Having recently been through the process, I've managed to come out
the other-side with some some advice for anyone taking this on.
- To start out, the link for making appointments at the Australian
Consulate is VisaPoint.
I found it was remarkably well hidden.
- Upon entering the country, it's quite likely the immigration
officer won't be that familiar with the E3 Visa. I'd recommend you
watch them and very politely correct anything you think wrong, in my
case my Visa was incorrectly entered as E3-Dependent along with my
wife (proving that the system doesn't actually keep referential
integrity between an E3 and an E3D holders).
- You can not get paid before receiving a social security number.
You can not apply for a social security number within about 10 days of
entering the country, as there is a lag between immigration and social
security systems. Once you apply it will take a few weeks for the
card, but you can probably go back to the office with sufficient ID
within two days and receive a print-out of the number. You can call
the office you filed with first and they can tell you if it's worth
coming in to try it. In the absolute worst case, if things screw-up,
you could be in for a long wait. Your company may be able to loan you
money if things get desperate.
- If anything really stuffs up you'll have to enter the US
immigration services, which is no fun. If this happens to you in the
Bay Area go straight to the San Francisco office; the San Jose office
doesn't have deferred inspections so you'll probably just have to go
there anyway.
- Your dependent on the E3D Visa will need to fill out an I-765 work authorisation
form. This will take up to 3 months to process; you can find
out the approximate queue time here. The form
doesn't appear to have been updated for E3D; I would strongly
recommend getting a lawyer to file it for you so you don't stuff it
up. Budget about $400. After this has been processed, the dependent
will then need to file for a SSN before they can be paid.
- Tax is a black-art. In California expect to pay something like
20-25% federal, 10% state and up to 7% more for Medicare and social
security. Expect another $80/month for health insurance.
- You can get a bank account without a SSN easily. A good way to
transfer money is OzForex, but
watch out for fees on the US side (you may have to do wire-transfers
which cost about $10 a go, though some banks have bill-pay). The
country still runs on cheques for some reason.
- You can rent without a SSN, but it will cost you. Budget for 2
months extra rent as deposits and paying ahead.
- A car lease is probably a good way to go. Finance will usually
look at your visa and only give you a two-year loan, and with no
credit that will be at a very high interest rate. In California you
can get a 2 year lease on a base model new car (sticker price
~$17,000) drive-away for a down-payment of about $2500 and then
$250/month plus taxes. Insurance will be about $120/month on-top of
that. The beauty is you just give it back when you go home. For long
holiday trips SUV rental may contribute to global warming, but is a
very comfortable way to see the country.
- In California you'll need to book in for a driving test to get a
license; you can't do this in a rental car but some local driving
schools offer a short introduction course and then let you use their
car for the test.
- If you're living in temporary accommodation without great
facilities Dream Dinners is
a good way to easily get some meals together.
- In the Bay Area, Yelp is an
awesome resource.
- Comcast make Telstra look like a well-run, efficient and customer
focused organisation!
Feel free to drop me a line if you're thinking of taking an
opportunity and have any questions.
posted at: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:41 |
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