Dummies guide to moving to the USA

It's been more than an year since I moved to the US. I remember vividly the cold snowy weather that welcomed me (I am on the east coast). As I was reminiscing, an idea stuck my mind. Why not jot down my experience so that it helps others who are moving in to this country. While this may not be an official guide to moving the US, it certainly contains lot of inputs which may come in handy to anyone who is a first timer or new to the US. It always helps to avoid the pitfalls to have a smoother ride for your settling in.
Without further adieu, here we go.........

General tips before you start your journey to the US:
- Definitely buy a travel/health insurance in your home country for a period of 6 months even if your company provides an insurance. This is even more important for people in companies whose US health insurance policies have a high deductible. The idea is that you will be anyway spending on building your home and settling in. The last thing you want to spend is an out of pocket expense on medical. Children especially have a propensity to get sick at a new place. The travel/health insurance you buy will cover you completely for it.
- Make sure you have a driving license which is printed in English. Better still, get an international driving license.
- Don't overburden yourself with too many items thinking you would need them in the US. Almost everything that you need is available.
- Even if you are moving in to a really cold place don't pack too many sweaters. Almost every place you would be in viz home, office, car, malls, shops etc will be heated. All you need is a VERY good jacket that will keep you warm (preferably a water and wind proof high quality jacket)

Specific tips

1) Social security number (SSN)
This is the first thing that you should do when you land up in the US. So much so that without this you cannot proceed on any items that come subsequently in this blog. I landed in the US at night and first thing in the morning headed to the SSN office to get my SSN processed.
Visit the Social Security Administration Office at https://secure.ssa.gov/ICON/main.jsp to find the location of the office nearest to you. It is a good idea to reach at least 30 minutes before the scheduled opening time of the office as generally there are medium sized queues. They generally require a residential address, your passport etc. For your spouse, you will also need your marriage certificate in original even if the name is mentioned in each others passport. Please check the website for the latest documentation. You get an acknowledgment slip which is generally sufficient to start off the procedure for your bank etc.

EAD subsection:
In case your dependent are "eligible' to work they would most likely need to get EAD which stands for Employment Authorization Document. The process is simple. You need to fill form I-765 (available here https://www.uscis.gov/i-765). Online filing is recommended and there is a fee for it. Check your visa and then apply accordingly. Generally the USCIS's turn around time is 90 days but don't be surprised to receive a letter on the 90th day that some more documentation is needed. I won't blame them since I can imagine the amount of applications they would be processing. Some tips here:
1) Try to get an offer of employment. Use this to talk to the USCIS to expedite your case. If the letter states that employment is valid only till date xxx, all the more better since then you can plea that you will lose income.
2) Talk to supervisors who have the authority to expedite your case.
3) If nothing works, (or even before that :) ) got to your nearest congressman's office. Fill out an application there and attach the necessary documents and see your I-765 get processed in half a day. No kidding, half a day!

Important: In many cases your kids would not be able to get a SSN. It is very important for you to apply for their ITIN numbers as you would need to have it when you file your taxes. Many people forget this and then are not able to file taxes electronically because of this which is a big convenience. In the absence of ITIN for your kids, you have to submit a W-7 application for their ITIN along with your return and it requires a trip to either the IRS or you have to send your kids ORIGINAL passport through mail! You certainly don't want to do that, do you? So take care of this point.

2) Driving license & Car
You cannot survive without a driving license in the US. Period! Public transportation is far and few in number. And unless you are extremely rich or your company is subsidizing your car rental bills there is no way you will be able to survive without your own car. (Yes, I know about UBER but that too wont work in the medium to long term).
For driving license you needs to have a residential mailing address with proof. Now different states have different requirements so go to the MVA (motor vehicle administration) website of your state to find out the exact documentation requirement that they have. Getting a driving license is not easy, so prepare properly. Its a 2 phase process:
a) Written test: All questions come from the driving guidelines booklet that is available online or at the MVA office. Question banks, practice tests, timed tests are available aplenty even on official MVA site. Many people (>50%) fail the written test out of sheer overconfidence or lack of knowledge. But people who have practiced pass quite comfortably; so give adequate time.
b) Drive test: Now this is the tough part because the instructor looks at hundred different things and scores you. Search google to find out specific things that they may ask you to do in a drive test. This varies from state to state. For eg, in my state it is mandatory for you to do a timed parallel park, reverse park etc. There are points given (or cut) for looking over your shoulder, checking mirrors, keeping both hands on the wheel, maintaining speed, braking etc. So make sure you get comfortable in the car you would be taking to the drive test. You can purchase hazard cones to practice in parking lots. Believe me, its not an easy thing and the best of drivers commit silly mistakes. Moreover at some places, the next appointment may come after 2-3 month also (yes, this is not a typo). Considering, your foreign license may be valid for a period of 3 months, you are in grave danger of not being able to drive if you flunk the test (the period you can use a foreign license varies from state to state). End point: PRACTICE HARD!

Many states require you to take alcohol and drug education program. That's pretty straightforward and can be taken at any MVA authorized center.

The choice between a new car or a used one is completely user dependent. If you are planning to be in the US for more than 3-4 years my suggestion is to go with a new car. Forget advice that people give on high interest rates that the finance company will charge you since you don't have good credit rating. You can easily find car dealers who will be happy to provide you with interest rates between 4-5% (interest rate is called APR in the US) even without a credit. 6 months later, you can easily refinance at a much lower APR (1-2%) based on your credit ratings (see section below on building your credit). Negotiate hard and you can get good discounts as competition is severe among dealers. Ask for the cars invoice price then decide how much you want to pay on top. KBB.com is an excellent resource for finding out what price you should be paying for the car.

3) Bank & Credit Cards:
Bank of America is a common choice for beginners though its an expensive proposition. Checking accounts requires fee or direct salary deposit. Even savings account has requirements of a minimum monthly direct deposit though its a smaller amount. You can also try to start off with Credit Union banks who are little flexible in account openings and don't have a stringent requirements. Their fees is also less.
Its a good idea to open a Health Savings Account with a bank such as Simmons bank which you can use to pay off your medical bills. This helps you in saving tax and also helps you build a corpus for your emergency medical expenses. This is esp important for people whose company insurance has higher deductible.
Credit cards: Look under credit ratings section. New credit cards offers come with a huge amount of rewards. Some examples:
Chase southwest card: Comes with bonus points worth $500, so does Chase Preferred plus. $100 cash backs are quite common. The important thing to note is that they all require you to spend X amount of dollars in a specified timeframe. Typically for higher end cards, the amount of spend required to get the bonus points varies from $2000 to $3000 in a 3 month time frame.

4) Credit ratings:
A very important point of discussion for anyone new to the US. Building credit is a "Chicken & Egg" situation. With low or no credit ratings, you can't get credit cards/loans etc and with no credit cards/loans you can't build credit. There are many expensive ways to build credit which I will not recommend at all but will mention for the sake of completeness in the end. But first some easy, less expensive and sure shot ways of building credit:
- Secured credit cards: These cards are not credit cards in the true sense since you have to make a deposit for having these credit cards. The credit limit is, of course, limited to the amount you put in as a deposit. Most of them have fees (like BOA, Capital One) for opening a secured credit card. In my opinion one should not hesitate to put in this fees and deposit and do that in the very first month one arrives. The fees can be easily refunded after 6 months once you have built your credit a bit. All it takes is a phone call to the customer care center and they will happily waive off the fee for you. You may even try out Discover credit card is a very good credit card for newcomers as it offers decent starting credit and the cashbacks are one of the best in the industry.
Caution: DO NOT apply for credit cards at any retail store as there is a 99.99% chance it will get declined because of absence of credit. You will feel dejected for no reason and it will not help your credit score also as there would be hard queries in you credit ratings which will negatively impact your rating.
- Loan: Any kind of loan is really handy but try to make sure that you don't lock yourself up in a high interest/APR loan. 4-5% is generally considered a good APR for beginners which can be easily brought down in 6-10 months time once you build your credit through refinance of the loan. (1-2% APR is quite common for people with good credit)

The factors that affect your credit ratings are mentioned here:
1) Credit Card Utilization: High Impact
2) Payment History:  High Impact
3) Derogatory Marks (Accounts in collections, bankruptcies)  High Impact
4) Age of Credit History:  Medium Impact
5) Total Accounts:  Low Impact
6) Credit Inquiries (inquiries done when you apply for credit):  Low Impact

Please note that some factors have a higher impact on your credit than others. Try to add new accounts in a phased manner. If you get declined for whatever reason, don't apply for any new credit immediately. Wait for a few weeks before applying again. Making sure that you pay on time is also important. There are some factors (like the length of credit history) which you can't really control but that has a low impact on credit anyway. Try to maximize your credit limit. My guess is within 6 months it is easy to build up a credit limit of $30-35k using 6-7 credit cards (don't laugh, this should be part of your strategy to get many credit cards in the beginning).

5) Shopping:
American is perpetually on sale!!! (of course thanksgiving is one time when the discounts are truly high and deals are really good). So don't get swayed when you see signs such as clearance, 70% off thinking you may not get that price again later. In the US, you can buy a thing at the price you want provided you are willing to wait. Sites such as slickdeals.com are excellent resources for checking out good deals. For tracking prices of items you can use https://slickdeals.net/pricetracker/ where you can add items you want and also set a threshold price for notification. Its also tell you historical low prices and other such information.
Moreover, my experience here tell me that online shopping is definitely cheaper though stores may also offer great pricing at many instances. The idea should be to check the prices online definitely once before you commit to a store price. Moreover, many stores offer price match guarantee so in case you find a better price online and you want the item in a hurry, you can ask the store to match the price.
The other great aspect of shopping in the US is the return policy which is generally very generous. Returns are very easy and the process smooth in most instances. My suggestion is not to misuse the policy as sometimes the store may refuse you business for this (though rare). Morally also, we should respect the system.
I found the amazon prime membership useful as it provides free 2 day shipping on most items plus gives you an online video/audio subscription which has plenty of entertainment options. Customer service is excellent. Your use may vary and hence you should decide accordingly.
Costco is also a great choice for getting excellent quality products at good prices. Access to Costco stores is membership only and its an yearly membership fee. Many items (though not all) are sold in bulk; so be considerate of that. I generally do a monthly visit to Costco and it provides me enough savings to justify the membership fees.
For furniture, IKEA and Value furniture shops are an excellent way to get your house decked up. Don't forget yard sales if you have the time. They provide an excellent value for your money in case you are ok with used stuff.

Tip: Save all your big tickets purchase (like expensive electronics etc) for the month of November (thanksgiving holidays), if you can.

6) Schools:
Public schools are free and you get admission based on the locality where you live in. So choose your locality not just considering rental prices but also checking how good is the school district. Montessori or pre school education is prohibitively expensive ($1000 per month) and many a time parents feel that it may not be worth it. I have my son in a a Montessori school and he is learning a lot; so I am happy. There is no hard an fast rule here and in case you can provide proper attention and time to you kids and make them learn, that's fine too. Check for public Montessori schools all. Regular public schools start at age 5.

7) Housing/Apartments:
Be ready to shell out a months deposit for apartment rentals since you won't have credit in the beginning. You will get the deposit back only after 1 year (at your lease renewal). Most communities ask for a registration fee per occupant also. You can negotiate to get that waived off. New customers also generally get a discount (flat discount of $500, $1000 on 2nd rent or one month rent waiver etc).
Another thing to be prepared for is cleaning. Most likely you would have to do it on your own. So shed all the inhibitions you have of cleaning rooms and toilets. For deep cleaning once a month or a quarter you can avail cleaning services which cost roughly around $75.
Yearly annual rent increases are common but also highly negotiable. Apartment maintenance agencies generally start with a high increase but you can negotiate it down with some persistence. Much also depends on the season you are renting. In peak season your weight of negotiation goes down since the demand is more. Summers are generally the peak season for moving and hence the rentals are generally the highest at the point/discounts the least.

8) Groceries:
Country specific stores are available in plenty at most locations barring some rural areas. Indian stores, Korean stores, Latin stores are available at many places and one should not have a tough time locating it. Quality is generally good.

9) Eating out:
Eating out in the US is not expensive. There is a wide variety of cuisines available at decent prices which you can try. Even healthier options are available at a very cheap price.

10) Phone
This has 2 components:
a) Mobile phone: Mobile phone service is expensive in the US especially from the top 4 providers like ATT, Verizon. A single line can easily cost you upwards of 50 dollars a month with many limitations. Rental plans can easily reach upwards of 80 dollars a month though add on lines are much cheaper (about 15-20$ a month with data sharing options). There are also many MVNO options like cricket etc which are much cheaper though their coverage is poor. Mobile phone service is a necessary evil; take whatever works best for you in terms of your needs.
2) Long distance calling: International calls have become extremely cheap and you can find options dime a dozen everywhere. The only trouble with those options is that the process of making a call is a lengthy one. Dial an access number, put in pin, dial the number you want to call etc. So if you are open to make that sacrifice, there are many options available at dirt cheap price. The other option is to go with a service such as Vonage which I also have. For a fixed monthly fee you get access to unlimited calls. Plus now they have an application for ios and android (which is a great app btw) through which you can make calls using WiFi, cellular or either. A great option in my opinion. The monthly fee is around $20 and definitely worth it. If they increase price, you can always call them to adjust your monthly fee to fit in to the $20 budget.

11) TV & Internet
My suggestion here is not to take a cable or satellite TV connection unless you are big time TV watcher. A basic internet (which in most cases offers unlimited high speed internet) plus a Netflix or dishworld/Yupp TV connection for regional content covers most of your needs. Cable or satellite connections generally try to tie you up for 1 or 2 years with severe early disconnection penalties. Avoid them!
Chromecast/Amazon fire TV are handy devices for watching streaming content. Chromecast can stream anything from your Chrometab and most apps now have Chromecast plugin. Plus its on sale many a times for around $20.

12) Socializing
America is full of people of all ethnicity. Meetup (app or website) is a great way to meet new people in groups. Check it out.

13) Healthcare:
Healthcare is expensive in the US. You are as good as dead if you don't have an insurance and even if you have one and your employer is not a generous one, you would have a substantial deductible ($2000 to $3000 an year before the insurance company starts picking the tab). So it makes sense for you to take out $200 every month and put it in your Health Saving Account (HSA). Apart from being a prudent saving mechanism it will help you in emergency.
Doctors in the US are categorized as General Practitioners and Specialist and as you would have guessed, specialist charge more. The good part is that if you have insurance, and you go to an "In Network" doctor, no matter what the doctor may claim as a bill from you the insurance company has a fixed rate which it has negotiated with the doctor which will be charged to you (based on your deductible and co pay). For eg: A specialists charge for a visit may be $250 but the insurance company would have negotiated that for all its customers it is willing to pay/or all its patients to pay max $100. Then if you make a visit to this doctor and you are under the insurance cover, you will pay on only $100 (again based on your deductible/co pay etc).
The good part is that all preventive test, vaccinations etc are full covered under most insurance programs.

14) Money transfer:
I have tried a few services and found XOOM.com the best. The good part about their service is the fixed exchange rate which you get to know upfront when you are making the transfer. Unlike Xoom, ICICI, western union etc transfer money on some unknown exchange rate which gives rise to uncertainty. Xoom also has an phone app which is very convenient.
Update: I found another great service called remitly which offers a better exchange rate (which gets even better if you take the 3-day delivery service and not the express service). They also have a phone app.

15) Travel:
Keep an excel sheet for all the travels you do outside of the US with exact dates of travel. This information will be required if you plan to stay in the country for long and apply for Green Card/Residency.

16) Kids:
Don't forget to....
1) Get their vaccination chart from your home country else the doctor would have to vaccinate for many things.
2) Get their school leaving certificate
3) Get 2-3 of their favorite toys. It will help them settle in faster. J

I will continue to update this blog as and when I find more information. Please leave your comments and if they are appropriate I will add them in the main portion of the article. Also, feel free to leave questions and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

 Disclaimer & Qualifier: 

1) Nothing in this blog is an official word from any authority and nor is it endorsed by any office.
2) Information that you use needs to be validated with the official website or offices before you take your decision or take any action.
3) Some items may be guided by state specific rules and the values or information there may not be valid for all states in the US.