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The "been there done that" thread: life in the US after DV

Actually I had another question...I spent 10 years in the US with a F-1 visa followed by OPT. I got a social security card right away. Will I need to get another social security card once I get the green card? (I believe that non immigrant visa social security numbers are different than the immigrant one's).
Thanks again!
 
Linda LInda said:
Actually I had another question...I spent 10 years in the US with a F-1 visa followed by OPT. I got a social security card right away. Will I need to get another social security card once I get the green card? (I believe that non immigrant visa social security numbers are different than the immigrant one's).
Thanks again!
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You will have tge same ssn. However the card should be replaced as it will not have the restrictions as your original card.
 
Just an FYI for anyone that is interested - having an account with HSBC in the UK was one of the best things that could have happened to us.

My wife has been a HSBC customer for a while and before we left the UK we learnt that they "transfer" details globally. So in preparation, she opened a credit card with HSBC and a couple of weeks later started the process (of opening a US bank account) in the UK but didn't get too far because they needed 2 proofs of address with my wife's complete name on it to match passport and that was something we just didn't have. So the process in the UK got stuck for a little while but once we convinced them to send the docs "as is" over to the States, it started up again. Unfortunately it got stuck again, as they wouldn't accept the stamp on the passport as reason for moving to the states. The UK advisors told us that doing it from the USA would be much more complicated and take much longer and that they would need a letter to prove employment before we could move any further.

Though my wife's UK employer agreed to transfer her to the US, nothing was written until after we got to the States. Stupidly and against gut instinct, we waited until the employment offer letter and headed to the US HSBC branch. Once there the process was a breeze. They ignored everything we'd started in the UK, checked her UK account, took a copy of her passport and SSN and that was it. They told us we would get a checking account and a credit card within a couple of weeks and their word was good.

Most importantly, within the month my wife went from having a non-existent credit history in the US to having a 700 score (which despite being lower than her UK score is enough to do many many things in the USA).

Hope that helps someone!
 
Wow! How did u manage to get such a credit score in a month without any previous credit history in the US?
 
One more question,

If i leave the US without receiving my plastic green card, does it present any potential problem coming back after 6 months?

Thanks for your help as always.
 
Linda LInda said:
Actually I had another question...I spent 10 years in the US with a F-1 visa followed by OPT. I got a social security card right away. Will I need to get another social security card once I get the green card? (I believe that non immigrant visa social security numbers are different than the immigrant one's).
Thanks again!
Click to expand...

No. SSN stays same.
 
Linda Linda2 said:
Yep, Britsimon replied to me a while back but thanks anyway:)
Another quick question though. Do you know how long we have after arriving in the U.S. to apply to a health care plan?
Thank you
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You don't want to be in the USA without some form of healthcare coverage. If you are visiting temporarily, you can obtain a "visitors" insurance. However, once you are there permanently you will want ACA (Obamacare) type coverage. So - you can get that pretty much immediately, or wait a couple of months if you think you will be getting that coverage through work.
 
Britsimon said:
You don't want to be in the USA without some form of healthcare coverage. If you are visiting temporarily, you can obtain a "visitors" insurance. However, once you are there permanently you will want ACA (Obamacare) type coverage. So - you can get that pretty much immediately, or wait a couple of months if you think you will be getting that coverage through work.
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Thank you! Wow so the minimum is about $360/month it's crazy!
 
Linda Linda2 said:
Thank you! Wow so the minimum is about $360/month it's crazy!
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We pay way less than that through my husband's work (obviously his employer pays a hefty chunk), so you definitely need to see what you can get through employment. (Interestingly for us it ended up cheaper with better benefits than our previous supposedly excellent private health insurance was (in a country where you never wanted to be at the mercy of the public health system). )
However when we first arrived before we had the employer-subsidized insurance, we paid way more than that... So it really is very dependent on how you can organise it.
 
SusieQQQ said:
We pay way less than that through my husband's work (obviously his employer pays a hefty chunk), so you definitely need to see what you can get through employment. (Interestingly for us it ended up cheaper with better benefits than our previous supposedly excellent private health insurance was (in a country where you never wanted to be at the mercy of the public health system). )
However when we first arrived before we had the employer-subsidized insurance, we paid way more than that... So it really is very dependent on how you can organise it.
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Got it! Thank you :) Yep it's all about spending a lot of time researching. I arrived at the beginning of the month so I'm on a job hunt at the moment. I read @Britsimon blog and the visitorsCoverage website is a gem!
 
Linda Linda2 said:
Got it! Thank you :) Yep it's all about spending a lot of time researching. I arrived at the beginning of the month so I'm on a job hunt at the moment. I read @Britsimon blog and the visitorsCoverage website is a gem!
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Except that those coverage are meant to be temporary. I assume, as one commentator mentioned on the blog, that going on prolonged term with these coverage will be ACA non-compliant.
 
LazyDoggie said:
Except that those coverage are meant to be temporary. I assume, as one commentator mentioned on the blog, that going on prolonged term with these coverage will be ACA non-compliant.
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Yes that is correct - at some point you must be on an ACA approved plan to avoid a fine (paid through tax). However, for a short term option, particularly during an activation trip or the first couple of months of permanent residence, they would be fine.
 
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