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The International Student's Guide
to Studying and Living in the USA

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Traveling to the United States

Packing

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

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.

Air Travel

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:

Budget/Student Travel

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:

The Air Traveler's Handbook was written by the author of this site, and offers a lot of advice on finding inexpensive tickets for air travel.

Customs and Immigration

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.

Map of the United States

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.

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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Last modified: February 03, 1999 08:49:29 EST