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DV 2015 Oceania winners

Britsimon said:
Nope - you could enter and leave the same day if you like!
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BY the way - to people doing that (an activation trip) I suggest you do a couple of things.

Get your SSN sorted out. For some people the DV process takes care of applying for the SSN - for others it doesn't.
If you can, open a bank account. You generally need the SSN for that, but not always.
If you do get the SSN (don't need the card, just the number), open a credit card account. A secured credit card will do. Setup some small regular purchase that you can repeat and make sure you can pay the CC bill each month automatically. AAll that (the SSN, the bank account and the credit card) will start to build a credit history for you - which will help when you you move for good.
 
Britsimon said:
BY the way - to people doing that (an activation trip) I suggest you do a couple of things.

Get your SSN sorted out. For some people the DV process takes care of applying for the SSN - for others it doesn't.
If you can, open a bank account. You generally need the SSN for that, but not always.
If you do get the SSN (don't need the card, just the number), open a credit card account. A secured credit card will do. Setup some small regular purchase that you can repeat and make sure you can pay the CC bill each month automatically. AAll that (the SSN, the bank account and the credit card) will start to build a credit history for you - which will help when you you move for good.
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When I first moved to the USA I was able to open a bank account without an SSN. The smaller regional banks are more flexible with rules than the giants like Wells Fargo for immigrants.

However you definitely can't get a credit card at all until you have an SSN. It's vital that new immigrants start their credit history ASAP. New immigrants don't have a credit file at all, they're invisible to the system. It doesn't matter if your credit is super-awesome back home country or your new USA job pays $$$, they won't give you any more than a $500 limit unsecured. A FICO number is the credit score used by all the banks and until you have at least 6 months of credit history you won't even have a FICO number. Your credit score isn't even zero, it's null.

I strongly recommend everyone get an American Express card -now-. Once you move to the states you can do a "Global Transfer" and get a nice AMEX with a good limit. This will build up your credit very quickly and you can use it for major purchases. It's very frustrating trying to buy plane tickets or rent cars when you have a $500 credit card. You have to stockpile your cash so you can use your debit card. AMEX require at least 6 months of history before they allow this.

I also recommend trying Capital One as they have some ok cards for people with bad credit and they used to have a "credit steps" program where the limit rises automatically for every few months of good behaviour plus they don't have FX fees so you can pay your foreign (home country) bills using your credit card.
 
guestgulkan said:
When I first moved to the USA I was able to open a bank account without an SSN. The smaller regional banks are more flexible with rules than the giants like Wells Fargo for immigrants.

However you definitely can't get a credit card at all until you have an SSN. It's vital that new immigrants start their credit history ASAP. New immigrants don't have a credit file at all, they're invisible to the system. It doesn't matter if your credit is super-awesome back home country or your new USA job pays $$$, they won't give you any more than a $500 limit unsecured. A FICO number is the credit score used by all the banks and until you have at least 6 months of credit history you won't even have a FICO number. Your credit score isn't even zero, it's null.

I strongly recommend everyone get an American Express card -now-. Once you move to the states you can do a "Global Transfer" and get a nice AMEX with a good limit. This will build up your credit very quickly and you can use it for major purchases. It's very frustrating trying to buy plane tickets or rent cars when you have a $500 credit card. You have to stockpile your cash so you can use your debit card. AMEX require at least 6 months of history before they allow this.

I also recommend trying Capital One as they have some ok cards for people with bad credit and they used to have a "credit steps" program where the limit rises automatically for every few months of good behaviour plus they don't have FX fees so you can pay your foreign (home country) bills using your credit card.
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Agreed on the Amex card - that is a good tip.

About getting the credit card - just to clarify my point - it was to point out to noobies that there is a process - and there is no way, and almost no point, in getting a credit card without the SSN (although you don't need the physical SSN card - just the number which the SSA will give you).

The point about the SSN is that it is the way credit history is tied to a person - so your credit card history goes on there - along with other stuff such as auto loans etc.

You can get a secured credit card with a higher limit than $500 - you just have to deposit more cash. So - deposit $3k and your credit limit is $3k. To get a good credit history, you want to keep your credit utilization pretty low. So having a CC with a $3k limit and a balance of $400 is better than a credit card with a $500 limit and a $300 balance. Pay it off in full every month...
 
Hi all, my name is Rhys and have a pretty high CN 18xx. I'm trying to put it into the back of my mind for the meantime. I've submitted my DS260 and think it's just a waiting game...should I get my hopes up?
 
Rhys, I think the only way we're going to know the patterns for DV2015 is when we start to see the numbers coming out of October and November. We'll be able to see then how many cases the consulates are getting through. So, to answer your question, yes it's a waiting game but no, don't give up hope. Anything can happen.
 
ozimattskey said:
Thats a good point. Do I have to wait for my greencard to arrive ebfore I leave though when I first enter the USA?
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Nope. When you enter, they stamp the visa in your passport. This then becomes a temp Greencard. Once your passport visa is stamped, you could literally turn around and jump on a plane again.

Just make sure that you have a US address for them to deliver your actual Greencard to - then either get that person to hold onto your card until you return, or forward to you in Australia.

Just keep in mind that once your passport visa is stamped, you are now a LPR (Legal Permanent Resident). As such, you are subjected to US tax requirements from that point on. One bonus of coming back to Australia before the big move though, is that if you open up bank accounts / secure credit card / etc before returning, you could be working on your US credit score whilst living back here in AU.

Good luck on your journey.
 
MattWatt said:
Nope. When you enter, they stamp the visa in your passport. This then becomes a temp Greencard. Once your passport visa is stamped, you could literally turn around and jump on a plane again.

Just make sure that you have a US address for them to deliver your actual Greencard to - then either get that person to hold onto your card until you return, or forward to you in Australia.

Just keep in mind that once your passport visa is stamped, you are now a LPR (Legal Permanent Resident). As such, you are subjected to US tax requirements from that point on. One bonus of coming back to Australia before the big move though, is that if you open up bank accounts / secure credit card / etc before returning, you could be working on your US credit score whilst living back here in AU.

Good luck on your journey.
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Thanks a lot I was hoping that might be the case.
 
When we travelled in the USA in 2012 for 7 1/2 months we opened an account with Bank of America. We still have cash in it bought at $1.06 so we'll leave it there. We only needed an address and we had one through Escapees. Couldn't get a credit card but didnt need one either
 
AussieGemma said:
When we travelled in the USA in 2012 for 7 1/2 months we opened an account with Bank of America. We still have cash in it bought at $1.06 so we'll leave it there. We only needed an address and we had one through Escapees. Couldn't get a credit card but didnt need one either
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Some states seize inactive bank accounts after three years so you might want to buy something online using your debit card.
 
AussieGemma said:
Didn't know that. I use it nearly every day because I use my BOA debit card to buy books for Kindle on Amazon
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No problem then.

I've got a bunch of different credit cards (including BOA) and I make sure to use them every six months so I don't lose them. My normal trick is to buy an Amazon gift card, then immediately gift it to myself and it stays in my Amazon balance until I need to buy something.

Do you have a social number? If so you could get a credit card. It would be really useful to get a credit history now before you arrive.
 
I'm going to apply for an AMEX as per the advice on here. No don't have a SSN because I'm an Australian and don't have a Greencard yet.
 
Can I ask, Do Visa not do a global transfer ? We had Amex, but we got rid of it because I got sick of so many shops not accepting it. Easy enough to get another I guess. Goodness knows they keep sending those stupid letters offering us one.
 
hopefulinnz said:
Can I ask, Do Visa not do a global transfer ? We had Amex, but we got rid of it because I got sick of so many shops not accepting it. Easy enough to get another I guess. Goodness knows they keep sending those stupid letters offering us one.
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Visa/Mastercard are a mechanism, they just own the pipes they don't sell the oil. American express is both - they own less "pipes" than visa but they are also a credit issuer.

I've heard Citibank do it as well but I can't speak to it. I can 100% confirm that AMEX global transfer works having done it myself. The banks gave me a miserable $500 limit which they refused to raise even after a year, whereas AMEX gave me 10K.

Credit rating is everything in the USA. They even run it sometimes when you apply to rent somewhere.
 
guestgulkan said:
Visa/Mastercard are a mechanism, they just own the pipes they don't sell the oil. American express is both - they own less "pipes" than visa but they are also a credit issuer.

I've heard Citibank do it as well but I can't speak to it. I can 100% confirm that AMEX global transfer works having done it myself. The banks gave me a miserable $500 limit which they refused to raise even after a year, whereas AMEX gave me 10K.

Credit rating is everything in the USA. They even run it sometimes when you apply to rent somewhere.
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Oh ok, that makes sense. Might hold off until it becomes more clear whether we will even get an interview or not. I do rather miss the Amex because it had no limit LOL.
 
hopefulinnz said:
Oh ok, that makes sense. Might hold off until it becomes more clear whether we will even get an interview or not. I do rather miss the Amex because it had no limit LOL.
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Be care with AMEX with no limit. From a credit-score building perspective, no limit cards actually work against you, due to the debt ratio component of your credit score.

You're better off getting one with a limit if possible.
 
hopefulinnz said:
I do rather miss the Amex because it had no limit LOL.
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So let me get this straight, Amex gave you the Centurion (Black) Card?? I thought they only gave those to people like Oprah and Richard Branson (racks brains for knowledge of NZ billionaires).
 
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