Shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA 0552803439 | Household Goods, Luggage and Car Shipping by Sea and Air to Every State

Home Safe offers shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA for furniture, luggage, parcels and goods, from every city in the Kingdom to New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago and all the other states. The distance between the two countries is long, so shipping is by sea or air only: a container arrives within 35 to 50 days on the East Coast, and an air shipment within 5 to 8 days. Air freight starts from SAR 41 a kilogram, a small parcel from SAR 55, and part-load furniture from SAR 2,750. For bookings and enquiries: 0552803439.

In this guide48ShowHide

1. What does shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA involve?
2. Who ships from Saudi Arabia to the USA, and what do they ship?
3. The shipping methods available from Saudi Arabia to the USA
4. Route and transit time from Saudi Arabia to the USA
5. What lengthens the time?
6. Shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to the USA
7. What sets the price?
8. How do you bring the cost down?
9. Shipping to the USA from the cities of the Kingdom
10. Sea container freight to the East, West and Gulf coast ports
11. A full container or a shared one?
12. Shipping students’ and immigrants’ household goods from Saudi Arabia to the USA
13. What is worth shipping from the home, and what is not
14. Shipping parcels, gifts and documents to the USA
15. Shipping commercial goods from Saudi Arabia to the USA
16. Shipping dates, coffee and food to the USA
17. Car shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA
18. US customs and the charges that may apply
19. The documents and conditions required for shipping
20. What may not be shipped to the USA, and what is restricted
21. Delivering shipments from Saudi Arabia in New York, Houston, Los Angeles and Chicago
22. Air freight from Saudi Arabia to the USA
23. Packing, and making sure the shipment arrives safely
24. Steps for shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA
25. Tracking the shipment and insuring it
26. Shipping from the USA to Saudi Arabia
27. Tips for making shipping to the USA simpler
28. How do you choose a company for shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA?
29. Common mistakes when shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA
30. Why Home Safe for shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA?
31. Related articles and pages
32. Tags
33. Frequently asked questions about shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA
34. How much does shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA cost?
35. How long does shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA take?
36. What is the cheapest way to ship from Saudi Arabia to the USA?
37. Do I pay duty on my used furniture and belongings in the USA?
38. Is duty charged on a small parcel sent to the USA?
39. What is the importer security filing and who submits it?
40. Can I ship my car from Saudi Arabia to the USA?
41. Do you ship dates, coffee and spices to the USA?
42. What documents are needed to ship from Saudi Arabia to the USA?
43. Do you collect from every city in the Kingdom?
44. Which states does the shipment reach?
45. Will my electrical appliances work in the USA?
46. How do I track my shipment until it arrives?
47. Is the shipment insured?
48. Do you ship from the USA to Saudi Arabia?

The sea route: from your city to Jeddah Islamic Port, then the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar, then the Atlantic Ocean to a US port, then truck or rail to your address · Expected time: by sea 35–50 days, by air 5–8 days.

What does shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA involve?

It means moving a shipment from an address in the Kingdom to an address in the United States through a chain of five links: collection and packing, haulage to the port or airport, an international voyage or flight, clearance with US customs, and delivery inside the state. The shipment may be two suitcases for a student, a whole family’s furniture, or a container of goods for an importer. The links are the same in every case; their size and paperwork differ.

Understanding this chain before you start saves you money and time, because most of what goes wrong on this route does not go wrong at sea but on paper. A container whose details were not sent before loading, a carton of dates with no notice, or a list of contents that says only “personal effects”. Three things are settled before any booking: your status in the USA, what is in the shipment item by item, and who pays the charges on arrival.

Who ships from Saudi Arabia to the USA, and what do they ship?

The route between the Kingdom and the USA serves well-known groups, and each has a method that suits it and a customs treatment of its own. The largest in number are scholarship holders and students, then immigrating families and permanent residents, then Americans going home when their contracts in the Kingdom end. With them are people sending gifts to relatives, exporters and owners of online shops.

Shipper	What they ship	Best method	What matters at customs
Student or scholarship holder	Suitcases, books, clothes and housing basics	Air, or a sea part load	Used personal effects on a declaration
Immigrating family	Household furniture, carpets and kitchenware	20ft or 40ft container	The one-year use condition, and form 3299
American returning after work	Furniture, belongings and antiques	Container or part load	Returning-resident relief; recent purchases are declared
Someone sending to family	Dates, coffee, clothes and gifts	Air	Food notice, and the duty on the parcel
Online shop	Parcels for customers in the states	Express air	Duty on every parcel, and country of origin
Exporter or factory	Dates, abayas, perfumes and raw materials	Container, with samples by air	Tariff heading and importer number

The shipping methods available from Saudi Arabia to the USA

Three methods cover everything that is shipped: sea freight in containers, standard air freight, and express for parcels and documents. Weight and time decide between them. Express suits an envelope or a light parcel and is delivered to the address with no intermediary. Standard air freight is booked on a cargo flight or in the hold of a passenger aircraft, and costs less per kilogram as the weight grows. The sea is for whatever nothing else can carry.

Method	Time to the address	Pricing unit	Suits
Express	5–8 days	The parcel or the kilogram	Documents and parcels up to 30 kg
Standard air freight	5–8 days, sometimes two more	Chargeable kilogram	Luggage, samples and goods up to 300 kg
Sea part load	45–60 days	Cubic metre	Cartons and the furniture of a room or two
Full container	35–50 days to the East Coast	The container	A whole home and wholesale goods

As for a land route, there is none at all, since an ocean lies between the two countries. Anyone offering “land freight to America” means, at best, trucking the shipment to the port. A wider comparison of the methods is on the shipping methods comparison page.

Route and transit time from Saudi Arabia to the USA

A container bound for the East Coast spends about three to five weeks at sea, and the rest of the time goes at the two ends: preparation and clearance in the Kingdom, then customs and delivery in the USA. Some sailings are direct, and on others the container is moved from one vessel to another at an intermediate Mediterranean port, which adds days. We tell you the type of sailing when you book.

Stage	What happens	Usual time
Collection and packing	Inventory, numbering and loading at the home	One to two days
Haulage to the port and export	Truck to the port, export declaration and the security filing	3–6 days
Sailing	Suez, then the Mediterranean, then the Atlantic	23–35 days to the East and Gulf coasts
US customs	Release, and possibly an examination	2–5 days
Inland delivery	Truck or rail, then unloading at the home	2–7 days

What lengthens the time?

• Customs examination: US customs may select the container for an X-ray scan or for opening, which delays it by days, and its owner bears the examination fee.
• Part loads: they wait for the container to fill in Jeddah, and are then unpacked in a bonded warehouse on arrival before delivery.
• The West Coast: the route to Los Angeles is longer, adding one to two weeks to the voyage.
• Seasons: in the months before the year-end holidays, US ports and their trucks are congested.
• Incomplete paperwork: a vague list, a missing value, or a name that does not match the passport.

The table of times for other destinations is on the transit times page.

Shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to the USA

The prices in the table are where our services start, and the final price is written once three things are known: what you are shipping, with its size and weight, your city in the Kingdom, and the consignee’s address in the USA. Air is charged on the chargeable weight, which is the higher of the actual and the volumetric weight. A sea part load is charged on volume. A container has one price whatever is inside it.

What you ship	Method	Pricing unit	Price
Document envelope or small parcel	Express air	The parcel	Starts from SAR 55
Luggage, suitcases and cartons	Air	Chargeable kilogram	Starts from SAR 41
Furniture and belongings as a part load	Shared sea container	The shipment	Starts from SAR 2,750
20ft container	Sea	The container	Starts from SAR 7,800
40ft container	Sea	The container	Set on request
Car	Container or RoRo	The car	Set on request, after its eligibility is checked
Haulage from your city to the port	Truck	The trip	Set on request

The prices quoted in the market on this route span a wide range, and most are published in dollars. Port-to-port freight for a 20ft container is quoted at between 3,500 and 6,000 dollars to the East Coast, about SAR 13,100 to 22,500, and a 40ft container to the West Coast at between 4,500 and 8,000 dollars. A cubic metre in a shared container is quoted at between 150 and 350 dollars. Air freight for general cargo runs between 4 and 8 dollars a kilogram airport to airport, and express parcels between 10 and 20 dollars a kilogram. All of these shift with the season and the state of the shipping lines, so no budget should be built on them before the price of your own shipment has been worked out on its sailing.

What sets the price?

Factor	Its effect on the price
Coast and state	The east costs less than the west, and inland states add rail or truck
Scope of service	To the port costs less; to the door includes clearance, delivery and unloading
Collection city	The distance to the port of Jeddah or Dammam is charged as a truck trip
Volume after packing	Good packing adds a little volume and protects a great deal
Type of goods	Food and cosmetics need a procedure with a US agency
US charges	Paid by the consignee, or added to your price in advance

How do you bring the cost down?

• Leave the large appliances: they do not run on US electricity, and shipping them eats a quarter of the container.
• Dismantle what can be dismantled: a bed, a wardrobe and a table take half the space when taken apart.
• Pick the port nearest your address: trucking inside the USA is expensive and charged by the mile.
• Ship a part load if your volume is small: less than half a 20ft container does not justify a container of your own.
• Book early: summer and pre-holiday prices are higher than the rest of the year.

Work out the volume of your shipment with the cubic metre calculator, and the items are explained on the pricing factors page.

Shipping to the USA from the cities of the Kingdom

We collect from any Saudi city, and a sea shipment mostly leaves from Jeddah Islamic Port, because it lies on the Red Sea and is the Saudi port nearest the Suez Canal and the Atlantic beyond it. King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam serves the Eastern Province when the cargo is heavy and not urgent, and its vessel sails round the Arabian Peninsula, which lengthens the voyage. Air freight leaves from the international airport nearest you.

Collection city	Port of exit and distance to it	Air freight airport	More
Jeddah	Jeddah Islamic Port, inside the city	King Abdulaziz International	International shipping companies in Jeddah
Makkah and Taif	Jeddah port, 80 km from Makkah and 170 km from Taif	Jeddah airport	Both served from Jeddah the same day
Madinah and Yanbu	Jeddah port, about 420 km from Madinah	Madinah airport or via Jeddah	Closed truck to Jeddah
Riyadh	Jeddah port, about 950 km, or the dry port and then Dammam	King Khalid International	International shipping company in Riyadh
Dammam, Khobar, Jubail and Al-Ahsa	Dammam port, or Jeddah port about 1,350 km away	King Fahd International	International shipping company in Dammam
Qassim and Hail	Jeddah port, about 900 km from Buraydah	Riyadh or Qassim airport	Joined to the Riyadh runs
Tabuk	Jeddah port, about 1,000 km	Via Jeddah airport	Closed truck to Jeddah
Abha, Khamis Mushait and Jazan	Jeddah port, about 700 km from Abha	Via Jeddah airport	Closed truck to Jeddah

Riyadh has no seaport, so a container of its furniture is loaded in front of the house and sealed, then driven to Jeddah to meet its vessel. The dry port and the railway to Dammam remain an option for commercial cargo when a sailing from there suits it. In Makkah and Madinah the hours at which large trucks may enter are regulated and tighten in Ramadan and Hajj, so we confirm the ones in force before loading day. The cities we serve are on the cities page.

Sea container freight to the East, West and Gulf coast ports

The USA has three coasts that receive containers, and the choice of port is built on the consignee’s address, not on the port nearest the Kingdom. A 20ft or 40ft container is loaded at your home and sealed, and stays sealed until it is opened in front of the consignee, unless customs asks to examine it. The East Coast is the nearest by sea, the Gulf Coast serves Texas and the South, and the West Coast serves California and its neighbours.

Coast	Ports	States it serves	Door to door
East	New York and New Jersey, Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston and Savannah	New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia and Florida, and the Midwest by rail	35–45 days
Gulf Coast	Houston and New Orleans	Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and their neighbours	38–50 days
West	Los Angeles and Long Beach, Oakland and Seattle	California, Arizona, Nevada and Washington	45–60 days

There is more than one way to reach the West Coast: a vessel that crosses the Atlantic and then the Panama Canal, a sailing eastwards through an Asian port and then the Pacific, or landing at an eastern port and finishing the journey by rail. The shipping line decides that according to its services, and we choose whatever combines the shortest time and the lowest cost on the day you book. Container dimensions are on the container sizes page, and the service is on the sea freight page.

A full container or a shared one?

A full container is yours alone, and in a shared one you pay for the space your shipment takes among other people’s shipments. The working rule: if your belongings fill half a 20ft container or more, a container of your own is cheaper and safer. If it is a room or a few cartons, a shared one is enough. The difference that matters most on the US route is that a shared shipment is unpacked in a bonded warehouse on arrival, which adds handling and charges there.

Comparison	Full container	Shared container
Capacity	About 28 cubic metres in a 20ft, and 58 in a 40ft	From one cubic metre
Loading	In front of your home, sealed in your presence	The items are taken to the consolidation warehouse
Time	Shorter; it leaves on the first sailing	One to two weeks longer
Handling	Twice: loading and unloading	At least four times
Suits	A whole home, or wholesale goods	A student, a room, or cartons

A 20ft container normally holds the furniture of a two- to three-bedroom flat, and a 40ft container holds the furniture of a large house, or furniture together with a car that is eligible for entry. Container prices to other destinations are in the article container shipping prices from Jeddah.

Shipping students’ and immigrants’ household goods from Saudi Arabia to the USA

These are our most frequent shipments on the route, and the easiest at customs if the file is prepared early. The practice at US customs is that used belongings and furniture enter free of duty for anyone moving to live or study, provided they have used them in their home outside the USA for at least a year and that they are not for sale. That is shown by declaration form 3299 and a list of contents in English. We go through the import conditions in force with you before we close the first carton.

• Students and scholarship holders: they usually ship 4 to 12 cartons of clothes, books and housing basics. The quickest plan is for suitcases to go ahead by air and the rest to follow by sea.
• Immigrating families: they ship their furniture once the visa is issued, and the container should preferably arrive after its owner does, because customs asks for the passport and the entry stamp.
• Permanent residents: they attach a copy of the card and state the date of their last entry.
• Returning Americans: what they used abroad enters on the same declaration, and what they bought recently is listed with its value.

We work on the shipment in three fixed steps: packing each piece in what suits it, numbering every carton with a number visible on two sides, and an inventory that ties the number to its contents and their approximate value. That inventory is what customs reads, and what is referred to if a carton goes missing. New items in their boxes are written on a separate line, since mixing them with used goods exposes the whole shipment to examination. Service details are on the furniture shipping page.

What is worth shipping from the home, and what is not

Not everything in the home suits the USA, and sorting before loading saves cubic metres that would be paid for to no purpose. Electricity there is 120 volts, and houses and flats are mostly let with the kitchen appliances in place. On the other hand, good wooden furniture and hand-made carpets are expensive there, so shipping them pays. The table sums up the sorting we suggest before packing:

Item	Ship it?	Reason
Bedrooms, majlis seating and tables	Yes	They are dismantled and wrapped, and replacing them there is costly
Carpets and soft furnishings	Yes	Light, and they fill the gaps in the container
Fridge, washing machine, oven and air conditioner	No	A different voltage, and the housing comes with them
Television and small appliances	Depends on the appliance	Whatever is marked 100–240 volts works with a plug adaptor
Books, clothes and kitchenware	Yes	In small cartons of no more than 25 kg each
Opened foodstuffs and plants	No	They are held at the agricultural inspection and delay the container

Raw timber in the packing carries a condition: any wooden crate or pallet must bear the international treatment stamp, or it is sent back or destroyed at its owner’s expense. So we use stamped timber, or manufactured boards that the condition does not cover.

Shipping parcels, gifts and documents to the USA

A parcel to the USA goes by air, reaches the address within 5 to 8 days, and starts from SAR 55 for a small parcel or a document envelope. We collect it from your door, weigh and measure it in front of you, and write its customs declaration in English item by item. Words such as “gifts” or “clothes” on their own send a parcel back for examination, so we write the number, the material and the value.

The most important change on this route is that a small parcel no longer enters free of duty as it used to. The exemption that covered anything under 800 dollars is currently suspended, so a commercial parcel is charged according to its type and its country of origin. A personal gift keeps a special treatment with a small limit that changes. That is why we always ask you: does the consignee pay the duty at the door, or do we pay it for them and add it to your price? The second is safer for gifts and shop orders. Service details are on the parcel shipping page.

Shipping commercial goods from Saudi Arabia to the USA

Commercial goods enter the USA in the name of a registered importer who has a number with customs, together with a commercial invoice stating the description of the goods, their value, their country of origin and their tariff heading. Anything above a certain value enters on a formal entry handled by a licensed broker under a customs bond. We arrange the shipping and the documents from the Kingdom’s side, and coordinate with the importer’s broker or provide one through our agent.

• Country of origin: it is marked in English on the product itself or its packaging, a US requirement over which many goods are turned back.
• Duties: they are calculated on the tariff heading and the country of origin, and new duties that keep changing have been added, so we check what is in force before pricing.
• Service fees: the merchandise processing fee, and the harbour maintenance fee on sea freight, are added to the customs duty.
• Banned origin: under the rules in force, goods of Iranian origin such as carpets and saffron do not enter the USA even when shipped from the Kingdom.
• Samples: they go by air, are marked as samples, and their true value is stated.

Service details are on the commercial shipping page.

Shipping dates, coffee and food to the USA

Dates are the first thing expatriates ask to ship, and the first thing to be held if shipped without arrangement. The US rule is that every food entering the country is preceded by an electronic notice to the Food and Drug Administration, stating the product, its manufacturer, its country and its quantity. We arrange the notice before collection and write its number on the waybill. The practice is that what an individual makes at home and sends as a gift is treated differently, but anything bought in a shop needs the notice.

Item	Ruling	What it needs
Packed and sealed dates	Shipped	Prior notice, and the producer’s name and country of origin on the pack
Coffee, cardamom and ground spices	Shipped	Prior notice, and closed packs
Food in a commercial quantity	Shipped	A facility registered with the Administration, and a label in English
Meat, ghee and animal products	Not shipped in private consignments	They are stopped at the agricultural inspection
Fruit, vegetables, plants and seeds	Not shipped	They need special agricultural permits
Zamzam water	Not shipped as cargo	Carried only by the traveller in its dedicated pack

Car shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA

The USA is one of the hardest countries for accepting imported cars, so the first question is not about the price but about the car’s eligibility. The practice is that a car cannot be registered there unless it conforms to the US safety standards and the US emissions standards, and most cars from the Gulf market do not. That is why we ask for the chassis number and a photo of the manufacturer’s label before we give a price.

The car’s situation	Does it enter?	Note
Built to US specifications and carrying the conformity label	Yes	The safety and emissions forms are filed with the registration
25 years old or more	Yes	Exempt from the safety standards; the emissions standards have a lower age limit
Recent Gulf specification	Mostly no	It needs conformity work through a registered importer, at a high cost
A non-resident visitor’s car	Temporary entry	The practice is one year, then it is taken back out, and it is not sold

When the car is eligible we ship it inside a container, lashed by its wheels, or rolled on to a RoRo vessel. Before that come the cancellation of its plates and the export certificate from the traffic department, and a thorough wash of its underside, because the US agricultural inspection rejects a car carrying soil. The price is set on request. The shipping guide is in the article car shipping from Saudi Arabia, and the service is on the car shipping page.

US customs and the charges that may apply

Customs and Border Protection is the authority that releases the shipment, and other agencies review what concerns them: the Food and Drug Administration for food, medicines and cosmetics, and the Department of Agriculture for plants, timber and animal products. The charge depends on the status of the shipment before its value. Used belongings with their declaration are exempt, a gift has its limit, and commercial goods are charged on their heading.

Type of shipment	Usual treatment	What we prepare
Used belongings and furniture of someone relocating	Free of duty on the one-year use condition	Form 3299 and the list of contents
New items among the belongings	Duty on their value	A separate line with the value, and the invoice if there is one
Small commercial parcel	Duty by type and origin	A detailed declaration, and the prepaid option
Personal gift	An exemption with a small, changing limit	Marked as a gift, with its value stated
Commercial goods	Duty on the tariff heading, plus service fees	Invoice, packing list and certificate of origin
A sea container, whatever is in it	The security filing before loading	We submit it before the sailing closes

Dealing with US customs rests on honest declaration more than on anything else. An understated value and a vague description are found out at examination, and the penalty is a fine larger than the duty that was meant to be avoided. The regulations there change, so everything in this section is the practice in force, and we confirm the current rules before shipping. A fuller explanation is on the customs clearance page.

The documents and conditions required for shipping

The documents differ with the type of shipment, and the common rule is that they are written in English and that the name on them matches the passport letter for letter. We ask you for them as photos on WhatsApp before collection day, check them, and complete whatever is missing before the shipment moves, not after it arrives.

Type of shipment	Documents
Personal belongings and furniture	Passport, visa or permanent resident card, a list of contents in English, and declaration form 3299
Parcel or gift	The sender’s ID or residence permit, a description and value for each item, and the consignee’s address with postcode and phone
Commercial goods	Commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, bill of lading and the importer number
Food	The above, with the prior notice number and the manufacturer’s details
An eligible car	Registration, export certificate, purchase invoice, and the safety and emissions forms

The general conditions for shipping are four: that the goods may be exported from the Kingdom and may enter the USA, that they are packed to withstand a long journey, that the consignee has a correct address and phone number, and that it is agreed in advance who pays the charges. Controlled goods need an export permit from their authority in the Kingdom. Each document is explained on the shipping documents page.

What may not be shipped to the USA, and what is restricted

Prohibited goods are of two kinds: what does not enter the USA under any circumstances, and what enters with a permit or in a personal quantity. A mistake here costs more than elsewhere, because a single offending item stops the whole container until it is settled. We go through your list before packing and take out whatever will not pass.

Item	Ruling
Narcotics and psychotropic substances	Prohibited outright
Weapons, ammunition and fireworks	Prohibited without special licences
Counterfeits and fake trademarks	Seized, with a fine
Ivory and products of protected animals	Prohibited
Oud and its oil	The wood is listed under the endangered species convention, so a commercial quantity needs a certificate
Medicines	A personal quantity with a prescription; anything else is held
Cosmetics and supplements	Subject to the Food and Drug Administration, and some ingredients are banned
Lithium batteries, perfumes and aerosols	Dangerous goods by air, accepted by special arrangement
Cash, gold and jewellery	Not shipped with belongings

The general list of what is not shipped from the Kingdom is on the prohibited items page.

Delivering shipments from Saudi Arabia in New York, Houston, Los Angeles and Chicago

Delivery in the USA comes after clearance, and it is the link many people underestimate until its cost surprises them. The container is landed at the port with a few free days, and if it has not left within them, storage charges begin. So our agent starts clearance before the vessel arrives and books the truck for the release date. Then comes delivery to the address in one of two ways: the container itself stands in front of the house and is unloaded, or it is unpacked in a warehouse and loaded on a smaller truck that can enter residential streets.

City	Port or airport	How the shipment reaches it
New York and New Jersey	Port of New York and New Jersey, and Kennedy airport	Directly, and on to Boston and Philadelphia by truck
Washington, Virginia and Maryland	Baltimore or Norfolk, and Dulles airport	Truck the same day
Houston	The port of Houston and its airport	Directly, and on to Dallas, Austin and San Antonio
Los Angeles	Los Angeles and Long Beach, and its airport	Directly, and on to San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix
Chicago	O’Hare airport, and by sea through an eastern port	The container continues by rail from the coast, then truck
Detroit and Dearborn	Through an eastern port or Chicago	Rail, then truck
Atlanta and Florida	Savannah, Charleston or Miami	Truck from the port

Before delivery day we ask the consignee three things: whether a large truck is allowed to stop in the street, which floor they live on and whether the building has a lift, and whether the building management requires a moving slot to be booked. The answers set the size of the truck and the number of workers, and prevent the waiting charges that are billed there by the hour. Service details are on the door to door page.

Air freight from Saudi Arabia to the USA

Air freight is the route for parcels and urgent luggage, and reaches the address within 5 to 8 days. The shipment leaves from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, and from the other cities through the nearest of these airports. Some shipments travel on direct flights to particular US cities, and most stop at a Gulf or European airport. Their details are sent to the US authorities before take-off, and they pass a strict security screening.

• Price: starts from SAR 41 per chargeable kilogram, and a small parcel from SAR 55.
• Chargeable weight: the higher of actual and volumetric, so a large, light carton is paid for by its size.
• Airports: New York, Washington, Chicago, Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles, then a domestic carrier to any state.
• What it suits: students’ suitcases, gifts, samples, shop orders, and anything under 300 kilograms.
• Delivery: to the address, or to the airport for anyone who has a broker.

Work out the weight of your carton with the volumetric weight calculator. The weight bands, the security screening and shipping suitcases instead of paying for excess baggage are covered in the article air freight from Jeddah to the USA, and the service is on the air freight page.

Packing, and making sure the shipment arrives safely

A shipment to the USA covers the longest distance we serve, and passes through two climates and more than one crane and truck. Packing here is designed around humidity and vibration, not impact alone. The container crosses the Atlantic and moisture condenses on its walls at night, so we place moisture absorbers and wrap wood and leather in material that breathes.

• Wooden furniture: corrugated paper and then a blanket, with reinforced corners, and never wrapped directly in plastic.
• Glass, mirrors and paintings: a stamped wooden crate, or a double carton padded on every side.
• Cartons: double-walled, filled with no empty space, numbered on two sides.
• Securing inside the container: straps and bars that prevent sliding, with the heavy items at the bottom and the front.
• Air shipments: a carton of no more than 30 kg, with the address inside the carton and outside it.

For how each kind of item is wrapped, see the packing guide; for how a load is strapped down in a container, the packing and lashing page.

Steps for shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA

1. The call: you tell us your city, the consignee’s address and your status in the USA, and send photos or a list of what you are shipping.
2. Eligibility check: we sort what can be shipped from what is prohibited, and settle the best method and port.
3. The price: it reaches you broken down by item and scope of service, with who pays the US charges.
4. Documents: we prepare the list and the declaration form, and arrange prior notice if the shipment contains food.
5. Collection: packing, numbering and inventory at your home, and loading and sealing the container in your presence.
6. Export: haulage to the port or airport, the export declaration, and the security filing for the container before loading.
7. Arrival and clearance: our agent handles it and tells you what customs asks for, if it asks for anything.
8. Delivery: transport to the address, unloading, and checking the numbers against the list.

Tracking the shipment and insuring it

Tracking and insurance are two services asked for by everyone shipping something of value over a distance like this. Tracking answers the question “where is it now”, and insurance answers “what if”. We give you the container or bill of lading number so that you can see it yourself on the carrier’s site, and we fill in what the site does not show: the clearance status, the truck appointment, and the driver’s name on delivery day.

Insurance is optional, is calculated as a percentage of the declared value, and is based on the same numbered list. Without it, the sea or air carrier compensates up to a limit worked out on the weight or the number of packages, which is far below the value of furniture or appliances. Valuable pieces must be photographed before packing, and the shipment inspected at delivery with any remark written on the delivery note before signing. Details of both services are on the shipment tracking and cargo insurance pages.

Shipping from the USA to Saudi Arabia

The service runs in the opposite direction too, and those who ask for it most are returning scholarship students. Our agent collects the belongings from the accommodation in the USA, or receives your shop purchases at his warehouse and combines them into one shipment. They are shipped by air, or in a container to Jeddah Islamic Port or the port of Dammam, and we then clear and deliver them to your city. The practice at Saudi customs is that a returning person’s used personal belongings have a conditional exemption, and that imported cars have an age limit, so we go through the current rules with you before shipping from there.

Tips for making shipping to the USA simpler

• Start two months before you travel: the container needs booking, the list needs time, and the visa may be delayed.
• Have your shipment arrive after you: your presence or your entry stamp is a condition of the exemption for belongings.
• Write the list as you pack: carton by carton, not from memory after sealing.
• Carry your papers, medicines and gold with you: they have no place in the container.
• Give us a US number for the consignee: customs and the driver call that, not your Saudi number.

How do you choose a company for shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA?

The US route exposes a weak company quickly, because its mistakes surface in a distant port where the fine is in dollars. A company that knows the route asks about your visa and your state before it asks how many cartons you have. These are signs to tell them apart:

What you ask about	Reassuring sign	Warning sign
Registration	A commercial registration and a known office	Only a mobile number and a social media account
The security filing	They mention it and set the date for submitting it	They do not know it, or say “it is arranged on arrival”
Customs	They ask about your status and prepare the declaration	“Everything is exempt”
Price	They separate freight from US port charges and delivery	A single figure with no telling where it ends
Delivery	An agent inside the USA who clears and delivers	Their role ends at the quay
Food	They ask for the product details for the prior notice	“Put it among the clothes”

Common mistakes when shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA

• Shipping the container before the visa is issued, so it arrives with its owner holding no status to be exempted under.
• Sending the container’s details after it is loaded on the vessel, so a security filing violation is recorded.
• Putting dates or spices inside the furniture cartons without mentioning them on the list.
• Shipping the fridge, washing machine and air conditioner to a country with a different voltage.
• Shipping a Gulf-specification car in the hope of registering it there.
• Using wooden crates that do not bear the treatment stamp.
• Comparing a “to the port” price with a “to the door” price as though they were one service.

Why Home Safe for shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA?

Because a long route needs someone who holds both ends of it. We collect from your home in the Kingdom, we have an agent who handles clearance and delivery in the USA, and between the two is a single file that we follow, not you. And from the first call we tell you what is not worth shipping, even if that makes your shipment smaller.

To book: 0552803439 by call or WhatsApp, from 7 am to 11 pm. Or through the request a quote page.

Related articles and pages

• Air freight from Jeddah to the USA
• Shipping from Jeddah to Canada
• Shipping from Saudi Arabia to Europe
• International sea freight from Jeddah
• Ports and gateways
• Shipping destinations

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Frequently asked questions about shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA

How much does shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA cost?

Each method has its own unit. Air freight starts from SAR 41 per chargeable kilogram, and a small parcel or a document envelope from SAR 55. Furniture and belongings by sea as a part load start from SAR 2,750, and a container from SAR 7,800. What belongs to your own shipment is added: haulage from your city to the port, the state you live in, and whatever US customs asks for. Send the list and the address to 0552803439 and the price reaches you itemised.

How long does shipping from Saudi Arabia to the USA take?

By sea, between 35 and 50 days from your door to the consignee’s door in the East Coast and Gulf Coast states, and longer to the West Coast because the route is longer. A part load takes more time than a full container, since it waits for consolidation and is then unpacked in a warehouse. By air, between 5 and 8 days to the address, depending on the state.

What is the cheapest way to ship from Saudi Arabia to the USA?

The sea, for anything heavy or bulky that its owner is in no hurry for: furniture, many cartons, wholesale goods. The air, for whatever is light or urgent. In practice the dividing line sits near 300 kilograms: below it air is reasonably priced and fast, and above it the gap in favour of the sea becomes wide.

Do I pay duty on my used furniture and belongings in the USA?

Under the rules in force, used household furniture and effects enter free of duty if they have been in your possession and use outside the USA for at least a year, and are neither for sale nor for another person. Customs declaration form 3299 is filed for this, with the passport, the visa and the list of contents. New items are listed separately with their value and are dutiable. We go through the current conditions with you before loading.

Is duty charged on a small parcel sent to the USA?

In most cases, yes. A parcel worth less than 800 dollars used to enter free of duty, and that exemption is currently suspended, so every commercial parcel is charged according to its type and its country of origin. A gift from one person to another has a small exemption limit that changes, so we confirm the one in force before shipping and count the duty in the cost.

What is the importer security filing and who submits it?

An electronic statement that US customs requires for every sea container at least twenty-four hours before it is loaded on the vessel at the port of departure. It holds the details of the sender, the consignee and the contents of the container. Filing it late exposes the owner of the shipment to a heavy fine and to the container being held on arrival. We submit it through our agent, as long as your details reach us before the cut-off.

Can I ship my car from Saudi Arabia to the USA?

The answer depends on the car itself. A car built to US specifications and carrying the conformity label enters under the usual procedure. A car that is 25 years old or more is exempt from the safety requirements. Anything in between, built to Gulf specifications, cannot enter for permanent use except through a registered importer who modifies it, which is costly and not available for every model. That is why we check the chassis number before any booking.

Do you ship dates, coffee and spices to the USA?

Yes, provided prior notice is given to the Food and Drug Administration before the shipment arrives, even when it is a gift bought in a shop. Dates travel in their sealed packs, marked with the producer’s name and the country of origin. A commercial quantity needs a facility registered with the Administration and a label in English. Meat and meat products, and fresh fruit and vegetables, are not shipped.

What documents are needed to ship from Saudi Arabia to the USA?

For personal effects: a copy of the passport and the visa or permanent resident card, a list of contents in English, and declaration form 3299. For commercial goods: a commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin and the US importer number. For a sea container, the security filing before loading. For food, the prior notice number.

Do you collect from every city in the Kingdom?

Yes. We collect from Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Dammam, Khobar, Jubail, Al-Ahsa, Qassim, Tabuk, Hail, Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, Taif and Yanbu. A sea shipment is hauled to Jeddah Islamic Port or the port of Dammam, whichever sailing suits best, and an air shipment leaves from the nearest international airport.

Which states does the shipment reach?

All the contiguous states. The container is landed at the port nearest your address and then continues inland by truck or rail: Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Denver and others. An air shipment reaches the nearest main airport and a domestic carrier then delivers it. Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico are priced on request because they have sailings of their own.

Will my electrical appliances work in the USA?

Not all of them. Household electricity in the USA is 120 volts with flat-pin sockets, and most appliances in the Kingdom are designed for a higher voltage. Chargers and computers usually work on both voltages and need only a plug adaptor. A washing machine, fridge, air conditioner or oven is not worth shipping, because running it needs a heavy transformer and its spare parts are not available there.

How do I track my shipment until it arrives?

You get a reference number on collection day. A sea shipment is followed by the container or bill of lading number on the shipping line’s site as far as the US port, and then by the domestic carrier’s number. An air shipment is followed by the air waybill number. We also message you on WhatsApp at every stage: the vessel’s departure, its arrival, customs release and the delivery appointment.

Is the shipment insured?

Insurance is optional and covers loss and damage in transit, and it is calculated as a percentage of the value you declare on the list. We advise it on this route in particular, because the container spends weeks at sea and is handled in more than one port, and because the carrier’s compensation without insurance is limited by weight or by the number of packages, not by the value of what is in them.

Do you ship from the USA to Saudi Arabia?

Yes. Our agent collects from your address in the USA or from the shop you bought from, and the items are shipped by air or in a container to Jeddah, Dammam or Riyadh, where we clear and deliver them. It is a service asked for by scholarship students returning with their belongings, and by families who buy furniture or spare parts there.