The 12 Hour guide for Moving to the USA for H-1B visa holders
So you got your US work visa stamped, and your employer asks you about your choice of relocation benefits. There are two options you can choose from: either take assistance and relax or take a lump sum and make all the travel arrangements yourself. In addition to all the challenges of moving to a new country, you have no close relatives in the place you are going to. This means there is no one from whom you can take advice and have a place to crash at. Still, you decide to make the travel arrangements yourself and take the lump sum, because, why not.
I salute your warrior spirit. In this article, I share my similar experience of moving to Redmond, Washington, the USA from India, on an H-1B visa working for Microsoft. Let’s get started.
If the force is with you, you should be in and out of this process in less than 12 hrs. Though there are a lot of minutiae to take care of, the three tasks that take most of the time are:
- Booking the Flight tickets
- Finding an accommodation
- Deciding what to take to the US
If you have these three wins under your belt, then most of the other things, that I discuss or you might need will be just a windfall.
Booking the Flight tickets
India and US are nearly opposite in the northern hemisphere. Which means if you dig a tunnel in your backyard, you might just reach the US. Or you can take a flight. Once your starting date at your company is decided, book a flight for travel date of 2–3 days before your starting date. This will allow you to fit into the new environment and adjust your sleep cycle.
Use any of the online travel sites to book your flight ticket. I used MakeMyTrip. Time taken by flights coming to the west coast is shorter if you come via traveling through Japan etc, which means travel east from India.
Out of the 12 hrs, allocate 3 hrs from searching for a flight to making the payment to book the ticket. This 3 hrs might be split into multiple 10-minutes of searching and pondering. You might also need to make travel arrangements to the airport your flight is from. Book those train/flight tickets too.
Finding an accommodation
The next task on the list is to find a place to crash your jet-lagged self after you get out of the airport. Depending on your situation, you might need the place anywhere from the first week to the first couple of months, until you find a leased apartment.
Some factors to consider while searching for your place are transit times and convenience to your office, bathroom sharing structure, servicing of common areas like hall, kitchen etc, and reviews of the host, if available.
I first tried booking a place by finding rentals on Sulekha.com, and the experience was just a pain. You can't contact the hosts directly, and neither there are photos of the listing available. Plus no guarantees against fraud. The only plus point is that you might find a place around $100 cheaper than a verified place. The next resource was to book through Airbnb, and this is the option which I ultimately chose.
Allocate 4 Hrs from start to finish, and do contact your host before making the payment, and ask any clarifying questions you need.
Deciding what to take to the US
Ohh, it makes me tired to even think of it. A common mistake, which most people coming to the US do, and which I did too, was moving with your whole household in those two bags.
No, you don’t need most of the things which you or your parents/family members might be telling you to take. And you shouldn’t be taking advice from those distant relatives who say everything is expensive in the US.
Some items will definitely help you get kickstarted, and some will just add weight to your luggage. A good strategy for picking items is to see their utility in long term.
Clothes, a few utensils, books definitely have a long-term utility. Think of items like coffee mugs, spoons, forks, knives, scissors, a couple of plates, bowls etc to be most impactful. See if you can get microwave safe and dishwasher safe versions of some of these items.
Food packets, fruits, spices, groceries etc will get exhausted, and ultimately you will need to buy them from here. Plus, they are easily available here.
You can bring some supplies for the initial phase, but I don’t see any point in bringing whole bags of such stuff. I nearly did bring, and it was a waste. This guy has made an excellent list of items, and I don’t intend to repeat the same stuff.
How much does it cost?
By moving to us in a DIY fashion, you will be saving on a lot of money, provided your company gives you the option of doing so and gives you a lump-sum amount instead. The main upfront expenses will be of flight and accommodation. Companies in the US mostly have a 15-day pay cycle, so within 2 weeks of you coming here, you must have your first paycheck in your hand, which will help to smooth out things.
My flight cost me around $550 (~38,000 INR), and Airbnb for a two month booking period cost me around $1000 (~75,000 INR) per month. When you book on Airbnb for multiple months, the site automatically splits the payment in monthly installments, which is a cool feature.
An average meal costs anywhere from $10 to $25, and with travel etc, daily expenses can be rounded at $40 per day, which is still on the higher side.
When coming to the US, do have some cash with you, because it will be used in the public transport system, and can be used mostly in all stores. Also, bring a prepaid Forex travel card.
I am not selling anything here, but after a lot of searching, I found the Forex card by ICICI bank (if you are from India) to be the best option. It allows you to refill the card from your online bank account, which did come handy to me. Cards by SBI or other banks either don’t offer many features or are more expensive.
$1000, split 30:70 between cash and card should do the trick for you. The US is mostly card based, so even if you bring no cash, you will be fine. Plus, ATMs are always there, but using a Forex card at ATM might attract additional fees.
After coming to the US, I tried to book an Uber from the airport to my Airbnb using my Forex card. The app didn’t accept my Forex card, and Uber doesn’t take cash here (surprising!). This is where the cash came in handy, as I took a normal taxi and paid in cash.
Other Things to consider
Knocking down the above three tasks should get you all the way. These are the additional things that I found to be helpful in making the Journey less painful.
- Spend time with your family: Your family might be getting all tensed up and worried/sad, or they might be happy to see you finally leave for good. But for your own sake, spend some quality time with those closest to you, as you might not be seeing them for a year at least
- Get travel insurance: This might come in handy, or it might not. But getting your travel insured makes sense, especially with such long multiple career flights to a new climate. Buy a plan for seven days, as the premium amount is flat for the first seven days of a trip. Usually, employer insurance kicks in during/after that period. Countless hours of mine were spent on this as I have a knack for going through long insurance documents. It is somewhat my superpower. That is why women find me so irresistible. With no intention of selling, I found Bharti Axa and Bajaj Alliance travel insurances to be value for the buck
- Scan and upload your documents to cloud: passports of all family members, your visa stamps, transcripts, your passport size photo other official documents
- Print a copy of all your official documents, and arrange documents such as I-797, labor condition application, passport, offer letter, and all other documents that you think might be needed at Port of Entry in the US. There will be a short interview, and act all confident and data-driven as you did in your job interview.
- Add a unique identifier/contact details to your luggage: This might be as simple as tying a ribbon on the handle or making a mark with nail paint
- Buy an international SIM: Worldsim in one of the many companies that sell a US sim in India. I got a Lyca sim from them and within half an hour of landing at Seattle airport, my phone was working on a US number.
- Make your travel comfortable: Wear comfortable clothes while traveling, and buy a travel pillow/eyemask. A traveling pillow is really helpful in getting you the much-needed shut-eye. Buy an international adapter too, Indian chargers for laptops/mobiles won’t work in US sockets. Amazon.in works well for these services
Things to buy/do after coming to the US
Shopping List: I was traveling to Seattle-Tacoma international airport as it is nearest to the Microsoft Redmond office I was supposed to join. It is always a good idea to defer some shopping to the local stores as they have specialized solutions to solve the problems that local people face at a place. For this specific region, you might benefit by shopping for these items here:
- Water resistant clothing, including jackets, gloves, shoes for hiking etc. Don’t hesitate on spending up to $200 on a good quality water-resistant jacket
- Umbrellas are of better quality here, with the same argument for shoes with fur etc
Get an SSN: This task should be done as soon as you come to the US. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of Social Security Number, know that almost nothing will work for you without one. Heck, I couldn’t even access my employer’s health benefits portal without one. You need this for getting a credit card, signing a lease for an apartment, accessing your bank account online and what not. Although, a bank account can be opened, have money deposited in it through check/transfers, and taken out using a debit card without an SSN
Bank Accounts and Credit cards: There are two options here, either go with bigger banks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo etc. or go with smaller credit unions. If you are new to America and have no credit history, bigger banks won’t give you lucrative options.
A good strategy is to open an account with a credit union, as they are the ones who will offer an unsecured credit card (which is what you really want). Use this card to build a credit history for six months or so, and if needed, apply for a better credit card/bank account with a bigger bank.
State Identity Card: You can’t possibly carry your passport everywhere you need to prove who you say you are. You need an identity card issued by the local government. Credits to you if you know how to drive, you can apply for a driving license. If you don’t know how to drive, fret not. You can apply for a state-issued identity card. It usually needs your passport, SSN number, and pay-stubs.
Finding a leased apartment: Apartment hunting can be fun or a bane, depending on how you treat it. A good place to start is with online aggregator sites such as apartments.com or zillow.com, shortlist properties from these, and maybe do a site visit. By this time, you will be settled enough to know how things operate here.
Conclusion
Congratulations on making this journey! Only a handful of people each year get the opportunity you have. I envy you for the journey that you are about to make. The transition will be full of excitement, joy, and wonder. Expect to get a little uncomfortable and lonely in the first few weeks. In time, everything should work out.
Though I tried to cover most of the things, there might still be a few issues/questions that I might have missed. Feel free to comment below for any additional info/question you might have.
Read my H-1B interview experience here.
