scotty2403

Hello everyone, my first post on the forum and thanks for all the great tips I read so far. Unfortunately there are so many posts and so many topics that its pretty difficult to find exactly what you need, so I thought best to ask some advice first of all...so here goes.

I am moving to US next year and looking to do some advance research. Some colleagues have already pointed me in the right direction for some topics such as opening a bank account early and building your credit history etc., and my company are assigning me a tax consultant to help me with my affairs...so far so good, but I want to be able to also find some advice independently, which is where you all come in...

1. BANK ACCOUNT - I have a bank account with First Direct UK now (part of HSBC). Common advice seems to be it would make sense to have First Direct help me get set up with HSBC in the US. Make sense ?

2. TAXATION (timing) - Pretty much all my income will come from my salary and bonus from my company. I am sure I read something which talks about being UK domicile in a tax year (Apr-Mar). Would there be any difference or benefit to where I was domiciled (USA or UK) depending if I moved say by 31st March or 30th April ? i.e. Would I be liable to tax in the UK on my worldwide earnings if I was resident in the UK for that first month of the new tax year ?

3. CREDIT HISTORY - Any hints on basic stuff such as "how do I get a mortgage", "how do I buy/lease a car"?

Sorry I know some pretty basic stuff which I am sure my company will give me some advice on anyway, but that will be in the weeks / months to come and I like to get ahead of the game in planning.

Thanks for any advice anyone can share as we set out on our journey...

scotty2403

Just found the wiki index...hold all those comments you have been dying to send me until I have a chance to review the wiki info...cheers, and sorry to the forum admins.

Uncle_Bob

I would suggest opening an account with a brick and mortar branch for personal instant service. I easily opened a bank account with my UK passport and visa.

Apply for a social security card as soon as you arrive. They will need to see your visa status such as form I-551, I-94 or I-766

Build your credit history, apply for credit cards, use them, pay them off.

How do you get a mortage depends on your LTV. Generally if you get at least 20% down payment you shouldnt have any problems. Things have changed alot recently and you may need to shop around. Each company has its own rules.

Bink

+1, get a secured credit card (likely all you will be able to get) as soon as you move over. If you have an AMEX in the UK, you can get a global transfer with them. Do a search for that on here - there's plenty of information.

As regards the mortgage, if you're moving with a big company, they may have access to lenders that can help you obtain a mortgage with little to no credit history - I have friends who have done this with larger companies.

The European car munfacturers (VW, Audi, not sure about BMW tbh) have foreign business schemes that allow you to buy/lease on a visa without US credit history. Again, if you search for those schemes on here (especially VW) there's a lot of info available.


Good luck!

scotty2403

Excellent advice guys, thank you.

I do work for a large multi-national company who move people regularly into the US, so might get lucky on that one, although from what I hear our HR and relocation support has been patchy (hence my questions).

I should have a decent deposit for my mortgage of at least 20% to put down (touch wood on sale of UK home), so I hope that will work.

Thanks again, looking forward to it actually although a bit daunted by the preparation work that needs done.

Bob

Seems you've found the wiki, it's a good starting point on the credit and lease questions and if you flip back a page or two, you'll find a few, they usually come up every other day and the info applies where ever.

AmEx is your best bet and look for threads on International Autosource/AIG type threads on car info.

As for banking, always best to go with a local credit union, certainly to start off with and set up something like xe.com for international wire transfers if you need it.

Oh and welcome to BE and good luck!

Bob

Bad advice that.

Should give it 10 days before you do, means you're in the SAVE system, so that you don't have to be manually verified, which means you can get a card straight off pretty much, other wise you might have a delay up to 6 weeks.

Oh and as for mortgage, it's a really shit idea to buy a place till you've lived in the area at least a year, so unless you're worked or lived there previously, which it doesn't sound like, buying a place is just not a great thing to do generally, for so many reasons.

IPM

HSBC opened my US account for me before I left for the US. It was very easy. This was part of their Premier service, but if you're a longstanding customer I would think that they would be helpful. Once you're set up, you can see all accounts on one screen and move funds btw them.

christmasoompa

Is it wise to sell your UK home and buy somewhere if you're only on a temp visa though? What if you're made redundant and have to leave the US before you get a green card (assuming your company have agreed to sponsor it of course).

Just call me negative Nelly.

Bob

Not to mention how life style is very different here and things you'd never even consider from the UK can make a huge decision to the type of house you'd want that you wouldn't even realise without living in the area, experiencing how different the summer might be to the winter. Then it's a hell of a lot more expensive to flog the place if you find you don't actually like it, or find it's more expensive to maintain as expected :/

scotty2403

Bob and Christmas, thanks for further feedback.

Probably good to mention that I had a role before where I had people, based in Dallas who worked for me previously, although I was UK based. So I have some people on the ground that I can rely on who have given me 4 or 5 places around the Fort Worth area that have good reputations for both schools and living. Also visited the metro area a lot of times so I am at least familiar with it, recognising of course that visiting is completely different from living. Point is I am not completely virgin...all that said, you also can never account for someone else's taste compared to your own.

Further, I am moving on a permanent contract. Still need to see my contract to know what type of VISA I will be applying for, and will come back once I know for some more advice.

Lastly, I am with the company 20 years so unlikely (although not impossible) that I could be made redundant (touch wood). Thats part of my contract negotiation I need to work through in terms of what would happen in the worst case scenario, where I need cover for repatriation. Still need to work through a lot of those scenarios, but its good to be reminded of it, and proves the value of the forum.

...so again thanks.

cranston

+1 on Amex.

+1 on XE.com

+1 on credit unions

If you need a bank with lots of branches try Wells Fargo.

Enjoy Dallas.

christmasoompa

Presumably L1A/B from what you've said, which is a temp visa.

If you intend for the move to be permanent, then make sure you get it in your contract that the company will sponsor you for a green card, and by a specific date. A lot of companies don't like to sponsor for green cards, because it costs money, and also means you are then free to work somebody else. But hopefully if your company intend for you to move permanently as well, that won't be a problem.

Do also check which category you'll come under, as that will make a considerable difference to the timeframe of getting your green cards - depending on the category, it could be between one year and seven years.

Best of luck.

lisa67

Just going to echo what Bob said about holding off buying somewhere.
We live just west of Fort Worth and before we moved here had lived in the Michigan for 7 years so knew the US well and had friends living in the metroplex and we still rented for 6 months before buying a house.
There are so many different living areas with different schooling options in the DFW area that I would highly recommend renting first...just my opinion.
Let me know if you have any specific questions about schooling etc and I'll see if I can help.

gryff31

Hi, we are also moving to Dallas from the UK Next week... very Exciting

But we have lived in North Carolina a couple of years ago. L1 visa (unfortunately we had to leave after 5 years as green card was delayed but finally we are moving back)

Our experience then was, HSBC international was rubbish unless you are a premier account holder.. we opened a Bank of America account and started from scratch.
This also meant.. even tho we had a mortgage and good credit history in the uk it didn't matter and when we bought a house in the USA the wanted a 30% deposit! ouch! We even got credit reports but Experian UK and Experian US don't talk to each other!

this time we move back we are going to rent until our green cards come though.. as lovely as it was to have our own house. we made quite a loss we when sold a couple of years ago, as we only owned the house 4 and bit years and when you add all the realtor fees, closing, the housing market pooping itself etc etc etc.. it really wasn't worth it.

Good Luck with your move