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bank statement

Don't forget your taxes also depend where you live, as you pay federal, state and local income taxes. Maybe still less than Scandinavian countries or something but it may not end up being as low as you think especially when you effectively have to regard medical insurance as a tax too as you don't get free healthcare. Day to day living sure is almost certainly cheaper re food, petrol etc. But all in all the east coast is not cheap, then again I subscribe to the "cheap for a reason" view when it comes to things like property prices and state taxes...
 
I hear you SusieQQQ, still, I think you are better off in states if you in work. if you take an average income as an example and
compare UK and US (2 people working in the family) which is valid for me. You would pay almost 25% in taxes in UK and only
15% in US. State tax have to be paid in MA (5%) however you wouldn't have paid it in CT or NH. So there is room here for
medical insurance costs, and as you agreed you spend less on daily basis.

To summarise costs of living in US seems to be lower when I compare east coast (excluding major cities) to my present place of
residence in UK.
Would I find it better or easier to live in States I will not know unless I try. i think all of us hopes for better otherwise we would not
be here after all.
 
It really depends to which State you are relocating/moving. Take for example a Texas.... you can get a nice house in a suburb close to Dallas or Austin and pay around 1.3k-1.8k per month... no TX State income tax vs 13% or something in California... salaries are sure less 20-25% (I am in a IT field) in TX vs CA, BUT at the end you still make much more than in CA. One bedroom apartments run around 800-850/month (if you are single should be more than enough to start with).

Now, let's look in a long term... a nice house (brick..) built around 1980-2000 will cost you 250-300k, while you will pay 800k+ in East of San Francisco.... check out property tax too..... probably, much higher in CA..... so now earning 130k in CA vs 100k in TX still makes Texas a winner :) Now please, don't whine about the hot weather :)
 
NewBetterBonio said:
I hear you SusieQQQ, still, I think you are better off in states if you in work. if you take an average income as an example and
compare UK and US (2 people working in the family) which is valid for me. You would pay almost 25% in taxes in UK and only
15% in US. State tax have to be paid in MA (5%) however you wouldn't have paid it in CT or NH. So there is room here for
medical insurance costs, and as you agreed you spend less on daily basis.

To summarise costs of living in US seems to be lower when I compare east coast (excluding major cities) to my present place of
residence in UK.
Would I find it better or easier to live in States I will not know unless I try. i think all of us hopes for better otherwise we would not
be here after all.
Click to expand...


much more than 25%... remember, if you have over 32k/year (GBP) it's 45% income tax in UK :)
don't forget UK VAT of 20% vs medium 8% in USA..... that's a big DIFFERENCE too....
 
Joshua Tree said:
much more than 25%... remember, if you have over 32k/year (GBP) it's 45% income tax in UK :)
don't forget UK VAT of 20% vs medium 8% in USA..... that's a big DIFFERENCE too....
Click to expand...

It's actually not that bad, first 10K is not taxed as personal tax free allowance in UK, than next 32K is taxed with
20% rate however you have to pay national insurance contribution on top of that, anyway on average salary (26K british pound)
you would end up with 25% of deductions.

I like your prior comment you certainly have more options in states with regards to posible place of living, everyone has to do
the math and decide how & where to settle.
 
I think those at top tax rates don't find much difference in US vs UK, not from the UK so can't be sure. And re VAT yes sure that's why most things in day to day living are cheaper. In the country I come from the same car costs almost double what it costs in the US!!! Ditto electronics etc.

Newbetterbonio, I think you misunderstood, I'm not at all saying the US is much more expensive. I was just surprised at the states you picked as examples. As for where you live, the smaller town vs city thing, depends what you want. I know I would be much happier in a bigger city with lots to do, culture, museums, theatre etc. I'd be happy to pay a bit more for that. Boston and San Francisco would be my top picks, also for the combination of close enough to beaches in summer and close enough to winter sports in winter. I loved San Diego when we visited but I think even that would end up being a bit too provincial for me. But I have friends in San Diego who love it and wouldn't move anywhere else. Texas not for me for a bunch of reasons, none of which are related to weather.
 
SusieQQQ said:
I think those at top tax rates don't find much difference in US vs UK, not from the UK so can't be sure. And re VAT yes sure that's why most things in day to day living are cheaper. In the country I come from the same car costs almost double what it costs in the US!!! Ditto electronics etc.

Newbetterbonio, I think you misunderstood, I'm not at all saying the US is much more expensive. I was just surprised at the states you picked as examples. As for where you live, the smaller town vs city thing, depends what you want. I know I would be much happier in a ....
Click to expand...

For discussion's sake, its sometimes good to be misunderstood :D, and I'm not saying they are expensive or cheap,
I'm just finding those states less expenisve than part of UK i'm currently live in. Per my earlier post I'm not comparing
major cities nor I would take on them without extensive research first as they all have their own rights in terms of
required expenditures and eventual profits, as JT well said in his post from above - sometimes less is more.
 
NewBetterBonio said:
For discussion's sake, its sometimes good to be misunderstood :D, and I'm not saying they are expensive or cheap,
I'm just finding those states less expenisve than part of UK i'm currently live in. Per my earlier post I'm not comparing
major cities nor I would take on them without extensive research first as they all have their own rights in terms of
required expenditures and eventual profits, as JT well said in his post from above - sometimes less is more.
Click to expand...

And as I said before, sometimes places are cheap for a reason ;)
 
NewBetterBonio said:
Hi all,

does anyone know how much money do I need to save for family of 5, I know that number may differ from
one embassy to another, note I will likely take the interview in London?

Also I'm working on to secure a job prior the interview, so having a job offer letter, would that allow to
lower the amount of savings I need to have?

Regards,
Click to expand...

Hey NBB,

What is your case number range? When do you think you will get current ? I am asking because I would love to hear some interview experiences from London embassy before I have my interview (if ever). Considering that I bought a house last year I will probably manage to get $25k max of savings in my account (pound to dollar exchange works a bit in our favor :)). Obviously I have the equity in the house, my wife's car worth few grand and I have worked in the US on L-1 visa and that was during the recession so my employer had to try really hard to prove that it was essential for me to work in the US and they lack specialists in my field...but still I would like to make sure that we're "good to go" for the interview and there won't be any surprises.


Joshua Tree said:
much more than 25%... remember, if you have over 32k/year (GBP) it's 45% income tax in UK :)
don't forget UK VAT of 20% vs medium 8% in USA..... that's a big DIFFERENCE too....
Click to expand...

I believe it is 35k now and you have to add your tax code into that amount - in my case I pay higher tax on all earnings above 42k, anything below that is about 20% plus National Insurance so combined it is about 25%. I consider it to be pretty OK.

After browsing through some jobs and talking to my colleagues in the US, engineers in similar positions earn on average $20k more than I earn in the UK so this looks promising - ASSUMING that I can transfer within the company or find job matching my expectations.
 
I'm EU39K so it will be September if my number gets current. So I'm afraid I might be the last person to
bring something to the table on that matter :D.

The whole money requirement kind of contradicts the DV spirit, for people from wealfier countries
its much easier to save up that amount of money, what about Asia or Africa, many folks might be excluded
b/s they don't have enough savings. From the other hand if they are required to hold of less amounts of
money it kind of doesn't make any sense since all applicants will arrive in the same destination country
eventually.

I'm not expecting any income improvements, however comfort of life even with same income might be better,
Will reality meet expectation, we will have to wait and see. I wish everyone just that, though.

Anyway I think $30K will do for me, i never been unemployed (many years back) and I can prove so, if they
can't accept that, so be it. One can always save more and try the lottery next year ;).
 
NewBetterBonio said:
I'm EU39K so it will be September if my number gets current. So I'm afraid I might be the last person to
bring something to the table on that matter :D.

The whole money requirement kind of contradicts the DV spirit, for people from wealfier countries
its much easier to save up that amount of money, what about Asia or Africa, many folks might be excluded
b/s they don't have enough savings. From the other hand if they are required to hold of less amounts of
money it kind of doesn't make any sense since all applicants will arrive in the same destination country
eventually.

I'm not expecting any income improvements, however comfort of life even with same income might be better,
Will reality meet expectation, we will have to wait and see. I wish everyone just that, though.

Anyway I think $30K will do for me, i never been unemployed (many years back) and I can prove so, if they
can't accept that, so be it. One can always save more and try the lottery next year ;).
Click to expand...

:) Same here - CN 39,5k so I guess whoever goes for an interview first, posts the experience on the forum :)

I called "KFC" today asking about some details that I need to update and I asked a question about cut-offs. I might have to travel for work to France and US in next few months so I thought I will maybe blag some predictions out of the KFC lady so work wouldn't collide with my visa appointment. She said that now we have 30700 for EU and I should wait for the bulletin. I then said that EU nicely was hitting 5k a month over last few months but I guess it might be much lower this coming month...she went quiet for a second and said that it might be more too and I should not forget about that. I take it as a good sign :)
 
NewBetterBonio said:
I'm EU39K so it will be September if my number gets current. So I'm afraid I might be the last person to
bring something to the table on that matter :D.

The whole money requirement kind of contradicts the DV spirit, for people from wealfier countries
its much easier to save up that amount of money, what about Asia or Africa, many folks might be excluded
b/s they don't have enough savings. From the other hand if they are required to hold of less amounts of
money it kind of doesn't make any sense since all applicants will arrive in the same destination country
eventually.

I'm not expecting any income improvements, however comfort of life even with same income might be better,
Will reality meet expectation, we will have to wait and see. I wish everyone just that, though.

Anyway I think $30K will do for me, i never been unemployed (many years back) and I can prove so, if they
can't accept that, so be it. One can always save more and try the lottery next year ;).
Click to expand...

The money requirement is not intended to be a barrier of any kind - it is to protect people from arriving in the USA with starry eyes and empty pockets. There are very few safety nets in the US - so the idea is to make sure people don't get themselves into trouble...
 
britsimon said:
A few costs that I am paying.

Rent – 3000/month (for a small 3 bed house, 2 bed apartment is around 2500)
Health Insurance (Family of 3) – 1000/month
Utilities (Gas/Electric/Water/Sewer/Garbage) - 300/month
Cable TV/Internet/Phone (Basic package) - 140/month
Car Insurance - 100/month (plus motorbike insurance of another 80/month)
....
Click to expand...

Thanks britsimon, this is really helpful.
 
franko said:
:) Same here - CN 39,5k so I guess whoever goes for an interview first, posts the experience on the forum :)

I called "KFC" today asking about some details that I need to update and I asked a question about cut-offs. I might have to travel for work to France and US in next few months so I thought I will maybe blag some predictions out of the KFC lady so work wouldn't collide with my visa appointment. She said that now we have 30700 for EU and I should wait for the bulletin. I then said that EU nicely was hitting 5k a month over last few months but I guess it might be much lower this coming month...she went quiet for a second and said that it might be more too and I should not forget about that. I take it as a good sign :)
Click to expand...

why do you guys keep calling Kentucky Fried Chicken? You can go there and buy some meal :p
 
britsimon said:
The money requirement is not intended to be a barrier of any kind - it is to protect people from arriving in the USA with starry eyes and empty pockets. There are very few safety nets in the US - so the idea is to make sure people don't get themselves into trouble...
Click to expand...

I’d like to know if presenting fund proofs is a requirement for the dv interview. I have read the “Instructions for Selectees, step 1 to 4” from the official 2014 dv lottery web site and I found nothing about this. If it is, where can I find these information?
 
cuban said:
I’d like to know if presenting fund proofs is a requirement for the dv interview. I have read the “Instructions for Selectees, step 1 to 4” from the official 2014 dv lottery web site and I found nothing about this. If it is, where can I find these information?
Click to expand...


It is not a requirement of the DV program specifically, it is a requirement for ALL immigration cases. Work and family sponsored cases have the same standard to meet, but of course that is done differently. For DV cases, some people are not asked to prove finances at all whilst others have been denied or delayed for the lack of proof. It is up to the individual CO to decide what proof t ask for or not to ask at all, but the CO is required to have considered that issue when issuing the visa.
 
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