To transport the statue from France to the USA, first of all its creators had to dismantle it. It was divided into over 300 pieces, and each piece had to be labelled and instructions written for reassembling the whole. The statue was completed in January 1886, but it took until 21 May before it was all packed onto the ship supplied by the French government (the Isere) in 214 crates.

The ship arrived at New York Harbour on 17 June, so the voyage lasted nearly 4 weeks in total. The contents were then unloaded and kept on Bedloe's Island until the pieces could be put back together.

On 28 October a ceremony was held to dedicate the Statue of Liberty to the US. The French national flag was removed from it, the American President officially accepted it and later that evening the LIberty torch was lit for the first time.