• Hello Members, This forums is for DV lottery visas only. For other immigration related questions, please go to our forums home page, find the related forum and post it there.

Bare Basics/Necessities of Life Upon Entry - Feedback from Successful DV Selectees In USA Please

M

Momo1980

Registered Users (C)
Now that my number has fallen current, I am looking at the stage beyond the interview process i.e. settling in the US.

Bank accounts - quite literally the majority of successful DV selectees will not have a credit history upon entering the US but from what I have read we can open a bank account with our immigration documents and by making a deposit. Would anyone care to share their insight on this matter please?

Car/Vehicle - also the most important matter of settling into the US is to be mobile which means we would need a car. Naturally as we have no credit history we would need to have a co-signer present with us to obtain a car but the question is if we opt for a car (new or used), do we have to pay the full amount on the car or can we make a cash downpayment and would they consider the balance to be leased or financed?

Driver's license - In addition to the above, how long does it normally take to obtain a driver's licence? Any chance this can be done immediately within 14 days upon entry or does it take longer? How hard are the tests and what do they involve?

Credit history/credit cards - how long does it take to build up a good credit score? When would we be able to obtain credit cards and what credit limit do they normally start with?

Please add any other information you feel necessary to this thread as I have created it for all potential DV selectees.
 
I have some experience with that...

Bank accounts. Opening an account is pretty easy. There is no "credit history" requirement because you re depositing money. Having the SSN will be good.

Car/Vehicle. Leasing cars in the USA is pretty cheap - however without a credit history things are tough. Best advice would be to take a small car loan with a bank and buy a used car. The car loan with help build up a credit history.

Drivers license. Easy - just get down to DMV and take a test. Varies by state. The drivers license is very easy generally - some on a PC, an eye test and then a practical drive for 10 - 20 minutes. Really - hard to fail.

Credit history. The elusive credit score. Best ways to establish credit history are things like bank car loan. Secured credit card (you deposit some money - say $500 and then you get a credit card with $500 credit. Store cards are relatively easy too. After doing one or two of the suggestions and paying all on time you will begin to have a credit history after about 6 months - takes a year or so to get a good credit score.
 
Britsimon - am I correct in assuming you have to have a proof of address in a state before you can do a drivers licence there?
 
I think that varies by state. But a house lease document or utility bill would be good anyway.
 
britsimon said:
I think that varies by state. But a house lease document or utility bill would be good anyway.
Click to expand...

What I'm getting at is - it probably wouldn't be possible to get the licence on the first trip that is basically just to activate GC/check out where you want to live etc and before you've properly moved over?
 
Well OK - if you plan a short trip to start with no you probably couldn't get that sorted. But in theory you don't have to get the DL at that point - you can drive on your foreign license for the first trip and the first few weeks after being there perm. But to buy a car, get insurance etc you would then need the DL and the DL is a standard piece of ID that is worth getting asap...
 
britsimon said:
I have some experience with that...

Bank accounts. Opening an account is pretty easy. There is no "credit history" requirement because you re depositing money. Having the SSN will be good.

Car/Vehicle. Leasing cars in the USA is pretty cheap - however without a credit history things are tough. Best advice would be to take a small car loan with a bank and buy a used car. The car loan with help build up a credit history.

Drivers license. Easy - just get down to DMV and take a test. Varies by state. The drivers license is very easy generally - some on a PC, an eye test and then a practical drive for 10 - 20 minutes. Really - hard to fail.

Credit history. The elusive credit score. Best ways to establish credit history are things like bank car loan. Secured credit card (you deposit some money - say $500 and then you get a credit card with $500 credit. Store cards are relatively easy too. After doing one or two of the suggestions and paying all on time you will begin to have a credit history after about 6 months - takes a year or so to get a good credit score.
Click to expand...


Thanks a lot for this information mate :)

With regards to the driver's license, it is the more pressing item for me personally. I read somewhere that I can take my international license (and my local license) with me and use it until I obtain a US driver's license. If I recall correctly when my uncle immigrated to the US over 10 years ago he did the same thing for 6 months until he got his US license. Any insight on this?

In regards to cars, I was weighing the option between a new car and used car and so far it seems more logical to go for a used car because a new car depreciates 30% the moment it leaves the showroom (which is pretty crappy!) and the ancillary costs related to a new car are much more higher.

In terms of the actual purchasing of the car, you mention above to get a small car loan but is there a particular quantifiable amount of the loan or does it depend on the vehicle? The car I'm looking is about $37,000 and I am wondering if I give them over 50% of the value in cash will they let me take the balance out on a loan or on a lease basis?

Lease or finance? What option would you recommend (I intend to trade in the car after 48 months and get another one).


All feedback is much appreciated! :)
 
Bank accounts: use passport, no need for GC

No need for green acard to open ban accounts ! Open saving and checking account interconnected – (do not skip either of these two accounts). So: when opening a saving account (when you open this one keep 300$ - 500 $ on it), at the same time open a checking account. The bank will issue a debit card connected to the checking account and the card will arrive in a few days. The money deposited on the checking account cannot be withdrawn online before the debit cards arrives , which means put minimum amount on the checking account of money until the debit card arrives. The daily limit on the debit card usually can be 2000$ but you can ask for transaction limit of 1000$ (more than enough!).
The bank will charge „one time fee“ in amount of 30 $ every time you go in „minus“ you can ask the bank for modes to skip the „minus thing“ . They will not tell you that if you are transferring from the saving accont to the checking account online more than 5 times monthly they charge 70 $. If you do not use debit card on cash mashine at least 5 times monthly or you do not have „direct deposit“ on it in amount of 500$, or keep always miminum 1500 $ on it the bank wil charge 12 $ for the account maintenance.
CHECKS: always fill in the explanation („for“) what is the check for. If you are paing in check and disagree with the amount or any other item, write down „under protest“
When you get a job, let two months pass and then ask for a secured credit card. After that do not apply for any other credit card for at least a year. The secure credit card does not have very favorable conditions (23% interest) and you will be tempted to close it in a year or two. Do not do that. Never ever close down the very first credit card, buy each month a chewing gum, pay all the fees and keep it open. When you get a new credit card the old one will give automatically % of the credit on FICO score. Too many requests for credit „credit inquieries“ ar maximum do not affect FICO. Never spend more than half of the total amount available and always pay the balance in one rate, use maximum 1/3 of the limit and you will always have a good FICO score - for example for a credit card with 600$ do not use more than 200 $.
Be careful what to apply for, do not just keep opening credit cards although they can shower you with offers.
 
ZukotheCat said:
Bank accounts: use passport, no need for GC

No need for green acard to open ban accounts ! Open saving and checking account interconnected – (do not skip either of these two accounts). So: when opening a saving account (when you open this one keep 300$ - 500 $ on it), at the same time open a checking account. The bank will issue a debit card connected to the checking account and the card will arrive in a few days. The money deposited on the checking account cannot be withdrawn online before the debit cards arrives , which means put minimum amount on the checking account of money until the debit card arrives. The daily limit on the debit card usually can be 2000$ but you can ask for transaction limit of 1000$ (more than enough!).
The bank will charge „one time fee“ in amount of 30 $ every time you go in „minus“ you can ask the bank for modes to skip the „minus thing“ . They will not tell you that if you are transferring from the saving accont to the checking account online more than 5 times monthly they charge 70 $. If you do not use debit card on cash mashine at least 5 times monthly or you do not have „direct deposit“ on it in amount of 500$, or keep always miminum 1500 $ on it the bank wil charge 12 $ for the account maintenance.
CHECKS: always fill in the explanation („for“) what is the check for. If you are paing in check and disagree with the amount or any other item, write down „under protest“
When you get a job, let two months pass and then ask for a secured credit card. After that do not apply for any other credit card for at least a year. The secure credit card does not have very favorable conditions (23% interest) and you will be tempted to close it in a year or two. Do not do that. Never ever close down the very first credit card, buy each month a chewing gum, pay all the fees and keep it open. When you get a new credit card the old one will give automatically % of the credit on FICO score. Too many requests for credit „credit inquieries“ ar maximum do not affect FICO. Never spend more than half of the total amount available and always pay the balance in one rate, use maximum 1/3 of the limit and you will always have a good FICO score - for example for a credit card with 600$ do not use more than 200 $.
Be careful what to apply for, do not just keep opening credit cards although they can shower you with offers.
Click to expand...


All good tips there - especially the tips about building credit score...
 
Momo1980 said:
Thanks a lot for this information mate :)

With regards to the driver's license, it is the more pressing item for me personally. I read somewhere that I can take my international license (and my local license) with me and use it until I obtain a US driver's license. If I recall correctly when my uncle immigrated to the US over 10 years ago he did the same thing for 6 months until he got his US license. Any insight on this?

In regards to cars, I was weighing the option between a new car and used car and so far it seems more logical to go for a used car because a new car depreciates 30% the moment it leaves the showroom (which is pretty crappy!) and the ancillary costs related to a new car are much more higher.

In terms of the actual purchasing of the car, you mention above to get a small car loan but is there a particular quantifiable amount of the loan or does it depend on the vehicle? The car I'm looking is about $37,000 and I am wondering if I give them over 50% of the value in cash will they let me take the balance out on a loan or on a lease basis?

Lease or finance? What option would you recommend (I intend to trade in the car after 48 months and get another one).


All feedback is much appreciated! :)
Click to expand...

Used cars tend to hold their value better in the US than I am used to (UK). That is because the dealers control the used car market so obviously there are better bargains to be had with private sales. A used car at 37k is a bit steep for the first car I would say. The reason for that is that getting a loan (your first loan) for almost 20k is gonna be tough. Much better to buy something around 10/15k, put half down and get a loan for 5/8k from a bank. That will start your credit history, and allow you to pay the loan off fast (to avoid paying a lot in interest). I would buy a car with a loan to get the credit history even if I have the money in the bank.

When I lived in the States before I tended to lease cars. That was partly in reaction to the overpricing of used cars, and the opportunity to get a lease deal at very good prices. Dealerships tend to have some "loss leaders" where they will have a particular model at a very low lease deal. It is only that model, with specific options, so if you can curb your "desires" and buy whatever is on special off you can get a great deal. Leases are generally best at around 24 to 36 months. You do have to have "qualifying" credit history though - so that implies buying used for the first year or so.
 
britsimon said:
Used cars tend to hold their value better in the US than I am used to (UK). That is because the dealers control the used car market so obviously there are better bargains to be had with private sales. A used car at 37k is a bit steep for the first car I would say. The reason for that is that getting a loan (your first loan) for almost 20k is gonna be tough. Much better to buy something around 10/15k, put half down and get a loan for 5/8k from a bank. That will start your credit history, and allow you to pay the loan off fast (to avoid paying a lot in interest). I would buy a car with a loan to get the credit history even if I have the money in the bank.

When I lived in the States before I tended to lease cars. That was partly in reaction to the overpricing of used cars, and the opportunity to get a lease deal at very good prices. Dealerships tend to have some "loss leaders" where they will have a particular model at a very low lease deal. It is only that model, with specific options, so if you can curb your "desires" and buy whatever is on special off you can get a great deal. Leases are generally best at around 24 to 36 months. You do have to have "qualifying" credit history though - so that implies buying used for the first year or so.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the feedback my friend.

Just a mistake on my part was on the car I'm looking at of $37,000 I actually had set aside a "car fund" (been saving up money for two years!) and was intending to pay $25,000 upfront which means I'd have approximately $12,000 left to pay so would I get a loan for this amount? This was my original intention (as per what you suggested above) i.e. to pay the dealer a decent chunk of money and lease the remainder.

The reason why I don't want to go for a cheaper car is because they'll mostly be saloon/sedan cars, and its just a personal preference to have an SUV because in Africa we've been accustomed to 4WDs and SUVs. Not to forget every time my parents visit they'll have a bunch of suitcases with them filled with stuff from home and be waltzing around with me on long distance drives (plus the old man gets pretty bloody grumpy if there isn't enough legroom for him considering he's 6'1"!).

Everyone keeps telling me American cars are decent but stick to European cars like Audi or Japanese cars (Toyota, Nissan et al.). Any thoughts on this?
 
Hi again Momo.

Understood on the plans - that does make sense - if you have a good job and a reasonable statement of assets and get a bank on your side then getting a 12k loan should be possible. The remainder of the purchase price should be a loan - lease means you are "renting" a car which belongs to the lease company. You don't want to give them 25k of your hard saved cash and have them own the car.

Understood on the SUV thing. In general American cars are cheaply made with cheap plastic trim and old technology. In general European and Japanese cars are (again, generally) better quality and better technology. If you do need/want a big SUV you can certainly get them in the States. Cars like the Chevvy Suburban, Toyota Sequoia etc are BIG - but remember gas prices are highish (at least in the minds of Americans) so the resale values of big thirsty SUVs have gone lower over the last few years.
 
SusieQQQ said:
Britsimon - am I correct in assuming you have to have a proof of address in a state before you can do a drivers licence there?
Click to expand...

Yes , you should have a proof of adress and SSN in order to have a driver license.

I have a question for people who are already in US, my US driver license has expired in 2010, can i renew it when i go back to US ?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Princedriss said:
Yes , you should have a proof of adress and SSN in order to have a driver license.
Click to expand...

SSN is not required in all states - although I believe all states would expect some proof of residency and may expect an affidavit of legal residence in the USA. That however has been debated in some states who also wanted to provide DLs to illegal immigrants.

To be sure of the requirement for the state where you plan to be - I suggest you check the DMV website for that state.
 
Yes, Driver's License laws are state-specific. We got ours the other day, here in Florida. We did not have to take a written or practical test, just a vision test. This was as long as we would give up our BC licenses. If we insisted on keeping them, then we would have to take a written test. Since we had no emotional attachment to our BC licenses, we handed them over. They punched a hole in them and handed them back. We needed to show proof of residence in order to be issued Florida licenses - a couple of things with our names and local address on them: bills, letter from SSN office, etc.

We are finding the car insurance shopping to be a pain in the ar$e. Most companies don't even want to quote us because we have no credit score. Geico's "reasoning" was that people with bad credit scores are more likely to make a claim on their insurance. I'm having trouble with that logic because the only time I can think of wanting to go through the nightmarish bother of an insurance claim is when I absolutely need to, like when I've had an accident, not if I haven't paid my bills on time. Whatever. When we were in California for 5 months we had no problem getting car insurance through Farmer's but unfortunately, they're not here. But looks like AAA will be coming through for us so we'll go with them for now.

So finally when we get the car insurance, we can get the car registered and Florida plates but we have to get the car inspected first and the bloke who's supposed to be doing that hasn't returned our call! Grrrrr!

And yes, the almighty credit score is the next thing on the list. You can transfer your Amex over to an American one and that, apparently, will help establish a credit score so we'll look into that.

Lots of steps to settling in ... phone calls, emails, research, ... it's doing my head in!
 
Before I move on, first I need to vent!!!

Man it is an effort and a half and an absolute palava to get a police certificate from the UK. The problem is in Tanzania we don't get any correspondence on our residential addresses and everything goes to a PO Box number to which the police officer at ACRO said "no we do not accept this as a proof of address" and I had argue with the officer and say "in Tanzania we do not receive any official mail at our residence and it all goes to a PO Box number affiliated with a company" so he says "in that case you need an affirmation/affidavit from a lawyer or someone stating that your residence address is XXX and your official correspondence address is YYY and this will be suitable for us to process your certificate" and I said "I already got the letter yesterday from my lawyer and have a Natwest credit card statement from April and proforma invoice from my supplier addressed to my company with my name on the proforma invoice as their reference in early June" and he says "that's absolutely grand and completely acceptable to process your police certificate."

GRRRRRR just had to vent!!! *deeeeeeeep breath*


Right moving on to the ongoing discussion about driver's licenses. I read somewhere (don't ask me where because I don't remember the link lol) that we can purchase a vehicle and use our international license (accompanied by our national license) in America for 6 months until we receive our US license and if I'm not mistaken my uncle did this in 2003 when he moved there.

Any ideas about this?
 
Momo1980 said:
Before I move on, first I need to vent!!!

Man it is an effort and a half and an absolute palava to get a police certificate from the UK. The problem is in Tanzania we don't get any correspondence on our residential addresses and everything goes to a PO Box number to which the police officer at ACRO said "no we do not accept this as a proof of address" and I had argue with the officer and say "in Tanzania we do not receive any official mail at our residence and it all goes to a PO Box number affiliated with a company" so he says "in that case you need an affirmation/affidavit from a lawyer or someone stating that your residence address is XXX and your official correspondence address is YYY and this will be suitable for us to process your certificate" and I said "I already got the letter yesterday from my lawyer and have a Natwest credit card statement from April and proforma invoice from my supplier addressed to my company with my name on the proforma invoice as their reference in early June" and he says "that's absolutely grand and completely acceptable to process your police certificate."

GRRRRRR just had to vent!!! *deeeeeeeep breath*


Right moving on to the ongoing discussion about driver's licenses. I read somewhere (don't ask me where because I don't remember the link lol) that we can purchase a vehicle and use our international license (accompanied by our national license) in America for 6 months until we receive our US license and if I'm not mistaken my uncle did this in 2003 when he moved there.

Any ideas about this?
Click to expand...

As usual, DL stuff varies by state. In general, yes an international drivers license can be used temporarily in the USA. If the DL is not in English it would be wise to get an IDP (International Drivers Permit) in the country of issue. The IDP is not the license - it's just an official translation of the DL.

However, most states have a rule about how soon you need to convert your license to state issued one. In Florida you have 30 days after becoming resident in the state. See the link below for explanation. The DMV for each state will have similar rules - but being the US - there are some variations!

http://www.dmvflorida.org/moving-to-florida.shtml

Link for access to DMV of each state.

http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Motor-Vehicles.shtml
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ok britsimon , what if i do not know nobody, how can i move to US, how can i rent by myself ? how can i get housefamily ? what kind of process do you suggest for me to start life in the US? knowing that i do not have language problem and requirements that life in US needs.
 
Princedriss said:
Ok britsimon , what if i do not know nobody, how can i move to US, how can i rent by myself ? how can i get housefamily ? what kind of process do you suggest for me to start life in the US? knowing that i do not have language problem and requirements that life in US needs.
Click to expand...


Those are good questions to be asking - the truth is that it won’t be easy. When you move to a new country with no support system (friends or family) you will have a tough time. Your attitude will be one of the things that will be an issue, so if you go in with a difficult argumentative attitude (as you demonstrated to me yesterday) things will be tougher. However, to answer your questions…

First of all, you’d better have plenty of money. As a young single person (I assume) you would have different needs to me (as I have a wife and child to provide for). So it is difficult to put a figure on it, but I would suggest you have AT LEAST 3 months living expenses in ready savings (I always have a backup of 12 months expenses because of the work I do). The cost of living in the area you choose will determine how much that is, but I would say at least $3k per month for a single person in an average city. An expensive area (like San Francisco) could be more – again for me, I need around three times that amount every month (due to family needs).

You will also need to find transport so having some extra money for a car or motorbike is a good idea – you can get a reasonable car for around $5k.

You can rent a room pretty easily and in most cities you can rent a room in a shared house for around $600 – 1000 per month. You’ll need 3 months rent up front (first, last, and deposit). Private landlords may want a credit/background check, but some landlords won’t bother with that.

Next you need a realistic plan toward finding work. Don’t expect that there will be loads of well paid jobs just waiting for you. There won’t be. The USA has been through a very hard time with many people unemployed and many previously hardworking families finding themselves homeless through losing their jobs. So – be prepared to be flexible and accept work below your level. Over time you will hopefully find something better. If you have qualified with something other than a generic qualification, or have desirable skills then your experience/education/skills will hopefully make things easier and you may find better paid work sooner.

You will need to become part of the community asap to make friends and build contacts. Religious people often do that through churches.

Make a plan and be realistic. Money makes everything easier, so I’d say you need AT LEAST $10k, but $20 or $30k would be safer. You can do it with less, but you’ll need to be lucky, hardworking and resourceful. Good luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top