jjbandero

My hubby always laughed at me for washing all the fruits before I ate them, even things like watermelons and oranges. Well, recently he told me that my "weird habit" was vindicated, apparently there were some contaminated rock melons (cantaloupes) where the bacteria was on the outside of the whole melon, when the consumers sliced into the melon, their knife moved the bacteria from the outside to the inside and they ended up getting sick. My response, "ha!"

I used to brush my teeth after breakfast, but my USC husband got me to break that habit, I also roll my socks differently now. Lol...

Hi there,

You were inspired, got the visa, the PRC, then your SSC, now what? What are some of the things that you've learned since settling in the US? Could be small, could be big, in anycase I'm sure it's useful for anyone wanting to move to a new country, in a totally different environment - visiting is one thing, living here, well that's a whole other kettle of fish.

So I'll get the ball rolling from some key points I've learnt (ok is learn't' or 'learn-ed' well I'm gonna use both now and then, gimme a break ok? - I'm originally from Australia - we use the Queen's English afterall):

Credit Cards

If you had them in your home country originally, the bank may initially offer you one. Checking accounts are still very big here and used as the main transactional account and usually offered with a debit card to access your funds at ATMs or POS (grocery stores, retail stores, etc). Otherwise a store card from Macy's may be an alternative to initially create a credit history that will develop a credit score (when accounts are paid on time) and perhaps a membership to gym or other organization that has monthly payments (that are met without late payment penalties).

Groceries

Whilst beef is relatively expensive, chicken is exceptionally cheap - usually on sale for 99c/lb for thighs/legs/wings or $1.97/lb for boneless skinless chicken breasts.

I recommend the 99c Store though, as they usually will have fresh vegetables for... you guessed it 99c! Anything from lb of tomatoes to watermelon, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, etc plus many other items like cookies, cereal, etc, etc way cheaper than the grocery store - but still you need to know your prices as occasionally on some items Ralphs (in SoCal) will be cheaper.

Driver's Licence

It may depend on your experience, but I only had to show my home country licence then sit the written test in NJ and when I moved to FL I just had to hand over my NJ licence, then when I moved to CA sit the written again - no practical driving test.

Cars

In CA they are subject to smog test (unless new), even when bringing and registering from out of state. New cars are offed with $0 down and 0% int on loans, but you'll need a credit score in excess of somewhere around 740 (at the dealer's discretion). Used can be a good deal, but remember the odometer reading is in miles so a 50k miles reading is 80k kms.

Car Insurance

Can come with:

Property Damage Liability (to others)

Bodily Injury Liability (to others)

Unisured/Underinsured Motorist

Comprehensive

Collision

Rental Re-imbursement

Roadside Assistance

You may have to look a policy that takes into account how long you've had your licence in your home country, as some insurance companies only accept history in the US.

Health Insurance

Tough one - your employer (for F/T positions) will most likely offer you this and is deducted from your paycheck, but not to be confused with medicare that is for old age pensioners. Otherwise you will need private insurance (unless you would want to risk paying a fortune for basic treatment - ERs will treat you but will charge you for any treatment in an emergency. Private Insurance will tend to include, with your monthly payments:

a Deductible

Co-insurance (how much % of the bill you pay - up to the maximum out-of-pocket for the year)

Co-payment (usually a smaller fee for doctor visits e.g. like $35 for each visit up to 4 per year)

Maximum Out-of-Pocket (how much you will be required to pay in total per year until the Ins. Coy. will pay the total of any further bills over this amount.

Many online sites will give you quotes based on the info you provide. Obama's healthcare eliminated lifetime maximum payout limits, so the ins. coys must now pay regardless of the total bills incurred over a lifetime of medial services used (in my understanding). However I believe the coys can still increase policy premiums based on your age and thereby increase premiums yearly.

Clothes & Electronics

Very Cheap - go to factory outlets and even cheaper, though Old Navy, H&M are good too, Macy's always has big sales - 99c stores sell ties and socks too! Best Buy is a large electronics retailer (there used to be Circuit City too, but the recession), though a great deal of online retailers, depending on which state you live in, don't charge tax and have free delivery a lot of the time as well.

Wi-fi - Internet - Libraries

Libraries (the first free libraries started by Benjamin Franklin) are a great resources for using free wifi and even borrowing DVDs (free)! Generally though, starbucks, McDonalds, Apple stores all supply free wifi and most malls too, so almost anywhere you go out to, providing you have a laptop, tablet or ereader, you should be able to find internet access.

A lot of little things are different here though, from street crossings to the language used, but this is also a regional thing - Bostonians will be more familiar with english terms (the Queen's english) than Angelenos or Texans...

In the spirit of this forum and caring for my fellow human, if I can offer a word of advice, first time when/if you go to Las Vegas, go and be in awe of the magnificence of the man-made creations, enjoy a buffet or two (Wynn is fantastic, Paris is good value), maybe a show (I really like the Cirque de Soleil Elvis), but don't let the machines take a hold on you...

Cheers

Great ideas! I'd like to add a few too...

Health Insurance - open a FSA account, if you have ongoing prescriptions... It's taken out of your pay as pre-tax dollars, so you'll save some there, and it can be used for co-pays, contact lenses and a whole host of other things. Also check your plan and your local clinics, they will often have preventive check ups for free, or discounted

Credit Cards - once you have some credit built up, use www.creditcards.com to compared the different ones available to see which one best suits you. For example, my friend travels internationally quite a lot, she has one that does not charge any foreign transaction fees (some credit cards charge upto 5% of the purchase).

Car Insurance - a lot of insurers offer discounts that they may not advertise much, I'm a Chartered Accountant from Oz, I argued it's basically the same as a CPA here, and got the industry discount. Also considering getting a AAA membership, the basic one is less than $50 a year, but you get emergency service and you can flash your card to get lots of discounts for shopping, hotels, holidays

Shopping - Costco has one of the best return policies around, my husband and I bought a printer over a year ago, it started acting up, we took it to the store, didn't have a receipt, they found the item in their records and gave us a full refund.

Sorry to say this, but the squeaky wheel does get the grease here . I noticed that if I complain, but in a polite way, I end up getting special deals from lots of places, even getting credit card charges dropped.

Cheers

With regard to not being able to check your credit report, you mentioned you were previously here as a student, you can put in all of your prior addresses in US to see if that will work. For instance, if you were in the US in 2008, stayed for 2 years, returned to Germany in 2010, and came back in 2011; then you can try putting in first your 2011 address, then your addresses during 2008 and 2009. If you continue having issues, you could contact one of the major credit ratings agencies to see if they can offer any additional advice on getting your report.

Cheers

I don't know if bank statements are the "best", I just thought it would be easy to get (the bank produces them for you automatically), you're likely to submit a bunch of them to show co-mingling of financial assets anyway (if you add your wife to the account) and it's produced by a third party

Not that I'm aware re. declaration, you can just Google lease and your state to get some examples specific to your state an just alter it to suit your arrangements. It's important that you use the one state in case there are special requirements.

Good luck

Yes it should be fine, since it's your aunt's place it makes sense that the utilities are in her name. However you want to set up the lease, just make sure there's an easy way for you to trace the paperwork to show that you contributed per your agreement.

I would recommend that you draw up a lease with your aunt anyway, which specifically state that she is the owner of the property you will be staying at, and she has offered for you pay partially the utilities and other expenses in lieu of rent. Put both your name and your wife's name on the agreement and state from which date this arrangement will start. As for additional proof, you might want to set it up so either you 1) pay 100% of some bills (spell out which ones) so you can later match it to your account to show that you paid them per your arrangement; or 2) you can state in the agreement that you will pay a % of all bills, in which case you could write a cheque to your aunt each month or whenever the bills are due. I would suggest perhaps use method 1) would be easier, for example, you will pay the electricity and gas bills that total $150 in the first month, you can show that you paid both bills through your bank statement for that amount. You may not want to pay your aunt in cash unless she is willing to give you receipts.

I'm sure more experienced members will chime in with more information.

Cheers

I read on VJ that while utility bills are good, better evidence of financial co-mingling your lives would be bank statements, credit cards, lease/mortgage documents, insurance (car, medical, life). This is because in most instances, you can just add whoever you want onto an utility account, but not to a bank account for instance. Please include documentation spanning 2 years

Wow, lots of good news here lately, congrats everybody who received their approvals!

I would recommend that you tell him not to bring any food, as food needs to be declared to customs. While some foods are permitted, his luggage might be inspected extensively, if he brings food and does not declare it, and he is randomly selected for inspection, then that could create additional questions and delays

Just a point of clarification, I think the term "resident" in the CA rules is not whether you are a permanent resident for immigration purposes, but more like the tax definition of "resident" where you can be a resident for tax purposes without being a GC holder. I believe that is the reason why one of the VJ members were given a ticket, because the police who stopped them did not accept that not having a GC means you are not a "resident" argument.

I was also going to suggest Penzey's, let Yelp help guide you, my husband and I had lots of good experiences going to restaurants and markets recommended by the members. You might try a local farmer's market, they usually have fresh, organic and seasonal fruit and vegetables, this will be a similar to what your husband is used to experience-wise. Granted the markets may not be open everyday, but it's something good to do every week.

Also, ask him to try with you other cuisines, that are neither Mexican nor Morrocan, so that there isn't a feeling of "we're eating your food", I think you tried sushi, raw fish may be a little hard for some where they are only used to cooked fish or salted and dried fish. Maybe start with something flavorful, but less adventurous?

My hubby is from Chicago, I haven't lived there, but I have visited many times. I agree with the other posters re. lifestyle and public transport. Regarding car insurance, most companies base it on a bunch of factors, the type of car you have, where you are leaving it at night (nice neighbourhoods will lower the price), how long you've been driving and whether you've had any claims previously. You may also get discounts if you're a member of a special organisation. When I first came to the States, I actually went to the RTA in NSW to get proof that I did not have any traffic violations against me, I also got a letter from my insurance company stating that I never had a claim with them. I was able to convince the insurance agent that these were legitimate records of my driving and insurance record and they gave me a discount. I'm also a Chartered Accountant, which I argued was the equivalent of a CPA here, so they knocked off a little bit more (5% I think). If you have this type of information available, it's worth a try getting them to accept it

As for health insurance, I would recommend at least getting something basic, perhaps your husband has insurance through his work, even though it may not be open enrollment when you arrive in the US, most plans generally have clauses that if there's a major change in your life e.g. getting married, they will allow the change in insurance. The cost really varies from State to State and plan to plan, also the size of your employer (whether they have bargaining power with the insurance company) and how much they are willing to subsidize. Again using myself as an example, both hubby and I have insurance through work, but my employer is much larger, and costs less, even for the both of us, so he is on my plan. Most companies are fine with you adding a spouse, but they will not subsidize the spouse at the same level, so don't be surprised if the insurance more than doubles if both are under the same plan, e.g. for the employee alone,it may be $100 per month, but for the employee+spouse it may be $250 per month.

Good luck!

Agree with Vanessa, if you're not used to traveling by air, probably better to get some motion sickness pills, as you may feel a little queasy during turbulence. Make sure your sinuses are clear when you fly, you can use nasal sprays that open your airways, otherwise you will get a terrible headache from the air pressure particularly during take off and landing.

Cheers

He could come here on a tourist visa and start conversations with other potential employers to see if they would be willing to sponsor his employment visa, but he cannot legally work, he would have to return to his home country and wait until all the proper paperwork are approved. In this scenario, he's only real option would be the H1B which could be very difficult to get as there is a cap on how many visas are made available each year.

The L1 visa is probably the preferred option if he can get an exception to his company's HR policies, this visa is similar to the H1B in that it is dual intent and has education/work experience requirements; but it is specifically for an internal transfer within the company and seemingly easier to obtain (certainly in my case). I would recommend that he perhaps reaches out and plead his case with his US supervisors to get their support in granting an exception to the policy.

Cheers

You make an Infopass appointment for your local USCIS office, on uscis.gov. The immigration officer you talk to there can, at their discretion, put the stamp in your passport.

Barca is right, she does not need the stamp, but if she insists, you can get an Infopass appointment online and your wife can speak to an IO about her request. I don't know what their criteria is for giving out the stamps, in my case, if you read my prior posts, I had a weird situation with receiving two NOA1 letters, so the IO gave me a stamp as I stated that potentially, having two records in the system could cause confusion when I try to re-enter the US.

We also wore "business casual", button up shirt with slacks. Most of the other folks being interviewed were dressed the same way, there were a few "sloppy dressers", mostly men with very large jeans that were barely hanging on. Not saying that how you dress should determine the nature of your relationship, but if you were interviewing someone, would you like having to see part of their underwear showing?

Certainly dress comfortably, it was a long wait for us, and the waiting room was quite chilly.

One more thing to consider, I've noticed that the resumes here in the US differ slightly from what I've been used to in Australia, you might want to review the recommended templates posted by the major US job search sites e.g. Monster and tailor yours to suit. It will make it easier on the recruiters

Best of luck

One thing to keep in mind is to tailor your resume to the job you're applying, what happens is that sometimes the employer does not want to hire someone who is significantly over-qualified for the position.

Best of luck

JJ

Omg...online banking is just them sending a cheque on your behalf??? Seriously?! Really? I never knew that!!! Thats kinda redundant! Yeah i so miss BPay!! Ive never used cheques before like i do here. Feels really strange...and my jaw still drops when i see someone pay for their $15 worth of groceries at the store by cheque....total ####### moment each time!

I agree with you Mr and Mrs....its really primitive here!! I thought the US would be leading the way on this..esp because this country is all about money. Lol

Yep, it was quite funny, especially when I asked to see a sample cheque (I wasn't sure how you were suppose to fill it out, since the only cheques I'd ever gotten in Oz were bank cheques for large purchases), the bank clerk looked at me like I was up and down, then said, "where did you say you were from again?" I guess to be fair, there are a lot more banks here in the US, including state and regional based banks, it was probably difficult to set up a common system that everybody agreed to to administer and clear all the transactions.

Hi Faery,

I was a bit nervous like you when I pulled together my package too, it just feels like an exam you haven't quite fully prepared for, at least to me anyway. VJ members' experiences helped calm my nerves and they checked my list, I think the fact that you used your husband's insurance is even better proof, because that means a third party (the insurer) acknowledged your validity as a member. You should clearly highlight the relevant insurance details from his program and your bills and perhaps if he has made co-payments to show them all together, that demonstrates that he is looking after you when you needed him. Also, you mentioned that there are no other insurances, but does your husband have any thing through work e.g. Disability insurance or a 401k program where he has named you as a beneficiary? Those are all examples of financial mingling.

All the best

Hi jjbandero!

So American Express didnt help you? Im also an Aussie and had an amex card back in australia (had it for many years). When i came here, and finally received my ssn, i called amex to let them know i was now in the US and wanted to transfer my card here, they said they couldnt BUT they could pull the card info and check my history. And use that towards opening up a US card. Took them 24 hours, i received a call back from Amex, they said everything was good and gave me the same card as the one i had and a credit limit equivalent to that of my Aussie card.

It was super easy, so i find it odd that they couldnt help you. Maybe call again and speak to the supervisor?

Hi Deidre,

Thanks for your response, I think they may have changed their policies in recent years, I came to the US in 2004, and at the time, they refused to help me, their suggestion was for me to continue using my Aussie card here. Yeah right, I'm not desperate enough to use a credit card that I would rack up foreign transaction fees, exchange rate losses and having to wire money to my Aussie accounts to pay off the balances . I spoke to two supervisory level people (supposedly) and they both acted as if what I was asking was crazy, on the other hand, Citibank was clever enough to set up a foreigner friendly account program, but they charged an arm and a leg for it. I had a lot of interesting banking stories in the beginning, Like not knowing a checking account is a day-to-day transaction account, my first thought was, who writes cheques? Lol... Then I find out "online banking" means instead of you sending a cheque to the payee, the bank will do it on your behalf, and that is why they need the payee's address and not their account number... Oh how I missed BPay in those days, things are a little better now...

Cheers

Juan

Some airlines do not assign the exit row seats online, so if you check in early you might still be able to snag those... Also you can use Seat Guru to look up which seats are better than others e.g. some seats do not recline

They have the right to "examine" your laptop in any manor they wish. They rarely invoke the right unless they are after you for something specific. ( like child porn )

NigeriaorBust is right, they can check the computer anyway they wish, a friend of a friend traveled to the US for work, she was held at the POE for 6 hours for additional questioning, the officers went through all her luggage, paperwork and checked her computer. Whether they take action or not after discovering the pirated software is uncertain, I suspect fairly discretionary and varies from POE to POE.

Last time I signed up for text and email notification, received them after my I received my 2-year conditional card, so I wouldn't worry until you don't hear anything after you're outside of the normal processing timeframe.

Best

JJ