Chess Blog

Moving to the United States

Make copies of all your Visa documents

Assumedly, if you’re moving to the United States, you’ve already got your Visa papers in order. The USA is particularly strict when it comes to immigration, so we recommend making copies of your Visa documents – keep one on your person, one in your suitcase and give one to a trusted family member who is staying behind. Even better is to keep a digital copy on your email so that you can produce it no matter where you are.

Obtain long-term medical insurance

In Australia, we take our free and/or subsidised health care for granted and even our private health insurance is readily affordable to most of the population. In the USA, however, all health care is private and in some cases it’s impossible to see a specialist without private health insurance. We recommend purchasing travel insurance to cover you for the first few months, as this gives you a bit more time to organise health insurance once you’ve settled in.

Have a full body medical

On the topic of your health, we strongly advise that you and all family members relocating with you undertake a full body medical check up prior to leaving Australia. Get your GP to make copies of all of all results and take these with you to the USA. They’ll help you greatly when you have a medical issue arise abroad.

Apply for an international driver’s license

Depending on your current license level, you made need to apply for an international driver’s license to legally drive around your new home. Most international driver’s licenses only last one year and cannot be returned, so you’ll need to remember to reapply each year.

Cross check your belongings against quarantine

Most people are aware there are difficulties in relocating animals across the world, but few stop to consider that a piece of furniture or artwork may cause issues at the border. The TSA (https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/prohibited-items) and US Passports & International Travel Department (https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/go/customs.html) both have comprehensive lists of items that will be confiscated at the airport or from your belongings as they pass through quarantine.

Practice using American slang

While we might be well understood in the UK (thanks to shows like Neighbours), the Americans don’t know what a mozzie is, couldn’t point you in the direction of a bottle-o or servo and have never done ‘hard yakka’. Even terms like ‘GP’ are foreign to them (they say physician or doctor), but lucky for you, years of watching American movies and television should make you already fluent in their strange slang.

Book an international removalist

Very few removalists have a trusted network of removalists who can assist you on the ground overseas with a crew that ensure your items reach your new doorstep without any hassle. Chess Moving is part of the UniGroup Global Network, which is the largest removalist network in the world. It allows us to provide you with accurate quotes and information about relocating to the United States and beyond. We can assist you with everything from International Customs management to pet relocation and moving insurance. If you’ve got your sights set on the land of the free, there is no removalist better equipped to help make it happen.

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