Congratulations on your move!!! I wish you good luck on your new venture. Let me make your work a bit easier. Here are the first few steps that you need to do when you migrate/relocate to United States of America (USA).
- Buy a sim card
You can buy a sim card at the airport as soon as you land or you can visit any service provider office and purchase one. There are multiple service providers in USA. AT&T, LycaMobile, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint etc are some of the service providers. Choose the service provider based on your needs ( home country calling, data benefits etc ).
- Book a Taxi from airport
It is highly advised to book a taxi from airport to your place of stay beforehand than looking for one at the airport after arrival.
- Rent a car
Public transport is not great in USA. If you are comfortable driving left and hold a valid driving license issued by your home country in english then you can drive in US. Rent a car from car rental providers like Hertz, Budget Car, Enterprise. We rented from Hertz.
- Download I-94
Download I-94 from Official Website for homeland Security. It might take couple of days for the details to be updated in the website after your entry into USA.
- Open a bank account
Banks can be broadly classified into Credit Union and normal banks in USA. Both provide good service. Choose one based on your requirement. Carry the below documents to open a bank account.
- Passport
- Job offer letter
- Visa
- I-94
Banks generally give 3 free of cost checks(Cheques). Make sure to get checks( cheque) from bank once you have an account as you need check( Cheque) for renting an apartment.
- Search for an apartment/house to stay
Once you have an account, next step is to find a house to stay. Rent.com, Zillow.com are few websites that lists houses for rent/sale. If you are working for a corporate firm and if you have internal mailers then check it to look for someone who is subleasing their house. This will be a best way to start off in a new country as you wont be signing agreement for one full year but for just a few months. In those few months you can explore options that suit your needs. Most of the houses in USA has Refrigerator, electric/induction or gas stove, microwave oven. Make sure to check for laundry in the apartment. There are 2 types of laundry system.
- In house laundry ( House contains Washing machine and Dryer )
- Common coin operated laundry Area ( Shared washing machine and dryer which is coin operated)
Once you have an apartment/house to stay then you can apply for SSN. Physical presence at Social Security office is required to apply for SSN. Visit my post Applying for SSN for more details and document requirements.
- Update SSN in bank and at your office
Once you receive SSN at your mail box, make sure to update Social Security number at office and at your bank.
- Purchase household items ( Furniture, Grocery, Electronic goods)
You can purchase grocery from Walmart, Safeway etc. Furniture can be bought from wayfair, Ashley, Ikea. Electronic goods like TV from Bestbuy, costco, walmart etc. If you are relocating in October – November timeframe then wait for thanksgiving sale as most of vendors have huge discounts on most of the items.
