Free guides for both directions of the journey.

1. Accept the starting point: credit records stay in the country where they were made. In the United States, lenders, landlords, insurers and even some employers look at a credit report, and a newcomer usually starts with none.
2. Understand what is recorded. In the United States, three national credit bureaus keep reports, and lenders turn them into a credit score. Payment history and how much of your available credit you use weigh most heavily.
3. Open a local bank account and have your pay, stipend or allowance deposited into it. It is the foundation of everything that follows.
4. Begin with a product designed for people without a history: a secured credit card, backed by a deposit you place with the bank, or a small credit-builder loan from a bank or credit union. Ask before you apply whether it reports to all three bureaus.
5. Use a small part of the limit, ideally well under a third, and pay the full statement balance on time every month. One late payment can stay on a report for years.
6. Keep your name, date of birth and address identical on every account; bureaus match records by them. Some lenders accept an ITIN in place of a Social Security number; ask.
7. Check your reports. In the United States, the free official source is AnnualCreditReport.com; correct mistakes in writing with the bureau concerned.
8. Avoid several applications in a short time, and never pay anyone who promises to “repair” or “create” a credit history for a fee.
9. If you had a good credit record in the country you came from, ask card issuers and lenders whether they can consider a credit report from that country; a few can, through specialized services. Credit unions are also often willing to start a relationship with a newcomer.
10. Federal law protects you: the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to see and dispute your reports, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act forbids lenders to discriminate on the basis of national origin.

Check the official source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (United States) AnnualCreditReport.com, the official free credit report site CFPB, credit reports and scores

General information, not legal, immigration, tax or financial advice. Rules differ by lender and by state and change over time.

1. Choose the kind of institution: a national bank, a regional or community bank, or a credit union. Credit unions are member-owned and often have lower fees; many accept people who live or work in their area.
2. Gather identity documents. A passport is accepted almost everywhere; some banks also accept a consular identification card, such as the Mexican matrícula consular, or a foreign national ID. Ask which ones the branch accepts before you visit.
3. Bring proof of address: a lease, a utility bill, or a letter from your employer or university. If you have only just arrived, ask which documents the bank accepts from newcomers.
4. Bring your taxpayer number if you have one: a Social Security number or an ITIN. Federal rules allow banks to accept another identifying number, such as a passport number, from customers who do not yet have one, and many do; ask.
5. Open an everyday checking account first, and add a savings account once the first is running.
6. Ask four questions before you sign: the monthly fee and how to avoid it, the minimum balance, the cost of receiving money from abroad, and the cost of sending money home.
7. Check that deposits are protected. In the United States, look for FDIC insurance at banks and NCUA insurance at credit unions.
8. Set up online banking and alerts, and keep your home-country phone number active if your bank at home sends security codes to it.
9. Keep a copy of everything you sign, and never share your PIN, password or one-time codes with anyone, including someone who says they are from the bank.

Check the official source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (United States) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation MyCreditUnion.gov (NCUA) CFPB, bank accounts

General information, not legal, immigration, tax or financial advice. Rules differ by bank and by state and change over time.

1. Learn the two numbers used in the United States. A Social Security number (SSN) is issued by the Social Security Administration to people who are authorized to work, and is used for pay, taxes and benefits.
2. An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is issued by the IRS to people who need to file or appear on a federal tax return but are not eligible for an SSN, such as some spouses and dependents. It is a tax number only; it does not authorize work or confer any status.
3. Apply only through the official channels: the Social Security Administration for an SSN, and the IRS, an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center or an IRS-authorized Certifying Acceptance Agent for an ITIN. Applying for either number is free from the government itself.
4. Keep the card and the letter safe, and give the number only when it is genuinely required: an employer, a bank, a tax return. Never send it in reply to a call, text or email you did not expect.
5. Know the calendar. The federal return for a calendar year is usually due in mid-April of the following year, and most states have their own income tax return as well.
6. Your first year can be complicated. Whether you are taxed as a resident or a nonresident depends on tests set out in law, and some people file a “dual-status” return for the year they arrive. Confirm your situation with the IRS or a qualified tax professional.
7. Keep every form you receive: W-2 forms from employers, 1099 forms for other income, 1098-T forms for tuition, and records of income earned abroad during the year.
8. Learn your state’s rules. Most states have their own income tax, their own return and their own tax agency, while a handful tax no wage income at all; some cities also levy an income tax. Your state tax agency’s website lists its forms and deadlines.
9. If you still have income or property in the country you came from, keep its records too. Tax treaties between the United States and many countries can prevent the same income from being taxed twice; ask a qualified professional whether one applies.
10. If your income is modest, free volunteer tax-preparation programs may help you file. See Free help near you.

Check the official source: IRS, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number Social Security Administration, number and card IRS, taxation of nonresident aliens USA.gov, state taxes

General information, not legal, immigration, tax or financial advice. Tax rules differ by state and change every year; always confirm with the IRS, your state tax agency or a qualified professional.

1. Find your state’s licensing agency, usually called the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and read its page for new residents. Every state issues its own licenses, and the rules differ from one state to the next.
2. Settle three things first: whether you may drive on your existing foreign license, for how long after you settle, and whether an International Driving Permit or an official translation should accompany it.
3. Ask whether your license can be exchanged. A few states have agreements with certain countries that allow an exchange without a road test; most require a knowledge test, a road test and a vision test.
4. Gather what the DMV asks for: typically proof of identity, proof of residence in the state and a Social Security number, or a statement that you are not eligible for one. Several states issue a license to residents who cannot provide a Social Security number; the DMV explains what it accepts.
5. If you do not drive, ask for a state identification card. It is issued by the same agency and is widely accepted as everyday proof of identity.
6. Ask about REAL ID. Since May 2025, a REAL ID–compliant license or card, or another accepted document such as a passport, is needed to board domestic flights and enter certain federal buildings.
7. Study the state driver’s handbook, even if you have driven for many years. Rules on turns at red lights, school buses, right of way and speed limits vary, and the knowledge test draws on them.
8. Book appointments early; waiting times can be long in large cities. If you move to another state, you will usually need that state’s license within a set period, often 30 to 90 days.
9. Arrange auto insurance before you drive. It is compulsory in almost every state, and driving without it can bring heavy penalties.
10. Carry your license, your registration and your proof of insurance whenever you drive.

Check the official source: USA.gov, state motor vehicle services Department of Homeland Security, REAL ID

General information, not legal, immigration, tax or financial advice. Rules differ by state and change over time.

1. Search through established listing sites, licensed agents or your employer’s or university’s housing office, and view the home, in person or by live video, before you pay anything.
2. Expect a landlord in the United States to ask for identity, proof of income, references and a credit check, often with an application fee. Ask what a newcomer without local history can offer instead: a larger deposit, a co-signer, an employer letter or proof of savings. Some landlords also accept an institutional guarantor company in place of a co-signer.
3. Know your rights. The federal Fair Housing Act forbids landlords to discriminate on the basis of national origin, race, religion, sex, disability or family status, and many states and cities add further protections.
4. Read the whole lease: its length, the rent and when it may rise, the notice period, who pays which utilities, the rules on repairs, guests and pets, and what happens if you leave early.
5. Ask about the security deposit: how much it is, where it is held and when it is returned. Many states limit deposits and set deadlines for returning them.
6. Pay by a traceable method, to a named agency or landlord you have verified. Never pay in cash, by gift card or by wire to someone you have not met.
7. On the day you move in, photograph every room, the appliances and the meter readings, and agree a written checklist of the home’s condition with the landlord.
8. Keep every receipt and every message, and ask for repairs in writing.
9. Consider renters’ insurance for your belongings and your liability; it is usually inexpensive, and some leases require it.
10. If a deposit, a repair or an eviction notice goes wrong, contact a local tenants’ rights organization or legal aid service before you act.

Check the official source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, renting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (United States) HUD, fair housing USA.gov

General information, not legal, immigration, tax or financial advice. Tenancy law differs by state and city.

1. For a school place, contact the local school district. Public schools generally place children by home address. In the United States, every child has the right to a free public elementary and secondary education, whatever the family’s status, a right confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1982.
2. Ask which documents enrollment requires, typically proof of age, proof of address and immunization records, and ask what to do if one is missing. Schools should not refuse enrollment while documents are gathered.
3. Ask about English-language support for new arrivals, which public schools are required to provide, how a child joins in the middle of a year, and how previous schooling is placed.
4. Bring school reports and vaccination records, translated where needed.
5. For your own qualifications, first establish whether your profession is regulated in your state. Medicine, nursing, pharmacy, engineering, law, teaching and accounting usually are, and most professions are licensed by each state rather than nationally.
6. A regulated profession is handled by its own licensing board; an academic degree is assessed by a credential evaluation service, which compares it with local qualifications for employers and universities.
7. Ask the board or employer which evaluation services it accepts before you pay for one, and have certificates and transcripts translated by a qualified translator. Some boards require documents sent directly by the issuing institution.
8. The United States has no single national authority that recognizes foreign degrees. Employers, universities and licensing boards each decide, usually on the basis of an evaluation from a credential evaluation service they accept.
9. Expect a bridging examination, additional coursework or supervised practice in some regulated professions, and ask the regulator for its route for internationally trained applicants.

Check the official source: U.S. Department of Education National Association of Credential Evaluation Services CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor), licensed occupations

General information, not legal, immigration, tax or financial advice. Rules differ by state and by profession and change over time.

1. Learn how the system works. The United States relies mainly on insurance through employers, public programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, and private plans; care without insurance can be very costly, so arrange cover early.
2. In the United States, ask your employer about its health plan and the enrollment deadline. If you have no employer plan, the official marketplace at HealthCare.gov, or your state’s own marketplace, explains what you may be able to buy; moving to a new place may open a special enrollment period.
3. Ask whether you or your children may qualify for public programs such as Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Eligibility differs by state.
4. Choose a primary care doctor or clinic within your plan’s network in your first weeks, before you need one.
5. Learn the emergency number, 911 everywhere in the United States, and the difference between an emergency room, an urgent-care clinic and your regular doctor. US hospitals with emergency departments must examine and stabilize anyone with an emergency, whatever their ability to pay.
6. Students: read what the university’s health plan covers, and whether you are enrolled automatically.
7. Bring a summary of your medical history and current prescriptions, translated, and vaccination records for children.
8. Visiting parents are rarely covered by local systems. Arrange travel medical insurance through a licensed provider before they fly.
9. Ask for an interpreter. In the United States, many health providers that receive federal funds are required to offer language assistance at no cost.

Check the official source: HealthCare.gov (United States) Find a Health Center (HRSA) Medicaid.gov InsureKidsNow.gov (CHIP)

General information, not legal, immigration, tax or financial advice. Rules differ by state and change over time.