KunalPostVisasession18thJune,2016

InordertolivelegallyintheUSAunderanF1Visa,youneedtoberegisteredasafulltime
studentataUniversity.Afulltimestudentmustmeetthefollowingtwoconditions:
1. He/shemusttake9creditspersemester
2. Thecreditsbeingtakenbythestudentmustbedirectedtowardscompletingadegree
i.e.itmustalignwiththecoursesneededbythestudenttocompletehisdegree

1. Credit/unit/credithour:
allcollegeschargepercredit.Acreditcanbedefinedasonehour
ofclassperweekforonesemester.Thus,acoursewhichhas3creditswillcompriseof
3hoursofinstructionperweek.Thosethreehourscanbedisturbedrandomlyacrossthe
weekbasedontheprofessor.
*Inthefirstsemester,stickto9creditssoyoudon'tgetoverwhelmedwiththenewenvironment.

Immigration:
Becarefulduringimmigrationasitispossiblefortheofficertosendyouback...
It'sbloodyrareforthattohappenthough.

*Chicagoisabigairport.Soitwilltakesometimetocompleteimmigration.

Documentsforimmigration:
1. Passport
2. I20
3. Keepallyouroriginaldocumentsinthecarryon.Beverycarefulwithyourcarryon!!
Apparentlyafannypackisthebestplacetokeepyourimpdocuments.
*Assumeallyourluggage,exceptthecarryon,willgetlost.

Luggage:Kunalsaysweneedthefollowingthings:
1. Don'tcarryutensilsinbulk
2. Bigcooker
3. Textbooks
4. BuyclothesinAmerica.Ifyouhaveniceclothesthenpackit.Donotgoshoppingfor
clothesinIndia!TakethestuffyouhaveandbuytherestinAmerica.
5. Spices.Don'ttakethe
readtoeat
foodbecauseitwillbetendaysbeforeyouaresetup
tocook.Ifyoucangetthefood,likemasalaormaggi,intheUSA,thendon'tbuyinIndia
6. Homefoodlikepickles
*Usecarton/cardboardboxestoputthefoodandotherstuffwhichisnotthatimportantlikethe
cookerandbooks.EssentiallyKunalistellingusnottouseluggageatall.
DONOTBUYNEWBAGSbecauseonceyoureachAmericayouwon'tusethesenewbagsat
all!Soyoucanevenusetheoldbags.Usedistinct/uniquebagsthatstandout,orfindawayto
makethebagstandoutsoyoucanfinditeasilyattheairportcheckout.Moreimportantly,you
wannamakesuresomeoneelsedoesn'tpickupyourbagbyaccident.Kunalrecommends
attachingcolorfulribbonstoyourluggagetomakeitstandout.
Putallthedetailsonthebox/luggageincaseitgetslost.

Spendheavilyonthebackpackbecausethatmatters.Keepthemostessentialstuffthere.Keep
someclothesincaseyourotherluggagegetslostordelayed.Keepthetoiletryaswell.NO
LIQUIDFOODOROTHERLIQUIDS.Theweightlimitforthebackpackisabout7kilos.
DON'TBUYANYELECTRONICSININDIA!

Youcantakeprescribedmedicines,buttheprescriptionneedstobewithyou.
GotothefamilydoctorandgetalistofalltheOTCmedicinesneededandmakeakitofitand
keepitinyourbagpack.

Travelinsurance:
getadecenttravelinsuranceforaround1000rupees.Takeitforonemonth.
YoucanaskKunalsagentforit.

Thingstotokeepinmindwhenbuyingstudentinsurance:
1. Seethecoverageandcopay
2. Makesurethesurroundinghospitalsarecovered
*SeeiftheinsuranceavailableinIndiaisbetterbeforeblindlybuyingthecollegeinsurance.

Cash:
Livingexpensesneedtobecarriedbyyousincetheloanguyswilltakecareofthetuition.
WhenyoufirstleaveIndia,takelessthan500$incashinmultipledenominations
Take6000$onadollarcard/forcecard.ThomasCookcandothis.Thedollarcardisfreeandit
doesn'thaveanexpiry.Ithasapinsoit'ssafe.Parentscanthentransferthemoneytoyouby
payingThomasCook.Noconversionchargesexistforeachandeverytransactionyoumake
usingthecard.Essentiallyitisacardfilledwithdollars.Notacardwhichconvertsrupeesto
dollars.Thisisimportantbecauseitmeansthattheamountofmoneyyouhaveinthecardwill
notfluctuatewiththedollarconversionrate.

CarryyourmobilephonefromIndia.UseWhatsAppcall.

ArriveattheBengaluruairport3hoursinadvance.

Immigrationcheck:
1. GotothekioskandFillthei94card.Itisadeparturecard.Youwillbeaskedafew
details.Alwaysgivetheaddressoftheinternationalstudentservicesoffice.
2. Theofc/biometriccheckswillbedoneagain
3. Youwillbeaskedafewquestions
4. Youwillgetastamponthei94anditwillbeattachedtoyourpassportsothatthe
systemrecordsthatyouenteredthecountry.Makesureyouremovethei94stampwhen
youleaveUSA.

ReporttotheinternationalofficerightafteryoureachMadison.

Thingstocompletebeforeclassesstart:

1. Leaseagreement.Thisservesasanaddressproof.Makesurealltheroommatesareon
theleaseagreement!
2. Bankaccount.Youneedthisbecausethereisachargetowithdrawcashfromtheforex
cardie2$,soyouneedabankaccount.UseBankofAmericabecauseitisastable/big
bank.
3. Socialsecuritynumber.It'slikeapancard.Youcanonlyapplyforasocialsecurity
numberifyouhaveajob,butyouneedasocialsecuritynumberinthefirstplaceifyou
wantanoncampusjob!It'sabloodycatch22!Sogetanoncampusjobandusethe
offerlettertogetyoursocialsecuritynumber.
4. Drivinglicense.ThisistheonlygovernmentissuedIDyouwillonlyget.Soit'spretty
importantifyoudon'twanttoendupcarryingyourpassportaroundwithyoueverywhere
yougo.Therearethreestages:Eyewrittendrivingtest.
a. Eachstatehasitsownwrittentestmanual
b. TheywillwaveoffthedrivingtestifyouhaveadrivinglicenceinIndia
5. Basics:
a. Don'tbuybrandnewfurniture,onlybuyusedfurniture!

Apparently,accordingtoKunal,wewillallhavecarswithin6months!Interesting...Thereason
forthisisbecausetheapartmentsfarawayfromcampusarecheaper.Soacarmakessense
becauseit'scostwillcomeoutofthesavedapartmentrent.

HowtobuyacarintheUS:
1. Carfax:willgiveyouacredithistoryofthecar.Takethecar'sVINnumberandgetthe
car'scompletehistory.Usethehistorytodetermineifthecarisgood.
2. Doa120160pointcheckofthecar.Makethesellerdothis!!
3. Getthecarregisteredinyourname
4. Makethepaymentonlyafterdoingtheabovesteps!

MobilesintheUSA:
1. Gotoaserviceprovider
2. Getaplan.Ex:
a. Oneyearplanfor39.99$permonth
b. Minutesarecountedforbothincomingandoutgoing
c. 600minutesduringthedaytimeofweekdays
d. Weekendsarefree
e. Signupforthisplanandyougetaphonefree.Sonobodybuysphonesinthe
usa
3. Taketheminimumcommitmenti.e.oneyear
4. Takeagroupoffriendsandgetagroupdiscounttogetaniceplan.Thisworksbecause
thestoreguygetsacommissionperconnection.
5. Don'ttakeaninternationalpack.UseWhatsAppandSkype.

Takeaweektofindyourapartment.Don'tbeinahurry.


OPT/CPT:
F1visa1styear2ndyearH1Bvisa/workvisa

Curriculumpracticaltraining:Happensafter1styear.Itisallowedanytimeafterthefirstyear.
Itcanhappenuptooneyear.
Peopleusuallydoitfor3monthssotheydon'teatintothe2yearstudytime.
Advantages:
1. Workexperience
2. Earncash
3. Buildrapport

The12monthsdon'thavetobecontinuous.Youcanbreakitup.
MakesureyourCPTneverexceeds11monthsand15daysotherwiseit'lleatintoyour
OPTtime!!!

CPTearnsyoucredits.Thereisamaxlimitforthenumberofcptcredits.Socheckforthiswhen
youreachMadison.

AccordingtoKunaldothecptlikethis:
DothecptfromMaytoDecemberafterthesecondsemester.
DothecptagainfromMaytoAugust.
ComeoutofcollegeinDecember.
Thenstarttheopt.

OPTis1+2yearsforSTEMcourses.ThisisimportantbecauseoftheH1lottery.

.AllH1jobsstartinOctoberandthepetitionforitisinApril.

So,ifyougraduateinDecember,youcanthenapplyforanH1thefollowingApril.Thusyouget
anextrachancetogetanH1visa.IfyougraduateinMay,thenyouwillonlybeabletoapplyfor
theH1nextAprili.e.awhole11monthsafteryougraduate.Thisistheadvantageofgraduating
inDecember.

Weareinthe20,000Master'squotafirst.Thenwefallintothe65,000generalquota.

ConnectwiththeIndianstudentsassociationforMadison.