Taxes,registrations,irs,drivers license-the essentials
 

We are about to relocate from the UK to Chicago(once our house has sold).
I will be on a H1B and my wife will be on a H4.
I have been spending HOURS surfing around gathering info on the "essentials" for survival and establishing ourselves. My question is:
Is there a specific site or collection of sites that help us by providing info on the essentials eg:getting a US drivers license, expected taxes, utility costs, setting up bank accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, mobile phone accounts, ISP's etc,etc,etc. You know the regular stuff that could end up being more hassle than they should be

any help is appreciated.

TJM

Re: Taxes,registrations,irs,drivers license-the essentials
 

I came across this site the other day, not sure if it's the sort of thing you are looking for.
http://www.ilw.com/immigrants/life/


I've also listed URL's that I've collected along the way.

Driving license.
http://www.sos.state.il.us/departmen...ptable_id.html

IRS- H1B info
http://www.irs.gov/faqs/display/0,,i...D15929,00.html

IRS- Individual Tax Identification Number
http://www.irs.gov/faqs/display/0,,i...D13288,00.html

The Chicago Tafia
Details of Welsh and British events in the Chicagoland area
http://www.geocities.com/thechicagotafia/index.html

Hope all the above helps.

Sue

Re: Taxes,registrations,irs,drivers license-the essentials
 

On 10 Jul 2002 17:21:14 GMT, mav <[email protected]> wrote:

    >We are about to relocate from the UK to Chicago(once our house has sold). I will be
    >on a H1B and my wife will be on a H4. I have been spending HOURS surfing around
    >gathering info on the "essentials" for survival and establishing ourselves. My
    >question is: Is there a specific site or collection of sites that help us by
    >providing info on the essentials eg:getting a US drivers license,

Fact is there is no such thing as a US drivers license. You will need an Illinois
drivers license. You may need a birth certificate to obtain a drivers license. Maybe
someone from Illinois could check this out, sicne a paasport may also serve. See the
offical Illinois web site at http://www100.state.il.us/

    >expected taxes,

You will be paying federal and state income tax (I don't know if the city of Chicago
also has an income tax). Unless you buy a house these are the only taxes you will
need to prepare for, and it will msotly be covered during your employment process
since they will largely be paid by withholding from your paycheck.

You will need to obtain a social security card and number, which will require a birth
certificate (I think).

    >utility costs, setting up bank accounts, savings accounts,

You'll need the social security number to open bank accounts., but otherwise they
should be no problem.

    >redit cards, mobile hone accounts,

They'll sell a phone to almost anyone.

    >SP's etc,etc,etc. You know the regular stuff that could end up being more hassle
    >than they should be

Don't worry. Your co-workers will be brimming with advice.

************ DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) ***********
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * ******* My typos are
intentional copyright traps ******

Re: Taxes,registrations,irs,drivers license-the essentials
 

mav wrote:
    >
    > We are about to relocate from the UK to Chicago(once our house has sold). I will be
    > on a H1B and my wife will be on a H4. I have been spending HOURS surfing around
    > gathering info on the "essentials" for survival and establishing ourselves. My
    > question is: Is there a specific site or collection of sites that help us by
    > providing info on the essentials eg:getting a US drivers license, expected taxes,
    > utility costs, setting up bank accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, mobile
    > phone accounts, ISP's etc,etc,etc. You know the regular stuff that could end up
    > being more hassle than they should be

I don't know of such a site, but I'll answer a few of your questions.

One of the first things you'll need is a number that can substitute for a US Social
Security number. You can call the nearest Social Security office to ask how to get
it. Most phone books have a section for numbers of federal government offices, and
this would be in that section.

You will need an Illinois driver's license if you want to register a car in the
state, as there is no national license. It may be a simple matter of paperwork, as it
is in New Jersey, if you have a valid UK license. Each state has a different
procedure. If you're planning to buy a car, you might want to first find a reliable
insurance agent, preferably by asking among your acquaintances in Chicago. The
insurance agent can tell you everything you need to do, and in which order.

Setting up a bank account in the US is much easier than it is in most European
countries. You basically need a valid address, the Social Security number substitute
I mentioned in the first paragraph, and some money to deposit. If you will be getting
a paycheck, you can probably have it direct deposited into your bank account. You can
also arrange to have some bills paid automatically, although actually that is much
easier here in Italy than it was in the US.

I've been told that it's not very easy for a foreign citizen to get a credit card in
the US. I have known young people with valid European Visa cards who couldn't get the
equivalent from an American bank. If you have a credit card from the UK, you might
want to keep it active.

You should probably ask someone local about public utilities. This is another thing
that varies from region to region in the US.

If you will be at an American university or other school or research institution, you
will probably be given a computer account automatically with a dial-in number so that
you can use it from home as well. Then you won't need an ISP. Some other employers
also provide this. There are no free private ISPs in the US as there are in many
European countries. These free ISPs actually get a cut of the cost of the local phone
calls they generate. In the US, local phone calls are free so this financing
mechanism isn't available. I'm not up-to-date on the cost of the typical private ISP.

I hope this has been of some help.

Barbara

Re: Taxes,registrations,irs,drivers license-the essentials
 

Thanks for the tips guys, Yep I was aware of the state Driver license deal, I am just trying to get prepared for what we need.

Looks like there is a need for a single website that lists out the hows, whats and whys in clear detail, there are a few out there but they all fall short somehow when actually trying to go through a process, this is something I realised a long time ago whilst travelling the USA and Australia "If only there was a book that helped with all this official stuff in detail" - maybe I should start gathering details, and logging experiences- together with the hilarious ones that have come out of the many catch 22 scenarios when dealing with local and state autorities and trying to do the right thing.

TJM

Re: Taxes,registrations,irs,drivers license-the essentials
 

    >Subject: Re: Taxes,registrations,irs,drivers license-the essentials From: mav
    >[email protected] Date: 7/12/2002 11:22 AM

    >
    >Thanks for the tips guys, Yep I was aware of the state Driver license deal, I am
    >just trying to get prepared for what we need.
    >
    >Looks like there is a need for a single website that lists out the hows, whats and
    >whys in clear detail, there are a few out there but they all fall short somehow when
    >actually trying to go through a process, this is something I realised a long time
    >ago whilst travelling the USA and Australia "If only there was a book that helped
    >with all this official stuff in detail" - maybe I should start gathering details,
    >and logging experiences- together with the hilarious ones that have come out of the
    >many catch 22 scenarios when dealing with local and state autorities and trying to
    >do the right thing.
    >
    >TJM

Here is a website that will at least make getting that state info. a little less
painful. http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/t...ver/travel.htm

Re: Taxes,registrations,irs,drivers license-the essentials
 

"mav" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Thanks for the tips guys, Yep I was aware of the state Driver license deal, I am
    > just trying to get prepared for what we need.
    >
    > Looks like there is a need for a single website that lists out the hows, whats and
    > whys in clear detail, there are a few out there but they all fall short somehow
    > when actually trying to go through a process, this is something I realised a long
    > time ago whilst travelling the USA and Australia "If only there was a book that
    > helped with all this official stuff in detail" - maybe I should start gathering
    > details, and logging experiences- together with the hilarious ones that have come
    > out of the many catch 22 scenarios when dealing with local and state autorities and
    > trying to do the right thing.

Most states have their own web site and many include answers to the questions you
asked. Check http://www.state.il.us/ to see what information turns up.