Scottish_Lad

Good Morning, good afternoon or good evening,

Just joined, my name is Brendan. We are a family of 6 who have been waiting a loonnnggg time in the F3 category, for us it looks to be within the next year we will get the go ahead. For a long time they have been using the 2nd chart to indicate when a visa will be available, we hope this stays the same.

Anyways, we are moving to Charleston, joining family(My parents), and have 4 children and 2 dogs. We have a few questions if anyone could shed some light on regarding schools, finances and pets

We intend to get the kids into school asap, so they can meet friends and socialise quickly to make the transition as easy as possible. Does anyone have experience of what documentation is needed to register the kids and even more important, any info on how they determine what year(grade), they slide into..?

Another question we have is regarding jobs, bank accounts and social security number. We are coming on a family visa, so no job sponsorship and obvs no job either, my understanding is we need to wait on the SSN to get a job, does anyone know how long this roughly takes...?

Do you need a SSN to open a bank account also..?

Does anyone know how long before a bank would even consider offering a mortgage..?

Has any recent immigrant been through the process and used the 2nd preference chart to get your visa without waiting till the final action date chart was current..?

How long did it take to get you embassy appointment once your date was current in the 1rst or 2nd chart...?

How long did it take for the medical report to get the the embassy...?

Thanks very much guys for any and all help you can give me, its gonna be a long year of prep

Brendan

Noorah101

I can help with a couple of things:

You don't need a SSN prior to getting employed.
You don't need a SSN to open a non-interest bearing bank account.
It takes about 4 days for the medical results to reach the embassy.

Rene

Olly_

Just so you know the final action date is always the key date. They sometimes use the dates for filing chart (particularly at the beginning of a new fiscal year) to stimulate demand - the process takes a while so they want people to submit applications to generate demand for the future. You won't actually be granted a visa until your priority date is current according to the final action date table.

Also priority dates don't move linearly, if you look at the January 2020 bulletin they suggest that F3 will most likely only move forward by 1-3 weeks every month for the foreseeable future so you could be in for a longer wait than you think.

Rete

That said, you and your spouse and your 4 children should go in person to the local social security administration office with a completedSS-5Application for a Social Security Card for each one of you. Even an infant is in need of social security number and under your visas they are eligible for one.

Your approved F3 visas makes you all eligible.

Rete

BTW you should ask questions about the visa itself in the US Immigration Visa sub-forum.

SanDiegogirl

How old are the children?

What type of work will you be looking for?

Have you taken into consideration the cost of medical insurance for a family of 6?

notaclue

While I can't answer some of the F3 questions, I moved from Glasgow to KY four years ago. The SSN process is a pain as different agencies fight with each other. You'll need to bring all your immigration documents to the SS office so they can tell you they need some other unusual document that you probably don't have.

For drivers licensing you'll most likely need to go to the local STATE BMV office to give them a copy of your passport etc which will tick a box in the state system. You'll then go to the local COUNTY BMV to get a license. You won't get reciprocity, but taking the test over here is easy.

Bank accounts are easy. I recommend Huntington for a bank. You will have to pay for cash withdrawals at most banks and there aren't ATM's on every street corner. It's not Argyle Street. You will need to provide the bank your passport/immigration docs as part of the Patriot Act or they will freeze your accounts pretty quickly until you provide it.

Mortgage? I can't answer that. I've been here 3.5 years and just built a house in the 400's. All I had to do was explain to the lender that I'm new to the US. Getting my credit score up there has taken a few years but it's the short history that always dings me. An explanation to a lender is all that it really takes. Credit unions are popular here and many offer a small credit establishing loan - This helped me! You won't find yourself on Experian or any of the credit sites for at least six months so don't apply for credit in the first year as you won't exist.

Without credit, car insurance will be more expensive. There's a company floating around that is designed for expats, I'm sure someone on here will have the name. I've used them and they were great. Car insurance renews every six months.

Charleston is a great place and popular for vacationing within the US. As a result, the cost of living might be higher than elsewhere so take that in to consideration. Health insurance is a b*tch. For your family, expect to sink a couple of grand a month for basic coverage.

scrubbedexpat099

That last point was that most people have a how much? issue with, I believe you can tick the box on your Immigrant Visa to get a SSN issued, and of you do that it should be sent to you but seems it does not always work smoothly.

Schooling check with the School District, proof of presence in their area and meeting the Medical needs are the normal requirements.

TexanScot

My lender wanted to see my previous two years tax returns, which I understand to be fairly normal.

A good credit score is likely to be the bigger issue when starting from scratch, since that directly impacts the rate that will be offered.

Scottish_Lad

TexanScot

SanDiegogirl

Your company will pay some of the premiums, but not all. Even with insurance you will have deductibles, co-pays, out of pocket expenses. As you are not arriving with a job you unfortunately don;t know what these expenses will be.

For a family of 6 I would budget for a couple of grand for premiums for all the family with a group policy.

Bob

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Categ...nancial_Topics

The wiki above is a good starting point for some of the financial questions.

Another thing to consider, regarding the kids, are all the associated school costs. All those sports or other school activities are often not cheap, plus all the school supply donations.

What you need to sign kids up for school though, just google the town and school districts. If you have an area in mind where you'll be living, use that address to find the exact school district if there are multiple districts. It'll list what you'll need to get enrolled in school, but as mentioned, usually proof that you're residing in the school district such as a rental agreement and a utility bill, and proof of vaccination history. Should probably also bring their school records with them with a summary of their school curriculum.

Download and read up on the DMV driving test hand book for the theory test and memorise all the stuff for teenage drivers and their penalty point system as you'll likely need to get a local drivers license quickly and the test itself will likely be silly easy, the stuff related to kids often trips adults up on the theory. Don't discount the cost of car insurance, or other costs in getting a car on the road. Exact figures you can find on the DMV site, or whatever the state calls it, BMV, OMV etc.

Scottish_Lad

TexanScot