Can I send documents and photos to the United States?
Yes.
Personal papers and photos are fine. Photographs count as informational materials, exempt from the 2026 Section 301 duties.
More rules for the United States
Allowed with conditions
- Plants, seeds, and plant products
- Plants and seeds for planting need an APHIS import permit and a phytosanitary certificate for each shipment. Handicrafts made from plant material can be restricted too. Check APHIS's ACIR database before you send.
- Medicines
- FDA lets foreign nationals bring or ship up to a 90-day supply for personal use, ideally with an English prescription or doctor's letter. For others, including US citizens, importing unapproved drugs is generally illegal, though FDA may allow up to a three-month supply for a serious condition. Controlled substances fall under DEA rules.
- Goods made in Cuba or Iran
- Generally banned. OFAC allows informational materials such as books, films, and artwork, and gifts worth up to $100 of a kind normally given as gifts (from Cuba they must be sent, not carried, and can't be alcohol or tobacco). Used household and personal effects of people arriving from Iran are also allowed. Anything else needs an OFAC license.
Before you ship to the United States
- Tax-free limit
- There is no general duty-free limit anymore. The $800 de minimis exemption has been suspended for shipments from every country, by every mode, since August 29, 2025, and a 2025 law repeals it from July 1, 2027. Bona fide gifts from a person abroad to a person in the US stay free of duty when everything one person receives on one day is worth $100 or less ($200 if sent from the US Virgin Islands, Guam, or American Samoa). Alcohol and tobacco never qualify, and a gift worth more than the limit pays duty on its full value.
- Receiver ID
- Importer number (IRS EIN, Social Security number, or CBP-assigned number) needed. CBP identifies importers by an IRS Employer Identification Number, or a Social Security number if there is no EIN, or a number CBP assigns through CBP Form 5106 when you have neither. Couriers ask for the receiver's number to file the customs entry. If the receiver has no SSN or EIN yet, tell the courier before shipping so it can arrange a CBP-assigned number.
- Transit
- 2-5 business days from Canada, Mexico, or Western Europe; 3-6 from Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere
Questions
Can I send documents and photos to the United States?
Yes. Personal papers and photos are fine. Photographs count as informational materials, exempt from the 2026 Section 301 duties.
Do I need to file export paperwork to send boxes from the US?
Usually not. Electronic Export Information is needed only when one type of item (one Schedule B number) is worth more than $2,500, or when an export license is required. Shipments to Canada are generally exempt. The courier can file it for you.
Ask about a specific item
Official sources
- 1.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Prohibited and Restricted Items (opens in a new tab) - 2.
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
Shipping Plants, Food, and Other Ag Items via Express Courier (opens in a new tab) - 3.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Personal Importation (opens in a new tab) - 4.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
CSMS # 69326983 - GUIDANCE: Section 301 Forced Labor Import Duties (opens in a new tab) - 5.
Office of the Federal Register (eCFR)
19 CFR Chapter I -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security; Department of the Treasury (opens in a new tab) - 6.
Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of the Treasury (eCFR)
31 CFR Chapter V -- Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the Treasury (opens in a new tab)
General guidance, not legal advice. Customs in the United States makes the final decision on every box.