 Visas.

Thanks!!!

You know the entry period for the diversity visa (green card lottery) is currently running until 8 November?

Costs nothing to enter and is by far one of the if not cheapest waya to gain a.gteen card.

Only when selected do the fees kick in - $220 USD for the medical, $330 USD for the interview and $220 for the green card.

You and your fiancee should throw in an entry, costs nothing.

Best $770 USD I have ever spent, every night now I'm studying the Gun Broker listings planning my purchases for when I arrive in the US.

 

[root]

Contact Robert Bowman
He specializes in importing mil stuff. He should be able to help you either get them in and back out for repairs or just imported in to stay if possible.

He would know he's a DOD contractor and importer and currently y favorite importer of parts kits Errrrr scrap metal.

sales @ bowmanarms . com
Just jam the email back together.

No idea if he can or will help but he does imports for a living so he is in the know.

 

[Gaujo]

Well welcome to America first off! Second, what needs repairing? Am I right in assuming there is no law against repairing these things yourself if you can fabricate parts, and if it's as simple part, can you not have a machinist make that part in the US at 80% completion, and complete it yourself, or, pay a machinist in your town to step you through the processes but with you doing the work? I can only imagine this import / export business would be expensive.

My rule of thumb is minimize the time my firearms are out of my control.