Sea freight — Nhava Sheva to New York
Transit, port to port32 days
Typically suitsA full or part household, and anything you can live without for a season.
International Moving from India to the USA
Moving a household from India to the USA? Your goods clear export in India, then CBP on arrival.
32 days · Sea, port to port
12,000+ successful movesCompleted to date
99.5%Delivered on time, over the last five years
4.8 out of 5 from 188 Google reviewsAccredited by IAM (International Association of Movers), IMA and GEMWhat does an India to USA move involve?
Two journeys, joined in the middle by the ocean.
The first is domestic. Your things are surveyed, packed, inventoried and trucked to an Indian port, where a shipping bill is filed and the container is cleared for export.
The second is governed almost entirely by United States law. An Importer Security Filing comes before the container is even loaded. Then comes a customs entry on arrival, and a declaration that decides whether you pay duty on your own furniture.
Between the two sits the ocean leg, the part everybody asks about and nobody controls.
Transit times
How long does the sea leg take?
The sea figure below is port to port, on a named liner service. Collection, export clearance, US clearance and final delivery all sit either side of it. Budget for them separately when you plan a start date.
The sea figure is a researched estimate from HMM’s published service network, May 2026. Sailing schedules, port congestion and CBP clearance all move it, and a west-coast port of entry is a different leg again.
What decides your quote
What decides a quote for a move to the USA?
Four things decide it. No price is published, because a number that ignores your volume and your date would be wrong for almost everyone.
- 01
How much is going
A survey lists everything that is going, and that list shapes the quote. - 02
A full container or a shared one
A sole-use container sails when you are ready. A shared load waits for the rest of the container to fill and is consolidated at both ends, which is cheaper and slower. - 03
What is in scope
The work you book shapes the quote. Two quotes compare only when they cover the same work. - 04
The things that are not furniture
Vehicles, pets, pianos, artwork and anything alcoholic each have their own rules and paperwork on this route. Each is quoted separately from the household.
Customs & documents
What paperwork does each end need?
Each end has its own authority and its own list.
Leaving India — export
- Shipping bill — the export declaration CBIC requires before a container is loaded
- Packing list and the valued survey inventory of every carton
- Passport and visa copies, matching the name on the shipment
Administered by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) ↗
Arriving in the USA — import
- CBP Form 3299 — declaration for free entry of unaccompanied articles
- A copy of the visa or residency document you entered the US on
- an Importer Security Filing, transmitted no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port
Administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ↗
Household effects used abroad — the duty-free provision
US law allows free entry of household effects, and the condition is published rather than negotiable. Under 19 CFR 148.52, household effects used abroad not less than 1 year by a family of which the importer was a resident member for not less than 1 year during the period of use may be entered free of duty. Anything bought shortly before you shipped it is a different category, and worth declaring as one.
How it works
What are the stages of a USA move?
There are five. The US filing starts before anything sails.
Survey and quote
Your home is surveyed and everything going is listed. The quote is built on that list.
Booking and paperwork
A sailing is booked and the filings begin. The Importer Security Filing has to be transmitted before your container is loaded in India, not after. So your US address, visa details and inventory values are needed well before anything moves.
Packing and collection
Everything is packed and wrapped to export standard, and every carton is labelled against the survey inventory, then loaded.
Sailing and US clearance
The container sails and your entry is filed on arrival. Clearance is where a shipment can wait, and it waits for missing information far more often than for inspection. The earlier stages exist to prevent that.
Delivery and unpacking
Your shipment moves inland to your address and is unloaded there. If you booked it, it is unpacked and the debris removed.
Where this move starts
Where in India does a USA move start?
It can start on either Indian coast. Your starting city changes the inland leg and which sailing you can reach.
Mumbai and Nhava ShevaNhava Sheva, across the harbour from Mumbai, carries the deep-sea services that run to the US east and west coasts. A household leaving Mumbai has the shortest road leg to the container of anywhere on this lane. Its packing date and its sailing date sit closest together.
Chennai and the east coastChennai is a load port in its own right. A southern household sailing from it takes a different ocean routing to a US port than one leaving the west coast. That changes the date, not the paperwork, because 19 CFR 148.52 asks the same questions of both.
Kolkata and the north-eastKolkata sits far up the Hooghly, so a container leaving it reaches open water later than the map suggests. A household in the north-east chooses between that and an overland leg to another coast. The sailing dates decide it, not the mileage.
What customers say
How did moves between India and the USA go?
We moved from US to India and Imove global was the moving company that handled India part and they did an amazing job of making sure all my items reached with no damage and as is. Very impressed with their service and follow up. Riju has helped us through the entire process informing us of ship location, customs and other formality documentation, coordinating local delivery of items and deploying an amazing unloading and unpacking team. Anyone wanting to move can use their services. They also assist with local within the country moving as well!
Viswanatha Vaddi · Household move · USA → India
I shipped some furniture and household items to my daughter in the US. The whole experience with IMove Global was very smooth and Ms. Venissa Maria managed everything very professionally every step of the way. She was always there to answer questions and everything went perfectly as per schedule. I would highly recommend IMove Global and especially Ms. Venissa Maria.
Sandhya Jaswa · Household move · To the USA
I contacted imove global to move my household things from Bangalore to the US. Venissa responded immediately and I was very impressed with their professionalism in their communication and addressing all our concerns and explaining clearly about the process. The packers came on time and did a wonderful job. It was a very stress free experience from start to finish. Venissa was in touch with me to give me updates on the shipment and when I can expect it. The shipment was delivered on time and intact. I would like to thank Venissa, Vipin and the packers for making it possible. Would definitely recommend Imove global for international shipping.
L S · Household move · Bangalore → USA
Questions
What else do people ask about a USA move?
Will I pay duty on my own furniture going to the USA?
Usually not, provided the goods qualify under 19 CFR 148.52 as household effects used abroad not less than 1 year by a family of which the importer was a resident member for not less than 1 year during the period of use, and you declare them on CBP Form 3299 at entry.
Items used abroad for less than a year fall outside that provision and are declared separately.
How long does sea freight from India to the USA actually take?
The ocean leg alone is about 32 days from Nhava Sheva to New York on a named liner service, and that figure is port to port, so it does not include collection from your home, export clearance in India, US customs clearance on arrival, or the inland move to your door.
Plan on a door-to-door timeline noticeably longer than the sailing time.
Is my shipment insured, and what does that actually cover?
Insurance is all-risk marine cover at declared replacement value, included as standard, so it is not an extra to ask for at the end of a quote, and what matters more than whether you are covered is the valued survey inventory, made before anybody packs a carton, because cover is settled against the values on that list.
Can I send some things by air and the rest by sea?
Yes, and on a lane this long it is usually worth doing, because living out of two suitcases for the whole ocean leg is genuinely difficult, so a small air consignment carries clothes, kitchen essentials, work equipment and anything a child will ask for, with the household following by sea.
Who handles the American end of my move?
Work at the American end, meaning the part of the move that happens once your shipment reaches the United States, from the port where it lands to your new front door, is handled by our own in-house coordinators, working with a vetted agent network and local destination partners.
What can I not ship from India to the USA?
The prohibited and restricted lists are set by the United States rather than by us, and a household shipment is not exempt from either, because some goods cannot enter the country at all and others can enter only with a permit or a declaration made at the point of entry.
Ask about anything you are unsure of before it goes into a carton. An undeclared restricted item delays the whole container, not only itself.
Get a quote, and start your US paperwork early.
Tell us what is moving and roughly when. We reply to every enquiry within 2 hours.
The US filing is due before your container is loaded, not after it lands. Start your own inventory and gather your visa details now.