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      4     <title>USA on Chris Bracken</title>
      5     <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/tags/usa/</link>
      6     <description>Recent content in USA on Chris Bracken</description>
      7     <generator>Hugo -- gohugo.io</generator>
      8     <language>en</language>
      9     <managingEditor>chris@bracken.jp (Chris Bracken)</managingEditor>
     10     <webMaster>chris@bracken.jp (Chris Bracken)</webMaster>
     11     <lastBuildDate>Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://chris.bracken.jp/tags/usa/index.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
     12     <item>
     13       <title>Moving to the US: Importing a Canadian Vehicle</title>
     14       <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2011/05/moving-to-us-letter-of-compliance/</link>
     15       <pubDate>Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
     16       <author>chris@bracken.jp (Chris Bracken)</author>
     17       <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2011/05/moving-to-us-letter-of-compliance/</guid>
     18       <description>&lt;p&gt;A big difference between the last time I moved to the US and this time is that
     19 this time, I&amp;rsquo;ve got a lot more stuff. One of those things is a Nissan Rogue
     20 that&amp;rsquo;s been quietly living its life in Canada. Faced with the prospect of
     21 selling the car and buying a new one, I chose instead to import the one I know
     22 and love.  Here is my story.  But be forewarned, it is not for the faint of
     23 heart.&lt;/p&gt;
     24 &lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#34;https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-05-10-futile.jpg&#34;
     25     alt=&#34;Scrawny kid vs sumo wrestler&#34;&gt;
     26 &lt;/figure&gt;
     27 
     28 &lt;p&gt;To import a vehicle to the US from Canada, you need to undertake a series of
     29 quests. These are detailed on the &lt;a href=&#34;http://stnw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/&#34;&gt;NHTSA website&lt;/a&gt; under the heading
     30 &lt;em&gt;Vehicle Importation Guidelines (Canadian)&lt;/em&gt;. As of May 2011, you need the
     31 following items in increasing order of difficulty:&lt;/p&gt;
     32 &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;[easy]&lt;/strong&gt; The following information about your car:&lt;/p&gt;
     33 &lt;ol&gt;
     34 &lt;li&gt;VIN&lt;/li&gt;
     35 &lt;li&gt;Make/Model/Year&lt;/li&gt;
     36 &lt;li&gt;Month/Year of manufacture&lt;/li&gt;
     37 &lt;li&gt;Registration &amp;amp; ownership information&lt;/li&gt;
     38 &lt;/ol&gt;
     39 &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;[easy]&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href=&#34;http://www.epa.gov/oms/imports/&#34;&gt;EPA Form 3520-1&lt;/a&gt;. You will likely be importing your
     40 vehicle under &lt;em&gt;code EE: identical in all material respects to a US certified
     41 version&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
     42 &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;[easy]&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href=&#34;http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/&#34;&gt;NHTSA Form HS-7&lt;/a&gt;. You will most likely be importing your
     43 vehicle under box 2B, for vehicles that complied with Canadian CMVSA
     44 regulations at their time of manufacture and where the manufacturer attests
     45 that, with a few exceptions, it meets US regulations; see final item.&lt;/p&gt;
     46 &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;[medium]&lt;/strong&gt; A letter on the manufacturer&amp;rsquo;s letterhead from the Canadian
     47 distributor, stating that there are no open recalls or service campaigns on the
     48 vehicle. I&amp;rsquo;m not sure if this is required, but Nissan Canada thought it would
     49 be.&lt;/p&gt;
     50 &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;[hard]&lt;/strong&gt; A letter from the vehicle’s original manufacturer, on
     51 the manufacturer’s letterhead identifying the vehicle by vehicle identification
     52 number (VIN) and stating that the vehicle conforms to all applicable FMVSS
     53 &amp;ldquo;except for the labeling requirements of Standards Nos. 101 &lt;em&gt;Controls and
     54 Displays&lt;/em&gt; and 110 &lt;em&gt;Tire Selection and Rims&lt;/em&gt; or 120 &lt;em&gt;Tire Selection and Rims for
     55 Motor Vehicles other than Passenger Cars&lt;/em&gt;, and/or the specifications of
     56 Standard No. 108 &lt;em&gt;Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment&lt;/em&gt;,
     57 relating to daytime running lamps.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
     58 &lt;p&gt;Items 1-3 are left as an exercise to the reader. I will focus here on items 4
     59 and 5 to save you the 14 hours of accumulated hold time and multiple phone
     60 calls. Prepare yourself friend, for here begins a journey of hurt and
     61 frustration, but you will prevail.&lt;/p&gt;
     62 &lt;p&gt;Let&amp;rsquo;s start with item 4. I gave &lt;a href=&#34;http://www.nissan.ca/common/footer/en/contact.html&#34;&gt;Nissan Canada&lt;/a&gt; a ring at
     63 1-800-387-0122 and managed to make it through the phone navigation system to a
     64 human operator. I told them I was importing a Canadian Nissan into the States
     65 and needed a &lt;em&gt;Letter of Compliance&lt;/em&gt;. After a bit of digging, they stated that
     66 such letters are only provided by &lt;em&gt;Nissan North America,&lt;/em&gt; but they would
     67 instead mail out two other letters on Nissan letterhead:&lt;/p&gt;
     68 &lt;ol&gt;
     69 &lt;li&gt;A letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle has no pending recalls or
     70 service campaigns on it.&lt;/li&gt;
     71 &lt;li&gt;In place of a &lt;em&gt;Certificate of Origin&lt;/em&gt; (which Nissan Canada does not
     72 provide), a letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle was manufactured for
     73 sale in the Canadian market and complied with all safety and emission
     74 regulations at the time of manufacture.&lt;/li&gt;
     75 &lt;/ol&gt;
     76 &lt;p&gt;We&amp;rsquo;re almost there, but your next and final mission is also the most
     77 challenging: the &lt;em&gt;Letter of Compliance&lt;/em&gt;. Call &lt;a href=&#34;http://www.nissanusa.com/apps/contactus&#34;&gt;Nissan North
     78 America&lt;/a&gt; Consumer Affairs Department at 1-800-647-7261. Navigate
     79 through the phone system to an operator - get their name and extension. They
     80 may ask for your VIN only to find it&amp;rsquo;s not in their system. Canadian VINs are
     81 not in their system. Some operators thought they were, others were sure they
     82 weren&amp;rsquo;t. They&amp;rsquo;re not. Many operators tried and failed to find it. Ask them to
     83 open a file, give them the vehicle information and your info and get the file
     84 number. Use this number whenever you call.&lt;/p&gt;
     85 &lt;p&gt;Here are the five steps to success:&lt;/p&gt;
     86 &lt;ol&gt;
     87 &lt;li&gt;Tell the operator that you&amp;rsquo;re importing a Canadian Nissan vehicle to the US
     88 and that you need a &lt;em&gt;Letter of Compliance&lt;/em&gt; stating the VIN and that the
     89 vehicle was built to conform to Canadian and United States EPA emissions
     90 standards and all US Federal motor vehicle standards except for daytime
     91 running light brightness. There is a very good chance they&amp;rsquo;ve never heard of
     92 this. Get them to talk to their supervisor, and their supervisor. Anyone.
     93 Someone will know.&lt;/li&gt;
     94 &lt;li&gt;They will tell you that the vehicle needs to have its daytime running lights
     95 disabled before they will issue the letter of compliance. All the government
     96 rules seem to specifically exclude the daytime running lights, and the
     97 letter they issue even states that the vehicle doesn&amp;rsquo;t meet that standard,
     98 but for whatever reason they want a copy of a work statement showing the
     99 work was done. Remember to get the operator&amp;rsquo;s name and extension and the
    100 fax number for the work statement before you hang up.&lt;/li&gt;
    101 &lt;li&gt;Get the daytime running lights disabled. It&amp;rsquo;s a setting change in the
    102 on-board computer; your local dealer will do this in under 30 mins for $50
    103 or so. &lt;/li&gt;
    104 &lt;li&gt;Fax your the work statement and put your name, return fax number and a
    105 request for the &lt;em&gt;Letter of Compliance&lt;/em&gt; on the cover sheet. Phone Nissan
    106 North America Consumer Affairs back. The phone navigation system will give
    107 you hope that you can input an extension directly, only to find it only
    108 accepts 5-digit extensions but your rep has a 6-digit extension. You&amp;rsquo;ll end
    109 up back in the queue. Ask whoever you get to put you through to your
    110 previous rep, by extension. When you get through, say that you sent the fax
    111 and request the letter. Ask them to phone you back when they&amp;rsquo;ve faxed it.&lt;/li&gt;
    112 &lt;li&gt;You&amp;rsquo;ll get the fax eventually - &lt;em&gt;check the information!&lt;/em&gt; On my letter, the
    113 year, model and VIN were all incorrect, though they got my name right. If
    114 it&amp;rsquo;s incorrect, try again.&lt;/li&gt;
    115 &lt;/ol&gt;
    116 &lt;p&gt;You now have everything you need to import your Nissan to the States. Good
    117 luck my friends, I don&amp;rsquo;t envy you, but know that I am with you and that victory
    118 will someday be yours too.&lt;/p&gt;
    119 </description>
    120     </item>
    121     
    122     <item>
    123       <title>New York, NY, USA</title>
    124       <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/09/new-york-ny-usa/</link>
    125       <pubDate>Thu, 09 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
    126       <author>chris@bracken.jp (Chris Bracken)</author>
    127       <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/09/new-york-ny-usa/</guid>
    128       <description>&lt;p&gt;Flew out to New York for interviews with Tokyo via videoconference on the 9th
    129 and 10th. More details later, but I’ll post pictures now.&lt;/p&gt;
    130 </description>
    131     </item>
    132     
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