Today's the day...

[Viper_Larry]

Currently at Heathrow awaiting my flight to SFO to start a new life in Califonria! Mixed emotions and lots to organise when I get there, but interesting times...

[Viper_Larry]

off_again said:

Interesting - seems that a few others have made the jump too....

I am in the process of doing this myself. Visa all done and relocation package sorted and approved (intercompany transfer) and just a case of getting things booked and done. Moving to California though - cant wait.

I wonder how many other PH'ers are in the same boat - as in emigrated to the USA - I will be in the bay area (yes, its for an IT company) so I would imagine a few.

Great, you'll love it here! OUt of interest, what company? I work for Citrix in Santa Clara. Another guy relocated recently and I send him an email of useful tips after going through it myself, thought I'd paste them here for you if it helps?

1) I-94 – this is the immigration form that has to be completed online – do this a few days after you arrive and print out a few paper copies, you'll need them:
https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request.html

2) SSN – you must wait for 10 calendar days before applying for this so all the docs are in place (else it will take longer to process). Just go to your local Social Security office and queue up – get there for around 8:15am, they open at 9. Doesn’t take long. You will need your passport and I-94. Suggest you and your wife apply at the same time
https://secure.ssa.gov/ICON/main.jsp

3) Driving license (needs SSN) – you need to apply for a California Driving license within 10 days of arriving – in reality, this doesn’t work as you can’t get an appointment that quick! There are 2 parts, first you need to complete the 36 question written test, then take a practical test. It will take a couple of weeks to get an appointment for the written test – you can make this online now:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/foa/clear.do?goTo=officeVis...
This appointment will be for the written test, it costs $32 and takes around 15 minutes. You will need your I-94 with you. Suggest you go to the local office ASAP and pick up the free Drivers Handbook so you can read up and understand the rules. Once the written test in passed, you will be given a temporary license. You can then use this to apply for the practical test.

Credit history is all important in the US! Even Chase will not give you a credit card yet. Best bet is to apply for a CapitalOne Secured Credit Card. They regularly report when you pay it off. Will take a few weeks to get it though, still not got mine yet. You will need your SSN before applying for this:
http://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/secured/?Lo...

[Viper_Larry]

off_again said:

If you dont mind, a few questions on the process though - the SSN bit, do you mean that I need to wait 10 days AFTER arrival before applying? What happens if you enter and leave? Or is it a case of entry and then stay until I can apply?

Yes. Evidently it takes around 10 days once you've entered the US for the paperwork from US Customs to be processed and in the right place. The lady I spoke to at the local SSN said you can apply earlier, but if the paperwork isn't in, it will all get delayed. I waited 10 days exactly. Applied on the Monday morning, card arrived on the following Saturday.

off_again said:

At the moment I dont have anywhere to live, and my family is coming with me (well at some point in the next few weeks) so I am a little worried on the whole process. I dont believe I can rent somewhere until I have an SSN, but I could be wrong here, but where do you get the SSN sent to?

I too arrived with nowhere to live, but a colleague put me up at her house in Palo Alto. My wife flew out a month later. I found somewhere to rent within a few days and moved in 9 days after arriving. Didn't need an SSN to rent. However, I did provide a UK credit report which I had printed out as they will credit check you and it'll come back blank. I had to pay an extra couple of weeks deposit due to the lack of credit history. Where will you stay when you arrive? I assume a hotel? Rental property goes almost immediately now. You can't view a few and then decide. When I got this place in Los Gatos, I was the first in the door and said yes within 1 minute else someone else would get it!

[Viper_Larry]

Yep, I had to pay $350 deposit to PG&E for Gas/Electric but to be fair, they're using that money now to pay the bills. Luckily work supplied a nice iPhone 5 and contract. Then there's water, garbage collection, internet/TV, etc.

How do you check your credit score?

[Viper_Larry]

I've already got a Secured Credit Card with Capital One who claim to help your credit score. Cost me $30 for $200 credit! Crazy seeing as Amex gave me a US card with $7k limit and Chase have now provided a Visa with $7k limit so my credit score should start showing soon.

[Viper_Larry]

So much to do! You should have looked me up as I work in the Citrix offices a couple of days a week. East bay is renowned for terrible traffic, but if you don't have to commute every day, you should be fine. We ended up in Los Gatos down by the Santa Cruz mountains - love it here and only 30 minute commute in rush hour.

We paid £4500 for a 20ft container and it took 10 weeks to get here. I can recommend a couple of shipping agents but if the company are paying, then no issue.

[Viper_Larry]

Tell me about it, we budgeted $2500 for rent, ended up at $3500 for rent, but as Mrs VL wasn't so keen to come, it had to be somewhere she wanted to live. I don't regret it at all, but with her not working yet (first interview today) things are very tight.

I had no relocation package - they stumped up for the visa fees, but I had to pay for the container, flights for both of us and flights for the 2 x rabbits and 1 x cat! And then pay for everything once here - don't under estimate how much you have to buy! For instance, we brought all our lamps with us, I bought 8 x US plugs and re-wired them, no issue, what I didn't count on was you can't get bayonet fitting bulbs here, so had to order 8 x bayonet to screw fitting adapters to take the bulbs. The ones we did have with small screw bulbs, turns out is a different size to US small screw size!

It's all fun!