laurenanyc

Hello all,

hoping you can help me on this!

im transferring to the Miami office from London. My understanding is that this will be an L1 but am unsure if it’s an A or B. They are processing the visa now for a potential September transfer date. First question: the long terms goal is to stay in the US permanently so what visa class is better?

second question: how soon can I apply for a green card after getting the L visa? I really want to make the US a permanent home so let me know what I should be doing now and as soon as I land to ensure I do everything on my side! Please don’t comment on getting married to a US citizen!

third question: how soon should I properly start looking for rentals in Miami? I know it’s a crazy market but feel now is perhaps to early. I have a daily update of rentals coming through but am just soft browsing at the moment! Any thought would be appreciated! Likely to be in Brickell area - near office as first stop.

fourth question: would love to understand how people immigrating to the US managed to get their credit score up asap? Also how does this relay to upfront rental payments to cover this?

I’m well versed on US living and have a SSN and US Bank account based on an internship many years ago! Account is still active and money goes in and out! Ideas on US credit cards to apply for and how I effectively remain UK accounts would be extremely helpful!

lastly any great moving companies from UK to US would be appreciated.

I have many more questions but the above are the big ones! Happy Jubilee weekend all!

L

christmasoompa

Congrats on the job offer!

A Sept move might be very optimistic, depending on what you mean by 'processing the visa'?

L1-A would be better if you want to stay permanently, and you don't usually apply for the green card, your employer does. So the crucial thing will be to get a commitment from them (in writing) that they will apply for it within x amount of time. Companies are often reluctant to, as it means you can then leave and work for anybody else, so ideally negotiate that before you go or sign a contract.

Can't help with your other questions, but if you search the forum you'll find loads of info on getting your credit score sorted.

Best of luck.

Pulaski

Christmasoompa has you covered on the visa type and g/c process - your employer has to drive the process, and I think they have to wait 12 months before starting the process for an L-1A holder.

As you're shipping stuff from the UK, you'll have at least 6 weeks to find a place, so I would recommend a long stay hotel, airbnb, or vrbo when you arrive, which will give you time to find an apartment after you arrive.

When we moved over, the shipper we used sent most of our things in a container, which took about 6 weeks, but we also had them air-freight a couple of trunks with clothing, shoes, and a few kitchen and tablewares, etc. The mover you choose in the UK won't be the company delivering your things in the US, and in between your stuff is just floating on a container ship, so personally I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference, so I'd just get several quotes and go with whichever is reasonable on price and "gives you a good feeling." Bear in mind that a mover is unlikely to decline to quote, but if they're busy they'll just subcontract the loading and mark up their quote, and you would never know if they've done that.

As far as credit goes, having an SSN is the essential first step, as credit scores are indexed off that. I would contact your bank about a credit card in the first instance, as it may be a near formality as you have a long term relationship with them. Beyond that, having a good mix of credit is important (see next paragraph, below), but without too many enquiries from lenders - applying for two many credit products will hurt your score. In any case, your credit score won't mean much until it has 12 months of activity.

If you will be buying a vehicle, consider using International Autosource, as they specialize in selling cars (as a broker) to new immigrants/ buyers who are currently outside the US, and can lend without checking your US credit score, or you having a US credit score at all! I used them myself and was very pleased with the service, though some people report that they were "too expensive". The advantages of using them are [1] they can sell tax free if the buyer is outside the US (though I suspect that most of the benefit of that is clawed back in the sale price), and more importantly IMO [2] it gets you an installment loan building your credit score immediately you start making payments on the loan. .... In my case although I bought using International Autosource my loan was with Ford Motor Credit.

anotherlimey

I hope your company's paying, or at least contributing to, the rent; the market is nuts here.

tht

if you qualify for a Green card yourself you can apply anytime. If your employer is sponsoring they can also file anytime, including instead of , or in parallel to your L1. But an L1 premium can be way faster. Came back in 2010 on an L1a, visa took 3 or 4 weeks till I moved, I was L1a and GC was about 1 year.

In NYC upfront rent (like I paid to get a place) Is now illegal. I am now a landlord and I use this service, It lets my tenants pay a few to report their onTime rent payments to their credit report.

https://www.avail.co/tenants/features

tom169

its called a paycheck

Rete

What is upfront rent?

Nutmegger

I hadn't heard of this change, either. But:

"In New York State, you don't need to come up with as much as three months rent to secure a rental apartment, thanks to a 2019 change in the rent laws. Instead, renters are on the hook for the first month’s rent and the security deposit—essentially two month’s rent.

"In the past or in other states, you might have been told to pay “first, last, and security” in order to get an apartment, but it is now illegal for landlords here to require you to pay more than one month’s rent as a security deposit when you sign a lease—which effectively eliminates “last month’s rent” from the equation.

"The rent laws now say that in nearly all cases, ”no deposit or advance shall exceed the amount of one month's rent.”"

Taken from: Can a Landlord Ask for First and Last Month's Rent Plus a Security Deposit

tht

It (was) rent you pay upfront. The first place I found in NYC 2010 wanted 2 months deposit and 12 months rent upfront, but the landlord was not willing to show me the building financials (they would have been the credit risk not me) they also would not let me put it in escrow to be paid monthly. The place I ended up taking was a short term 3 month lease, so I only had to pay 5 months upfront without a guarantor, neither was willing to take a corporate one, they all wanted was an individual.

Now the shoe is on the other foot and I am a landlord the change means that if someone wants a pet I have to change a non refundable pet fee of a monta rent instead of taking an extra months rent for the deposit…