The global partner survival guide (part 1)

This is a survival guide/hacks for Global Partners based on my experience and on the experience of other previous Brazilian Global Partners. This is meant to be an informal guide, please feel free to suggest any edition.

Firsts things first. You are an outstanding talent and have been selected to participate at the Global Partners program at UC Berkeley. Congrats! Now let's make sure everything is set up before travelling.

On this post I'll be covering briefly:

1. How to win US Visa bureaucracy?
2. When you should arrive?
3. Should I buy dolars in advance?
4. What kind of housing arrangements before arriving?
5. Health insurance.
6. Medicines.
7. Weather.

Shaw the games begin!

How to win US Visa bureaucracy?

First of all, the rules and requirements for each Visa depends on your nationality and the bilateral agreements among your country and US, so check at the US Department of State the requirements for you. In my case, as I'm staying for a entire semester I needed a J1 visa. Don't worry, you'll be in touch with the UC Berkeley International Office and they'll tell you exactly what kind of Visa you should get and how to do it.

This part only makes sense if you are Brazilian and is coming as a Global Partner. Your goal here is get an DS-2019 and usually it takes about 2~3 months to put your hands into one working very hard. To have one issued I've been asked for the following documents:

• Updated CV and publication list.
• Proof of enrollment in home university in English. As it's a formal document it's recomended that you do a certified translation.
• Proof of funding. This can be in the form of a scholarship, fellowship, bank statement or letter of financial support. They don't accept pay stubs or slips. All documents must be marked with a date of issue within the last six months and translated to English. Make sure your bank manager signs it, otherwise it won't have validity.
• Copy of biografical page of passport.
• Copy of previous DS-2019 and visa and passport stamps.
• VSPA Gateway application. You will receive an e-mail with the link for the system.
• International Scholar Dossier (DS-2019 application). You will receive an e-mail with the link for the system.
• Sign a patent acknowledgment.

Once you’ve done it all, there will still be some setbacks in the process. Do not worry, it happened to me too. Once you receive the DS-2019 mailed to your place you can start the process of Visa requirement. Once again, I am addressing the Brazilian case here. Now you should apply for the DS-160 with your DS-2019 number. By the end you'll be inquired to pay the MRV fee before scheduling an appointment at the consulate office.

Tips on this part:

• Check the queue lengh at Rio and São Paulo. Both consulates are minutes from CGH and SDU airports, respectively. You can do a one day trip to have it done, but queues on the consulate are umpredictable, as plane delays.
• Sign to collect your passport at the CASV office. Is faster than receive it home.

When you should arrive?

Honestly, as soon as possible. Finding a nice home takes time and effort. Don't count on having time during the bootcamp or that a week is enough to find a reasonable place (unless you are willing to pay above the average for it). I've arrived 1 week before the bootcamp, and recommend at least 2 weeks prior to it.

Should I buy dolars in advance?

If you are Brazilian this is probably your main concern, right? First of all, don't buy dollars in Exchanges in Brazil. They will rip you off (they charge you almost 30 cents for every dollar you buy). The easiest and cheapest way to move your money to use in the US is through a local bank account (a topic for the following posts), but to open one you need to be in american soil. So bring a credit card, withdraw from your debit acount and hang on until you open a US Bank Acount.

What kind of housing arrangements before arriving?

Living in the bay area is one of the most expensive things you'll ever do. Make it worth. The average price of a single room in a shared apartment is 1200 USD, 800 USD for a shared room. A studio will be at least 1600 USD. Anything below it, it's probably a scam. I'll cover it in more details in a future post because I strongly advice you to not try to rent a place before arriving in the Bay area. You might be making a long term comintment for something you might regret (can be too far, too different from pictures, etc). Find a hostel or a AirBnb if you don't want to pay for a hotel. Anyway the city will be filled with freshmen looking for places too. Usually all the hotels are packed with them and prices are even higher.

One more thing. Avoid going too far away and commuting to save some cash in this part of your journey. You can spend a huge amount of time in BART/bus that you could be doing something more worthwhile.

Health insurance

If you are like me, a visiting scholar with a J1 status, you also need a health insurance cover and the U.S. Dept. of State requires some minimum coverages:

If you are like me, a visiting scholar with a J1 status, you also need a health insurance cover and the U.S. Dept. of State requires some minimum coverages:

• Medical Benefit: $100,000
• Repatriation of Remains: $25,000
• Medical Evacuation: $50,000
• Deductible per accident or illness: $500

For further information go on this website.

To solve it, UC Berkeley already has a partnership with Gartner Powers to provide a coverage that comprises all the government’s requirements. More information on it can be found here.

Besides this, you can also find your own health insurance. I use WorldNomads insurance in years for every trip abroad and they have pretty competitive prices for long term trips. Comparing it with the official one from UC Berkeley, it was cheaper, had a bigger coverage and covered accidents while snowboarding.

My experience with it was the less worst possible. On my first day of class I needed medical assistance, have been cared in outstanding hospitals and didn't need to file a single piece of paper or check. They've dealed with the hole bureaucracy for me.

Medicines

Which medicines can be bought without a prescription and which ones can not vary from country to country. You can play both ways. You can visit the doctor more often (now that you have health insurance), or simply bring the medicines that you are used to. In the second case, check with your family doctor and bring the prescription for it. Otherwise, this can be considered a crime by customs / border police.

Weather

The Bay Area has it’s own climate. You may experience the coldest summer of your live in August. Be prepared if you are applying to the Fall semester.

Last piece of advice for before you depart, the UC Berkeley International Office website have plenty and more detailed information.