In early 2003 Kunzman received approval from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to import the shotgun. By the middle of the 2003 year, Curtis and Kunzman picked up the first Neostead at the cargo area of San Francisco International Airport. Kunzman managed to import a total of three Neostead shotguns into the United States before getting a call from ATF informing him that the technical department has had a change in personnel and the new person in charge of importation held a different view regarding the importability of the Neostead.