Upvote:2
This can be tricky situation. Anything more than 10k needs to be declared and will likely result in a lengthy conversation with the customs agent. During this conversation you will be asked what your intentions are: what do you want to do with the money, and what are you thoughts about immigration. The last question needs to be answered very carefully or you may be declined entry. The right answer depends on what your actual intentions are and how far along you are in the process (if applicable). I would strongly recommend consulting an immigration professional on this
Although it's tempting to just hide it in the diapers, it is NOT a good idea to try smuggling it in. Any large cash transaction in the US gets reported to the IRS or treasury anyway, so there is a high likelihood that someone will find out and than you are in serious trouble.
Example: we brought in a decent amount of cash to buy a car. We declared it properly at entry (and endured the examination). When buying the car using the cash, the dealer had to report the cash transaction including the source of the money. Since we had declared it properly, we just said "brought in from different country". Otherwise that would have been difficult.
Upvote:5
There is no limit on bringing money with you - neither for tourists, nor for immigrants.
However, you will have to declare the money that you bring to the us. See this page by the US Customs & Border protection for details. The page also states that the threshold for the obligation to declare it is USD 10k per family travelling together.