![]() eduPASS | The International Student's Guide to Studying and Living in the USA |
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The following checklist will help you make sure you haven't missed
anything important.
You should bring enough money with you to cover your first month's
expenses until you are able to transfer funds from abroad. This will
be at least US $1,500, but probably more (look at your budget to be sure).
Make two photocopies of any important document. Leave one copy at
home, and bring one copy with you, but keep it separate from the
originals. It might be worthwhile to bring several spare sets of passport
photographs in case you need to get a new passport or visa.
The following items may seem inconsequential, but you will find them
very useful: pen and pad of paper, safety pins, paper clips, sewing kit,
extra buttons, nylon cord, first aid kit, alarm clock or watch,
calculator, flashlight, spare batteries, plastic bags, and duct
tape. Also a small lock for your luggage.
Label your luggage inside and out with your name and your university's
name and address. If your luggage is lost in transit, this will help
the airline return it to you. Needless to say, critical documents,
medines, and other supplies should be carried in your carry-on
luggage. Your carry-on bag should also include one change of clothing.
It can be very expensive to transport a lot of belongings. It is
better to buy what you need in the US. If you decide to send your
belongings separately, your main options are by boat and by
air. Shipping items by boat takes longer, but is also about half the
cost of sending them by air. Allow 8 weeks for items to arrive by
boat, or one or two weeks for items shipped by air.
Before you leave, let the international student advisor know about
your travel plans and expected arrival date. Likewise, give your
family members who are staying behind your contact information
in the United States.
Attend the US Information Service's pre-departure orientation
session. It will provide a lot of helpful information.
Find out about any income tax filing requirements for your home
country before you leave. If your parents or guardian will not be
handling your financial affairs in your absence, arrange for an
appropriate 'power of attorney' for the person who will be taking care
of your affairs. Likewise, you may need to arrange for absentee voting
for elections while you are in the US.
Visit your doctor and dentist before you leave. Tell your doctor about
your trip, so he or she can give you any required inoculations. Also
arrange for an eye examination, so you can carry
an up-to-date prescription in case you need to replace your glasses or
contact lenses.
Don't forget to reconfirm your reservations 72 hours before departure,
and to arrive at the airport early.
When purchasing your tickets, always ask about APEX (Advance Purchase
Excursion) fares, which offer significant discounts for tickets that
are purchased several weeks in advance.
If you will be traveling extensively around the US, ask your travel
agent or airline about Visit USA. These discount tickets are offered
by many major US airlines, including American, Delta, Northwest, TWA,
United, and US Airways, to travelers from abroad. Visit USA tickets
must be purchased before departing for the US.
You will most likely arrive in one of the following gateway cities:
Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Honolulu, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle,
and Washington, DC.
These cities have the most international flights. Other airports may
have direct flights from selected countries.
If your ultimate destination is elsewhere, you will need to take a
connecting flight after you exit immigration and customs.
Processing through immigration and customs can take up to two hours or
more, so allow sufficient time to make any connections.
Keep in mind that air travel covering more than a few time zones often
results in a disorientation called "jetlag". Your body will initially
have trouble adjusting to the time shift. During your flight,
avoid caffeine and alcohol, but drink plenty of water.
After you arrive at your destination, it is important to go to sleep at the
normal time for your destination, and to walk around in the bright
morning sunlight after you wake up. Most people take about 3 days to
recover from jetlag.
The major US airlines are as follows:
Several US travel agencies specialize in student, and budget
travel, including international travel. These include:
The International Student Travel Confederation (ISTC)
is the organization that sells the International Student Identity Card
(ISIC). Their web site includes a list of the more than 6,000 discounts available to holders of the ISIC card and a list of locations worldwide that
issue the card. For more information, send email to istcinfo@istc.org. They also provide a home page
for the
Student Air Travel Association (SATA).
There are also several guides to discount travel on the web. The most
popular guides are:
When you arrive in the US, you will have to go through Customs and
Immigration. They will ask you questions about your purpose for
visiting the US. Your answer should be "Student". Keep your answers
simple and direct. If they want to know the name of the school, tell
them the name of the school, without any extraneous information. If
they want more information, they will ask additional questions.
For more information see the
US Customs Service web
site, which includes the brochure Customs Guidelines for
Visitors to the United States.
Immigration laws can also be found at the
US State Department web site.
You may also be asked whether you are bringing in any food. Do not
bring any food with you. Food you received on the plane should be left
on the plane. It is forbidden to bring perishable foodstuffs, such as
fruit, vegetables, and meat, or plants into the US. Also forbidden are
articles made from certain protected species of animals.
For more information, see the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) web site.
If you bring in more than US$10,000 in US or foreign currency you must
declare the amount to customs upon entering or leaving the country.
If you use medications that contain narcotics or which are
administered by syringe, carry a signed prescription from your
physician with the medicine. Also tell your physician that about your
upcoming visit to the US, since he may have to prescribe alternate
medications. (Some controlled substances are prohibited, even in medicine.)
Penalties for smuggling narcotics are severe.
The following map of the United States of America came from the
US Government Information Exchange
site, a good source of information about the US government.
Packing
Before You Leave
Air Travel
Budget/Student Travel
Customs and Immigration
Map of the United States
AL - Alabama AK - Alaska AZ - Arizona AR - Arkansas
CA - California CO - Colorado CT - Connecticut DE - Delaware
FL - Florida GA - Georgia HI - Hawaii ID - Idaho
IL - Illinois IN - Indiana IA - Iowa KS - Kansas
KY - Kentucky LA - Louisiana ME - Maine MD - Maryland
MA - Massachusetts MI - Michigan MN - Minnesota MS - Mississippi
MO - Missouri MT - Montana NE - Nebraska NV - Nevada
NH - New Hampshire NJ - New Jersey NM - New Mexico NY - New York
NC - North Carolina ND - North Dakota OH - Ohio OK - Oklahoma
OR - Oregon PA - Pennsylvania RI - Rhode Island SC - South Carolina
SD - South Dakota TN - Tennessee TX - Texas UT - Utah
VT - Vermont VA - Virginia WA - Washington WV - West Virginia
WI - Wisconsin WY - Wyoming
DC - District of Columbia
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