Pulaski

You have no US credit history. Thanks to European Onion privacy laws and the UK Data Protection Act, it is impossible to import your credit record to the US. If you have an American Express card you can get a US card on the back of your existing UK relationship with American Express. I hear the minimum period for the UK card is now three months, so I recommend that you apply for UK cards immediately and even if you arrive in the US within three months you will hit three months shortly afterwards, and be able to get US Amex cards.

Without a US credit history you will likely be expected to give a deposit for each utility, so you should ask your husband's employer if they give any assistance with that. If not, budget around $600 per utility, hopefully it will be less, but shouldn't be more. In an urban or suburban location you will have water and electricity, and probably natural gas, but on the fringes of suburbia and in rural areas, you would likely have only electricity. Water comes from a well and the drain goes to a septic tank. When we bought our home I told my mother (back in the UK) that we had well water and she thought that meant fetching water in a bucket! .... If you didn't know to look, a well water system is completely transparent from indoors - but there will be a well pump in the front garden (yard) typically under something that looks like a dog kennel or a fake rock.

Related to the lack of credit history, you will have a challenge financing a car(s). I hear VW-Audi has a good expat finance scheme, but you should also look at International Autosource which will finance vehicles from several manufacturers based on your UK credit history, but you must sign the contract and pay a deposit before you arrive in the US. They might sound a bit "odd", but are totally legit - their main business is selling cars to US servicemen and women, and I used their service to buy my first car in the US. Getting a car "sorted" ahead of time has a significant benefit when you arrive because you will have a million things to do, and not having to buy a car is one thing you can cross off your list.

The provision of daycare/ preschool in the US is widespread but falls into two broad groups of establishments - custom facilities which are very well equipped and expensive - think around $800-$1,000/mth/child in the Knoxville area (can easily be $2,000-3,000/mth/child in larger cities in the north east and on the west coast), or "in home daycare", which is still registered, inspected, and regulated, but is literally in someone's home. The cost is around half the cost of a custom facility.

BTW you realize that the spouse of an H-1B visa holder can't work (unless they qualify for a work visa in their own right), don't you? ..... That would only change if/when you get a green card.

Redwing

You'll have plenty of places to choose from. A neighbor of mine commutes there every day, and we live 50 miles from Oak Ridge.

angie_329

well there is no harm in researching early... as Pulaski said you will not have any credit history in the USA.
The employer via HR should be able to help with a lot of this including setting up the accounts and possibly you should ask about school assistance.
The accommodation finding person you go out with should be able to tell you about telecoms providers and as a local provide lots of helpful information about the area, where to shop etc.
Also your husband's colleagues will be able to give him info.
I imagine the employer will put you up in short term serviced accommodation for up to 30 days so you have time to search.

Look for expat associations or women's /mums network groups in the area...there may be some.

Bob

Car financing is a piece of piss because you don't own the car till it's paid off so it's much easier for them to grab the car off you. Without credit history, you won't be getting the nice, 0% type advertised rates though.

petitefrancaise

You can actually get a car from International Autosource after you have arrived but since the deal won't change, you might as well get that done before you leave the UK. There can be extended delivery times to get the car you want so the sooner the better. Note, IAS if asked may well pay for AIG Inbound expatriate assistance, this is well worth having even if you only use it to get car insurance - it's just great being able to send an email asking them to sort out renter's/car insurance, or to get you companies that will give you a non-secured credit card (once you have your social security number), or anything really. Even if you pay for AIG inbound yourself, you'll probably save the annual fee ($450ish) on your first 6 months car insurance (no I didn't get that amount wrong ) International Autosource may well also pay for a rental car until your new car arrives if you ask...
Expatride are another company like IAS. No reason why you shouldn't get quotes from both and negotiate somewhat.
Mazda and VW both have exatriate financing available which can be done once you arrive ( or before!!!)

Regarding the visa - I am by no means an expert ( there are plenty on here who are though) but I was looking up something for a french guy the other day and it seems that the spousal H1-b (which is called the H4) in some cases can apply for work authorisation.
https://www.uscis.gov/news/dhs-exten...nent-residence
I'd go to the immigration and visa section of this forum to ask the experts about this.

Pulaski

The cases when they can are when a green card has been applied for,* and that is by President Obama's "executive order", so can be cancelled at a stoke by Donald Trump immediately he is inaugurated as President, so I wouldn't bet much on that being available in future.

* Without the executive order the spouse will have to wait until their green card arrives before they can work.

petitefrancaise

Thanks Pulaski! So they need to wait until the green card application is in and then apply for the EAD?
I think my head was just aching from trying to explain stuff in french!

Chesten, I've said this time and again that what is great about BE is that if someone (me in this case) posts inaccurate information then someone quickly corrects it. You're in good hands here! BE was a life saver for me when I was moving over.

Pulaski

You're welcome.

At the moment, "yes", but Donald Trump could change that very easily.

Olly_

I've said this before but that isn't strictly true - when you file to adjust status every applicant can apply for an EAD (and advance parole) to cover the time that the adjustment of status is pending. There's even no fee for doing so if you have a pending I-485.

Admittedly it might only get you the ability to work a few months ahead of getting your green card, but every little helps.

The executive order you refer to really only helps people who are unable to file to adjust status because a visa number isn't available to them at the moment due to over-subscription, so primarily India/China EB-2/3 cases although there are others as well.

Pulaski

I am not 100% sure about what you said - I think you're saying that the EAD (permission to work) is available for everyone adjusting to permanent residence status if they have a visa number, and that only Indians and Chinese are covered by the executive order, but in any case an H-4 visa holder can only get an EAD when an green card application has been submitted. Right?

Olly_

Yes, anybody with a pending AOS case can apply for work authorization. On the application form it lists who is eligible to apply and one of the entries says:

As of the December visa bulletin the priority date for EB-2 India is April 2009, and EB-3 is July 2005 so they have a huge wait before they can file to adjust status, and in the meantime have to keep extending their H-1B/H-4 status until their date comes up even though they have an approved immigrant petition.

While they're in this limbo state the H-4 holder can't apply for an EAD because they haven't got a pending AOS case so that executive order allows them to get an EAD via an alternative route. I guess Obama felt it was unfair that people were stuck unable to work for over 10 years while waiting to file for their green card.

None of this matters if you're from the UK or France because they don't send enough immigrants to hit the per country quota and you can file concurrently in all the employment based categories at the moment.

Chesten

Amex - thanks so much this feels like golden advice I have an Amex card I rarely use so I'll start using it immediately. I've just told my husband to apply.

Utilities Deposit situation I wouldn't have considered so will check that out with the employers.

Thanks for car and other info. I'm digesting it all (slowly - baby brain/ sleep deprivation)

Re the visa, yes I do know I'm ineligible to work (ive seen the subsequent posts too). It worries me; I want to work. But prior to this job offer and pending relocation I was expecting to be on maternity leave til August so not working for a little while is fine. I understand green card applications will follow in a year so if I can maybe work while the application is being processed - great. I worry about loneliness and not feeling assimilated if I don't work. Fingers crossed on that front.

Chesten

Thanks for all this; I'll consider carefully. The car stuff seems well worth checking out - it's all a bit alien but I'll make enquiries and take it from there.

Chesten

i can completely believe this site and members' expectations and knowledge will be invaluable. Thank you everyone for all the info so far.

I feel kind of one step removed being the spouse of the one with the offer and not in direct contact with the employer. I'm the organiser (and the worrier) of the family and you guys are helping me so much. Obvs when the employer sends more info I'll cross check what they say with all the advice from here. I think I'm getting good steering in terms of things to check / ask plus things I can do proactively myself.

tom169

Just make sure it's a pure AMEX card and not one such as MBNA issuing AMEX.

For this to work you need to be paying the card statement directly to American Express.