Immigrant Guide: How to Start your New Life in America?

Eight Things you must do to Start Your New Life in America 

1. Social Security Card & Number

A Social Security Number (SSN) is used by the government, bank, credit card companies, employers etc to keep track of your paycheck, tax, bank info, employee benefit and everything else you can think of.
SSN is a 9-digit number and it is issued by Social Security Administration.
This is the MOST important thing you need to have before you can obtain any other things in America. Your life will be very difficult if you don't have one.
1) First download and fill out the SS-5 form - http://www.ssa.gov/online/ss-5.pdf
2)Find a Social Security office that is close to you https://s044a90.ssa.gov/apps6z/FOLO/fo001.jsp
3)Bring or mail the completed form to your closet SSA office.
4)Wait. You will receive your number & card in the mail.

2. Heath Insurance

The US has no nationalized health care system. If you don't have health insurance and you feel sick, you will be responsible for paying all medical fees, which is very expensive in the US.

If you have family members who are working in the US, ask them if they can add you to their company insurance policy.

If you don't have anyone, but you are eligible to work in the US. Make sure you find an employer that will provide health insurance for you.

If you have don't have any family members or you are having a hard time to find an employer that will support you, you can search on websites such as https://www.ehealthinsurance.com, shop around and purchase your own health insurance.

3. Bank Account

You need at least a checking account to pay for your housing, tuition, water bill, credit card bill etc. People don't expect you to pay in cash on big amount like these. In fact, they don't usually accept cash in the mail unless you walk into their office.

There are thousands of banks in the U.S and lots of choices to choose from. My suggestion for immigrant is to start with banks or credit unions that have branch offices that are close to you. I especially like credit unions because they usually have really favorable terms and lower in transaction fees (especially for money wire transfer for foreign countries).

Do some research and ask them the following questions:
1) Is there any monthly fee for the bank account?
2) Is there any minimum balance that I need to keep for the bank account?
3) Is there any additional fees for an ATM or Debit card?
4) What is the fee for wire transfer with foreign countries bank?
5) What is the highest interest rate I can get for the amount of money that I have to deposit?

Note: You will need a SSN before you can open a bank account.

4. Credit Cards

Having a credit card will make your life in the States a lot easier. Almost all merchants accept credit card and you don't need to carry cash around and go through the hazzle to changes.

However, applying for credit card as a new immigrant *may* be tough for you since you have no credit history in the U.S. My suggestion would be to ask your current bank to help you and get a credit card. Since they know exactly how much you have in the bank account. They usually can help and get you started.

A credit card is basically short-term, pre-approved loan from the bank, except the interest is uaully very high.

Try not to apply for credit card offer that you receive in the mail at the beginning. You don't want too many creditor to access your credit history.

Just start with one credit card and build up your credit history.

5. Driving License or Identification Card

Having a driver license or DMV Id card will speed up your application processes for credit card, bank, and many other things. Instead of carrying a passport, you can carry a driver license or DMV card and you are good to travel across all 52 states in the US.

State-issued identification cards would also work if you do not plan to drive or are not old enough.

6. Visa & Requirement

You will need a visa if you are not a US permanent resident or citizen. There are many kinds of visas and each type of them have different types and condition.

If your visa is expiring within a year, I would suggest you to apply for a renewal visa as soon as possible. Why? There are so many foreigers in the US and there is quota on each type of visa. Do not wait till the last minute.

P.S. Make sure you passport is also valid for at least 6 months. The US embassy may not issue you a visa ...if it is going to expire soon.

7. Find a place to live

You will need a bank account, decent credit history and income statement for your landlord to accept you as a tenant.

If you are new to the U.S., you may want to ask your American family or friends to help you and co-sign the apartment. Again, before you send in your application, ask the landlord what kind of score he/she is looking for as a tenant. They tell ahead of time that you don't have a credit history. Ask them for help. You don't want so many people to run your credit reports.

See link above on some basic tips in finding an apartment.

8. Purchase a car

Almost all Americans use Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) to check car prices before they go purchase a new or used car.

If you do want to drive and purchase a car, my suggestion for you will be:
1) Get a driver license first
2) Determine your budget (including insurance cost)
3) Determine your insurance cost with the types of car you want
4) Research on gas mileage on the car (this will also impact your monthly maintenance cost)
5) If you are buying used car, ask a mechinic to check out the car first
6) Negotiate
7) If you need to borrow money to buy the car, make sure you get the pre-approved loan first before you start shopping.
8) Find a person to co-sign your loan if needed.

Build your Cultural Confidence in America 

This is how I slowly build up my confidence as a immigrant.

Learn how to network

The true definition of networking is building relationship & rapport with new friends while being yourself anywhere anytime.

Build Your Self Esteem

I am not sure if it is a woman thing or an immigrant thing or just me. Even though I considered myself fairly successful, I have often found myself having self-doubts or self-deprecating thoughts. Thoughts like "I don't deserve it", "I can't do this", "I'm not good enough", "There is no way I can do this!" or "This is for rich people and not for me". These thoughts are like the thorns on the stem of a rose. Yes, the rose is nice and beautiful, but these thoughts hold you back, if you touch them they hurt you.

Find your American Dream

What is that you really want? What is your dream?

Identify your life purpose

Finding your purpose is not easy. For some people, it takes minutes. For some people, it takes years. But the good news is you don't necessarily need to find it right away. As long as you have a mind open to find it, your purpose will reveal itself to you.

Find out what you really want

You know what you don't want. But you don't know what you really want.

That was me for a very long time.

For years I was working in the software and consulting industries, I got exposure to so many different situations and slowly learned what I didn't like. I didn't want to do that again. I didn't like to be that person. There were countless number of things that I didn't want, but I did not have a clue what I truly wanted. Is that you? You feel stuck and exhausted. You are exhausted from doing things that you don't really have heart for. You don't know why you are doing it. You are stressed out but you don't have a way out.

How to Manage your money?

Accounting was one of the most boring classes for me when I was in college. Looking at income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements gave me headaches; I swore I would never go near them again after I finished that class. But it is not that you really have a choice on this..

Movtivation

You can do it!