1

I'm an international student in the United States. I inherited around 1 million USD from my father.

Can I bring that money into the U.S. through an airport?

7
  • 10
    Like in a briefcase? Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 2:19
  • 3
    And is it actual US currency, or a bank account, investments. or anything but a pile of $100 bills?
    – jamesqf
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 14:19
  • 3
    That sounds extremely suspicious. I'd have a lot of questions for you if I were there CBP agent processing you at the airport. Even in the best case, you're going to be pulled aside for extensive questioning.
    – Daniel
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 16:42
  • 7
    That's also ignoring the obvious risks of carrying that much cash around anywhere.
    – Daniel
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 16:48
  • 2
    Posting as a comment because I dont have a handle on all the details - CBP info, you can carry it in but you need to declare it. cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg/money . The IRS may have a similar requirement, as an international student do you currently have to file or pay taxes in the US?
    – Freiheit
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 19:12

1 Answer 1

13

Technically, yes. But it may not be a good idea.

You will need to declare it, because it's over $10000. And you will have to explain to the officer why you are carrying $1M. If they don't believe your explanation, they will take the money from you.

2
  • 5
    You won't only have this issue with customs. Any police officer that catches you with that much money will probably take it and claim it's drug money. Even if you can prove otherwise, good luck getting it back.
    – Kat
    Commented Jul 30, 2020 at 2:06
  • 1
    Worse yet, walking into a bank with one million dollars cash and trying to deposit into an existing bank account (or trying to open a new bank account with such a large cash deposit) will not work very well either. Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 18:41

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .