mmac88

Hey all, just recently received my visa and i am now leaving the UK for the USA in 3 weeks.

Im really just tidying up loose ends in the uk, selling my electronic goods and tings im not going to be shipping. My company are going to be paying for shipping everything else Basically just clothes as im moving out of iving with parents so not much to take.

Really im just wondering what to expect when arriving in the US, and specifically LAX airport, if anyone has any personal stories of what goes on?

Im nervous, not going to lie, only 2 and moving everything on my own, but my company have really helped this far and will continue to do so.

Also what would peoples top 5 things to do when arrive, IE most important after arriving?

Thanks in advance for everyones help so far

Mark

Hotscot

Hey Mark...good luck although at 2 years old you're very young.

You don't give a lot of detail about your situation...where you going to be living, working etc..that could help a little.

Anyway. Just throwing some ideas in...

1. Social Security card.
2. Healthcare/Dental (If you have good access get checkups fairly soon. The US system is good for preventative steps depending on your plan.)
3. Drivers licence
4. Bank account/credit card
5. Retirement plan. (Seriously, look into your 401k with your employer. Quicker you start the better.)
6. Go check out some beaches. I suggest spending a day in Laguna Beach.
7. Have a walk around a mall, a supermarket. Buy some clothes at Khol's. Decent quality, good price.

picaflor

Some many things, depending on your circumstances and particularly your visa..

first being accommodation of course (may you have already?), if not I suggest bring a reference, cash desposit of course.

driving license...should try and register for that soon with the DMV, especially in LA. Get a Social Security number, I guess this is dependent on your visa.

Practical thing, open a us bank account. put some money against their local credit card as security and start using it regularly to show credit history. This will develop over time and make your credit better. Unless of course you have an HSBC account that can show your credit history.

Sign up for your company's medical plan, immediately.

mmac88

Ha sorry i am 24, my bad.

Im going to be moving on a L1-B visa.

I have a rental car waiting for me at the airport which i have the use of for a month, i also have temporary accomodation for a month all provided by the company.

Through work, i already have a 401K, Medical and dental Insurance.

Most likely i will be living in the Brea/Fullerton area.

I need to wait for a SSN 10 days after arriving is this correct?
I need this for mostly everything else, Driver license, Bank Acounnt?

Poppy girl

Remember when pulling out of LAX to keep right and recognise that the drivers in LA stop and hold off for nothing.....if you have an exit coming up get into it way in advance.

Brea is an Okay area I have a client there and its not a bad place to live

Hotscot

I know that Wells Fargo don't need a social for starting a bank account but you may as well wait until you get it to keep everything coordinated.

Sounds like you're set. Just watch the driving, be very observant, many drivers don't have insurance in SoCal.

If you don't mind me asking....type of work?

(When I moved here I had nice apt rented for @ $1800 per month in Dana Point, about a mile from the beautiful ocean. Eventually, and if you don't mind the commute, there's many wonderful places near the coast in Orange County which is directly south of Los Angeles County. Also, possibly your company may allow working from home some days. Been here 12 years working many jobs, always home office. hate LA traffic. I was on an L1 with Adobe.)

You'll have an amazing experience. Good luck!

GeoffM

From my arrival at LAX 9 months ago: told to wait in visitor line, initially processed by a regular immigration official, then got led away to the new immigrant arrival area, which is basically a set of seats down the left end of the immigration area (from the direction you approach) - this is not secondary which is elsewhere at LAX. Fingerprint, some signing, told to get baggage and bring it back. Told to sit down and wait. Eventually got given passport back and a welcome letter. Through Customs and into the US. Hopefully you don't get the miserable Chinese bloke like I did.

Ten days to wait to check SSN is the advice usually given but recent reports suggest it is a lot quicker these days. I arrived on the Thursday and queried whether I existed at the SSA office. I did and the number had been issued on the Friday (day after arriving) with the card itself in the mail on Monday. Just over a week after arrival the card arrived in the mail without needing to chase it or fill in any forms (this assumes you ticked the right box on the, um, DS230?). Make sure they don't do a manual verification which will actually slow down the process to weeks or months. "Am I in the SAVE system?" - if not, give it a few days and go back again. If nothing after maybe 10-14 days, only then start to query what has happened. Again, this assumes you ticked the box for a SSN on the forms.

You don't need the SSN to open a bank account. You can do this straight away but take your passport with visa. I can't have had proof of address as I was staying with relatives and opened the account the day after arrival, so maybe that's not essential.

I transferred my AMEX from the UK - again, didn't need the SSN, but in hindsight it would have been slightly easier than the palava of faxing the details after the event.

You're supposed to get a CA driving license within 10 days of arrival, but you need a SSN to get a license. Do it within a few weeks and that'll be fine. It's easy, don't dither. Make sure you don't fill in the voter stuff on the driving license application as it doesn't apply to you. Make sure you know you handsignals for the road test, and where all the controls like demister, horn etc are. Make sure you stop for a second or two at stop signs, rolling forward after stopping if you can't see traffic.

By the way, if you have a decent Experian/whatever rating in the UK, get a full printout. Some people will say it's a waste of time; for me it sealed the deal on our house rental with no further evidence required. Mind you, the score was 999.

jimmytraveller

Poppy girl

A way bit of topic but I am sitting here watching a show about driving in CA and the tricks to low car insurance and the guy is saying get a $1,000 deductable we are crazy to pay $500 .....and this is interesting to me if no one else, he just stated that in the state of CA it is illegal to use your credit score to determine your rate of insurance, apparently this is going on in some states and folk are not aware!

Useless info over with

Poppy girl

Care to elaborate!!

jimmytraveller

It a F*****G Dump ! You won't like it it is Mexico ! Very Exspensive all Concreate Foney People & Dangerouse !

Poppy girl

That's rife coming from someone living in Newcastle Upon Tyne

mmac88

Thanks for all the great advice, especially GeoffM exactly what i was looking far, actual accounts of what happens and how other people did things.

Getting excited about the whole thing now, just need to get stuff packed!

Mark

Poppy girl

Tip......pack loads of Cadburys chocolate

GeoffM

Sorry, for some reason I had it in my head that you were an immigrant. Ignore the airport stuff (and ignore the troll).