Orta87

Hi All,

First time poster, long time lurker. Moving to the US at the beginning of August with work. I work in the Supply Chain of a large multinational with their US Headquarters in Arlington, VA. I'll be working there for about 6 months before moving onto our new site in Atlanta, GA.
I'm jumping the gun a bit here as I'm waiting on a phone call from our global mobilities team next week but wanted to get a few facts straight before the call. Ours is a permanent move and we have no intention of ever returning to the UK.

* I'm going to be paid in USD, so will need an American Account. A friend of mine who's going over at the end of this month is a HSBC customer so managed to open a US Account whilst still back here, I'm a Barclays customer and they do have a presence in the US but their online / telephone team seem completely oblivious/ignorant to my request. In the US we get paid bi-weekly (for some reason) so will need to sort out a bank account pretty sharpish. Issue I'm anticipating is not having proof of address (My first six months is in corporate housing so I'll have no bills) and a Social Security Number (Unless this is issued with my visa?)
Anyone know of a way of overcoming these issues?

* How's it work with my credit history? I'm a proud owner of a 999 Experian score here in the UK but everything I'm reading online is that this doesn't carry over? I've got a company car for the first 6 months but after that will need to buy some wheels (V8!) and worried I won't get any credit? Ditto for a credit card, purchasing furniture, renting an apartment etc.... Is there a way of bringing it with me? Is there specialist products for immigrants?

* Driving license. I believe I can use my UK driving license for up to 6 months? I've used it for 3 months before on Sabbatical a few years ago so I know I at least get that. Is there a straightforward way of transferring my license? (I really don't want to take a test again lol). Should I apply for a Virginia driving license as that's where I "Get off the boat" or wait until I'm in Georgia ?

* Phone. I don't have a private mobile, only my company phone (We are allowed personal calls etc. so never seemed logical to drop £50+ a month on a second phone, even though we are still on iPhone 8!) but I will have to hand this into my UK office. I then get a fresh phone with a +1 number on my "onboarding" day, scheduled for the week after my arrival. My question is does anyone know what the best 1 month sim only deal is I can buy in the UK that isn't absurdly expensive to make calls and access data from the US? I have an old Samsung of some shape and size in the drawer that was my brother-in-law's that still holds enough water to have uber, google maps, etc. that I'll need for the first few days of navigating my way around the world, but I need a sim only deal ? Looked at giff gaff but nowhere does it clarify if it'll work in the US, just endlessly talks about Europe.

Thanks in advance everyone for any wisdom you can share with me!

Orta87

PS: If there's anything else i should be worrying about that I haven't thought of please let me know!

robtuck

You'll be able to get a SSN within a week or two of arriving.

Wells Fargo are pretty easy when it comes to getting a USA Bank Account early on - I hadn't even moved out of a hotel when they set me up. HSBC were a pain to deal with and Barclays lack a presence here, especially in Atlanta.

Georgia will requite you to obtain a Georgia Drives License within 30 days of becoming resident - as you don't hold a USA license they will require you to take a test. The road bit is pretty straightforward, just read-up on some of the rules of the road and Pavement = Road (a question using the term came up in my test and my wife's). You can get online tests to see what sort of questions you will get.

For most things, your credit history in the UK will mean nothing. If you have an Amex, you can get a USA card set-up.

Prepare for the eye watering cost of car insurance - you can scout around for a company willing to take your UK driving history but most will hit you for being a new license holder as well as having no credit history. My car insurance was more than the lease payment for the first couple of months.

SanDiegogirl

1. You'll have proof of address with corporate housing. When I moved I used that, plus my employment letter, and some money to transfer into a US bank account and opened a bank account within days. You wont get your SS number for a few weeks.
2. Your UK credit history will be pretty much useless. I bought some wheels and got it financed, but the rate was not too good. Just have to expect that. Renting an apartment won't be an issue - again, take employment letter etc to show you have income.
3. Look at your states Department of Motor Vehicles site. That will tell you how long you have to get your States licence. If you have to take a test again (and you probably will) then you take a new test. If you have to get a licence within 6 months in VA then you'll have to do so and then switch it when you get to Georgia
4. No idea

Orta87

Good shout on Amex, I do have a Gold Card account here in the UK. Is it as simply as calling them and telling I'm moving to the US?

Is it a legal requirement to have motor insurance the way it is in the UK?

Haha, 16 years of driving in the UK and some 20,000 miles across North America in holidays over the last decade and they want me to take a test! Is it like the UK one? A theory and a practical?

SanDiegogirl

Seriously?

SanDiegogirl

Hopefully your US company has a good medical insurance plan. You should budget costs for this in monthly premiums and out of pocket expenses.

Glasgow Girl

1. Wells Fargo will get you set up very quickly. I had family move over this past September in the height of COVID and they had an account within a week of arriving. They had exactly the same situation as you corporate housing and no SSN. They should also be able to help you get a US based credit card.

2. Unfortunately your credit will not transfer. Am Ex used to transfer your credit history over from the UK to US but no longer do so. It is still helpful to get a US based card from them though to get started. Get your SSN as soon as you can and make sure it gets linked to your credit card so that you can start building credit immediately. (Wells Fargo may get you a credit card with what they call a TIN, Tax Identification Number initially, get that replaced with your SSN). Buy a couple of cheap items from a few stores and take out their credit. Pay the minimum amount each month to build up credit, don’t pay it all off quickly. Get a credit card that is secured with a deposit and use that as you normally would. Of course it goes without saying, do not miss a single payment!

3. If you cannot pass the US driving test you should not be on the road. It is very, very easy and in fact difficult to fail. Every state is different just google whatever state DMV to get the requirements.

4. Not sure what you are trying to achieve here. It sounds like your company will give you a US based phone in which case you will have data access. If you are concerned about calling the UK there are many methods. Skype, What’s App and others for free, or calling cards which will get you calls at about one cent per minute.

5. If you have any savings in shared investment pools like UK OEIC, Investment Trusts or Unit Trusts sell them BEFORE you move, even if they are held in an ISA which the US will not recognize. Taxation of foreign investments is draconian and will apply the minute you become subject to US taxes which in your case will be the day you arrive. Regardless of how much you want to hold onto the investment, sell it or you will lose most of the profit to the IRS.

Think about doing voluntary National Insurance Contributions to maximize your UK pension. If you can get Class 2 rates it is the best investment you will ever make and if you have to do Class 3 it is still a very good deal.

Keep one UK checking account, you cannot open one up once you live here so best to retain one that you already have.

If you are planning on getting US citizenship at some point see if you can get an official record of vaccinations against measles and chickenpox. I had no official record and had to get revaccinated!

There are a few companies that help expats with car purchase or lease. Others can jump in with their details or just google USA expat car purchase and they should pop up

If transferring money over here look at Transferwise for excellent rates and service.

Glasgow Girl

One other thing. Ask your company to provide the services of a CPA who understands the unique requirements faced by expats in filing their US tax returns. Perhaps ask for help with the first two years returns. Specifically, ensure you understand the requirement to report all foreign assets and bank accounts on Form 8968 with your tax return, AND to the US treasury on an FBAR, and of course all income however small on your tax return. There may be other forms as well if you have some more unique assets. Assets include investments, bank counts, life assurance policies, pensions whether company funded or private, just about anything you can think of.

Failure to comply with these requirements incur penalties ranging from 5% of your maximum balance to punitive fines totaling many thousands of dollars sometimes at eye watering amounts. Plus the professional fees to correct omissions are not cheap. Do not overlook this, so many people have really suffered because of non compliance and as they have found out correcting the situation is a very expensive proposition. Being genuinely unaware of these requirements will not get you off the hook.

tht

No the insurance is different and probably more important, no NHS so if someone is injured they will come after you for medical costs in addition to damage to the car etc, if you have assets you may want to go above state minimum requirements and also look at an additional umbrella policy for liability.

Your foreign and tourist driving means nothing.

Your can only exchange licenses from other states and I believe maybe Canada. It varies by state. In NY I had to go and watch about 6 hours of videos from the 90’s about not drink driving and then had to do eye test, written test and practical test. They were all very easy, the hardest part was getting a practical test date, in some areas they can take weeks or months and with CV19 I expect that’s worse now.

SanDiegogirl

The question was ' Is it a legal requirement to have motor insurance in the US' ? and the answer is YES.

Olly_

Unless you're in New Hampshire!

Owen778

For banking, this is the survey I usually link people to: https://www.jdpower.com/business/pre...sfaction-study

VA is in the Mid-Atlantic Region and GA is in the Southeast Region for the survey. The 2021 survey will be out in only a few days, but it's unlikely to change much.

There are also good reviews here, but it will take more digging around. https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/reviews.aspx

Bear in mind that banks' willingness to deal with new residents who may lack proof of address or other things varies, both between banks and branch to branch.

Personally, I wouldn't touch Wells Fargo with a bargepole, given scandals in recent years and poor reviews, though others here have had OK experiences. Similarly for Bank of America. When we lived in Texas, we used Chase and were happy enough with the service, they are efficient, but not especially friendly.

Edit: Barclays are not the equivalent of a high street bank in the US, they are an online bank, providing savings accounts with a good interest rate. I've used them in the past. If you want to, you'll likely need your US social security number before you can set that up.

civilservant

I assume the company has, in writing, guaranteed that they will apply for green cards for you and the family? If not, better start on that right now.

petitefrancaise

You will presumably get destination services which will cover all the aspects you've asked about. This is my work and I could write a long email but the only item I would correct from the above information is that Chase will require proof of address and they will NOT accept a corporate lease for this. Bank of America are OK but the service is abysmal. Wells Fargo - love them or hate them but they make it very easy to set up an account from the day you get off the plane. You can always switch banks 6 months down the line if you want to.

At this point, I would gather your vaccination records because you will need these when you apply for your green cards.