Making The Move

[loosegee 3]

Hello again all. I should be making the move from Belfast, Northern Ireland to California in around 8 months hopefully. We are just at the beginning of our petition.

A few things have been in my mind and i know you good folks will have the answers.

MONEY

Obviously before i leave here i'll need to close my bank account. What is the best or most convenient way to move your money? My wife and i are going to have a joint bank account so should i have it transferred into her account in California before i leave?

FLIGHTS

Normally i fly from Belfast International Airport to Liberty Airport in New Jersey and then on to San Francisco around 2 hours later which gives me just enough time to clear immigration and get to my gate.

I assume i'm going to be held longer at immigration with an immigrant visa while they quiz me a little.

I know this is probably an impossible question to answer as everyone's circumstances are different but what's the average holding time at immigration when you arrive with an immigration visa? When i've gone on visa wavier it usually takes me around 30 minutes to make it through depending on how fast i get ahead of the crowd. My concern is not knowing how long to leave for my connection come the time.

I know there's a US pre clearance at Dublin airport. I'm thinking it might be a lot easier to fly out of Dublin and get the immigration stuff out of the way before i board any planes. Then i can just relax.

FIRST 4 WEEKS

What are the very first things i'll need to do within the first month of arriving with regard to legalities?

Feel free to share your experience and advice on the above. Thanks

Edited August 4, 2011 by loosegee

[Ryan H 3,812]

I know there's a US pre clearance at Dublin airport. I'm thinking it might be a lot easier to fly out of Dublin and get the immigration stuff out of the way before i board any planes. Then i can just relax.

If you are able to go through Dublin, I would suggest you do so. As you say, all the immigration procedures are out of the way. If you are unable to do this, then you should allow no less than 2 hours to make a connection after the POE.

What are the very first things i'll need to do within the first month of arriving with regard to legalities?

There shouldn't be too much you need to do in this regard. You will receive the green card at entry in the form of an I-551 stamp. The actual card will arrive a few weeks after your arrival. If you check yes on the DS-230 that you want to be sent a Social Security card and number and the card doesn't arrive within a reasonable amount of time after your arrival, then you will have to visit the local Social Security office and apply for one.

Edited August 4, 2011 by Ryan H

[JoannaV 174]

At the top of the page there is a link to reviews of POE. So maybe you can see what people have to say about Liberty Airport. It's hard to give a definitive answer as to how long it will take. It doesn't actually need to take any longer, it's not like it involves anything that takes much time. However at some airports they may make you go into a room and wait and only have one person dealing with such things and they might be busy dealing with other stuff. (They don't really "quiz" you when you immigrate, they just have to do a couple of bits of paperwork and fingerprint you. So generally less quizzing than would occur when you visit :-) )

There's nothing you really need to do once you arrive. Apply for SSN if you don't receive it (the checkbox on the DS-230 is a little unreliable). Apply for a driver's licence. (States vary, but generally you do need to get this done pretty quickly, rather than driving on your UK licence.) Get yourself added to your wife's accounts. (You'll need SSN for this.) Get health insurance...

I think there are some threads about transferring money on VisaJourney. It kind of depends on how much you're transferring, as to which option will be the cheapest. Personally I kept my UK bank account open.