Where ever you live and what-ever you think of ‘Americans’, it cannot be denied that the chance to live and work in America is an exciting opportunity that would be difficult for anybody to turn down.

Such an opportunity was presented to my family nearly two years ago. Now, as we look back at the way our lives in the UK were too casually discarded, and stress again at the difficulties we had building new lives in North America, we feel a duty to pass on our experiences as a warning to anyone following in our path.

Although I had enjoyed many work related visits to Connecticut, the major influence of American people and culture had, for the rest of the family at least, come from the television. This is, of course, an extremely misleading and distorted channel for information. I am sure that there was a time when the box in the corner (or now more likely on the wall) was an informative and serious source of knowledge. Those days are long gone in our generation of dumbed-down quick-moving entertainment. It seems that no-one under the age of thirty wants to dwell on an idea for longer than ten seconds without the interlude of a joke or an explosion. America does not have jokes – it has slapstick; it does not have explosions – unless, some would have it, specifically arranged by the government.

So the first piece of advice is a scouting visit for all concerned to see what it is really like. This will, I assure you, both dispel wrong notions and delight in new experiences. You will find that Americans are not loud and arrogant, as you may have come to think from those sit-coms; but friendly individuals who work hard and play hard. If you can do the same then they will welcome you most heartily.

This initial adventure should be designed for two purposes: firstly to have a jolly good time but also more seriously as a reconnaissance of the area you expect to make your new home. It is important to see some of the sights and so make the visit a ‘holiday to remember’, but you should also travel; eat and stay in the local towns. Wherever you currently call home will have areas that you would not want to live in – and America is no different. You may want to have a second scouting visit, if possible, to find a home to rent so that it will be waiting for you when you arrive.

If it is at all possible you should arrange to have a relocation officer. This will not always be available to you, but we came across people who had a much easier transfer because of the assistance of a local representative.

As early as possible in the organization of the move, you must start the process of obtaining the American visas. Due to many reasons, our visas arrived just one week before we were due to travel and this caused us no end of problems. If you can get them sorted early then it will reduce the stress on arrival substantially.

Our lack of visas meant that we could not book flights or removals or even sell our cars in a controlled manner. These all, in particular, cost us significantly due to late fees and desperate sales. Being able to plan your last few months in sure knowledge of your move will vastly decrease the stress and anxiety from that we had to endure.

If you own your home then part of your plan includes the decision of what to do with it. Should you sell or rent it out? We are by no means financial experts, and so we can only tell of our own experience, but it has worked well for us in obtaining a long term tenant. This was the beginning of the recession and we had attempted to sell our house for a full year prior to our American opportunity being presented to us. The prices had dropped dramatically and so we would have been selling at a time of great loss of equity.

If you can obtain your visas early then you can carry out the task which will absolutely change your experience of the new country – you can obtain a Social Security Number.

These nine digits are your key to unlock a multitude of doors and without it you almost do not exist. If you arrive on American soil without this number then you will have to live an expensive and dreadfully frustrating life until the obligatory weeks of waiting for your allocation are over.

Without this number you cannot rent or buy a house. You cannot get paid for your work and certainly not obtain medical insurance. You cannot lease or buy a car and so you have the extensive car hire costs to contend with. You cannot have a phone (other than pay-as-you-go) or arrange for an internet connection. You cannot set up a television service either, but not such a bad thing perhaps as the family will be forced to actually talk to each other.

We had to basically pay upfront for everything by existing on the cash we had brought with us and the use of our English credit cards. The banks had great fun continually cancelling our cards due to ‘potential fraud’, however much we protested.

Whatever you do, do not bring your local currency as there are no facilities for currency exchange. We were astounded to find that there are no travel agencies or exchange bureaus and we had to laugh when we asked the bank to change money – they said they would have to send it away and it could take up to five weeks before we could receive the equivalent in dollars.

With the arrival of our Social Security Number we were finally able to lease a car and we then had the fun of arranging insurance. It is essential you take evidence of no claims with you and obtain insurance within thirty days of arrival in America. We were stung badly by our delay such that we are paying many hundreds of dollars per month which takes a significant chuck out of our income.

Another thing that you can arrange if you obtain your visas early is for the work permit for your spouse. Our visas included the ability for us to apply for a work permit but we did not appreciate that it would cost us so much or that it would still take so long.

The above can really be summarized quite simply in the advice to start your plans to move to America early and arrange as much as possible before you travel. When you obtain your visas then immediately apply for a social security number and a work permit for your spouse. Arrive with these documents and the proof of no-claims on your vehicle insurance. With these and hopefully a home waiting for you to move into, then you will be much more able to enjoy the adventure of new experiences in the land of ‘yes we can’.

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

It is a unique set of lists to top .

Of course much of the hatred is irrational and a result of brainwashing and mis-information and the general jealousy towards something more powerful. Simultaneously much of the longing of foreigners is also based on mis-information and false beliefs often resulting from notions of a bygone era and unhealthy weight based on the reality hollywood and US entertainment presents about the American lifestyle and experience.

These are some of the realities as I see it of living and working/studying in the United States under current Immigration law.

Major Benefits to Foreign Worker/Student:

1. Largest Economy in the world means the largest range of options in terms of industry verticals for your career
2. Is the richest country in the world so the average earning power is higher than anywhere in the world
3. Has the best universities and university education opportunities in the world for undergraduates and postgraduates
4. US work experience is looked upon favorably almost univerally if you pursue your career elsewhere
5. US higher education degrees are valued highly around the globe

Major Negatives to Foreign Worker/Student:

1. Is an extremely difficult country for a foreigner to obtain employment due to the immigration system in most cases requiring a job offer prior to entering the country (also very difficult to change employers)
2. Is an extremely costly procedure for companies to sponsor visas and more often pay expensive legal fees
3. US education costs are the highest in the world and the access to US student loans and/or scholarships is extremely limited
4. US social programs like social security, healthcare, unemployment benefits, etc. are in almost all circumstances not accessible to the foreign worker or student although the worker must still pay these taxes. (if you do work in the US for 10 years and have been paying into Social Security you can get access to those funds if you leave the country permanently)
5. Foreign students for the most part are legally not allowed to work while studying except occasionally for on campus work, special permission for other work and the OPT program

You may have noticed I have not talked about like personal freedoms, cost of living, quality of life, access to activities, US travel costs, etc. as this is all relative to an individual’s expectation and to the country or region they may be comparing it too.

Suffice it to say the US obviously has personal freedoms which are as free as the most open nations in the world. With 300 million people of all backgrounds and lots of large cities in different climates, the range of entertainment, leisure and social options are endless and can usually meet most people’s tastes.
While fuel prices in the US are among the cheapest in the world, air travel and car rental are not necessarily as cheap by world standards.
Quality of life very much depends on what you like but if you are used to the social safety nets of Europe then the US is probably not the place to be. If the wonderous beauty of the New Zealand South Island is your love, you can experience nature in many places in the heartland or smaller cities on the coast but US cities are very much megastructures and pollution is obviously a part of that environment.
In general terms the prices of food and energy are cheap as anywhere in the world and the range of cuisines are endless. However the majority of the US food system is an industrial machine and that may not produce a result you desire if you are used to Farm Fresh!
Crime is very much dependent on where you end up but for the most part the US is a much safer place than it was in the 70s and 80s with mega cities like Chicago and New York among the most safe place in the country which is a long way from where they used to be.

In summary judge the United States for what it truly is in relation to working and studying and not the negative hyperbole many in foreign media outlets portry it to be as it really is an abundance of oppertunity and ingenuity unlike anywhere on Earth. However also note that the United States can be an unforgiving place as there is more of a focus on individual responsibilites and freedoms so not as friendly as an immigrant (and even for locals) when you fall on hard times.

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

So you have followed your own instincts, other resources or maybe even the information contained in this blog. You now have your H-1B visa or your E-3 Visa and you are soon to board a plane to take you to the US.

Well the first thing is to realise that you will have an experience that will benefit you for the rest of your life and no matter what you may face that may be different from what you are used to, it will be a challenge that will only benefit you.

So there are 2 aspects of society, I will cover briefly in this post today and combined with other posts both already posted and in the future you will get a great insight into the US life in the early days.

1. Social Security Number

This number is the absolute key to you function in the US System. Once you have a Social Security Number, you have it for life so if you have applied and received for a social security number on a prior visa like J-1 visa for Work and Travel or Internship that number still applies.

Many companies and people are under the mistaken illusion that you can’t get paid until you have the Social Security Number but that is NOT entirely true. You must have APPLIED for the Social Security Number at the the very least and your employer can put APPLIED where they would normally write your number on the employer tax forms. Then when you get the number it can be inputted. (this is the Government Social Security Site confirming you do not need a SSN to begin work).

You can apply for your Social Security Number (SSN) a few days after you arrive in the US on a work visa like H1B or E3. The reason why you have to wait a few days is that your arrival needs to be registered in the US System and that can take a few days.

All you need is your Passport with your visa, your I-94 card, filled out application form and letter of employment and you are set. The card will be mailed to usually within 2-8 weeks. You can often go back to the same office a few days later and get your number even if you haven’t got your card.

This number will be used by landlords, phone companies, banks/credit cards, health providers and of course your employer to verify you, check your credit, etc. so do not give this out to anyone as it is the basis of identity fraud in the US.

2. Health Care and Health Insurance in the US

I have a link to my Health 101 post in the US which is a little more detailed than this short synopsis will be. Suffice to say Healthcare and Health Insurance in the US is nothing like anywhere else in the world.

It is extremely expensive, there is virtually no safety net and the entire industry is a for profit venture like any other business. In most parts of the world, you are probably used to a system where your Government covers half, most or all of your health and medication costs. If Private Insurance is part of your system, the monthly costs or premiums while seeming excessive in your own land pales in comparison to the hundreds of dollars a month required here for the basic coverage.

Well chances are your employer either fully or maybe in conjunction with a deduction in your pay check is paying for your Health Insurance. Most coverage comes in 4 parts, being medical, prescription, dental and optical.

The terms you have to become familar with is the US Health system are;

co-pays: Which is a payment made by you as a small contribution for a medical visit (usually $10-$50 depending on your plan). Some plans have no co-pays

Rx: Is the US short hand mean prescription

in-network: Your health insurance provider negotiates rates with providers so they will usually cover 100% of fees if you visit somebody in network. They may only pay 80-90% of costs if you visit some out of network.

Also just as a final point of note US eye doctors and optometrists are not allowed to fill foreign eye prescriptions. You must have a prescription from a US doctor (you can always find places in Chinatown areas that will bend this rule)

I hope this all helped…till next time.

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

- Laid Off on an E-3 or H-1B Visa where I talk about the situation and idea where you can get your current employer to help and also an option in Canada
- Extending, Renewing or Changing Employers on your E-3 Visa this is also  helpul to H-1B holders or applicants as the process is very similar
- Information about the Top 100 Companies that sponsored H-1B visas last year where we discuss how this may help you and the genesis of the list which we made FREE for you
- The Top 200 List of US Visa Employers Last Year is a raw list of the companies that is beneficial to E-3 visa applicants as much as H-1B and even J-1.

Now I have received a lot of emails in recent times about;
How long people have?
How can they extend their time to look for a job?
Is the transfer process easy and not too costly?
Can you transfer to B1/B2 status to allow you more time to find a position?
Do I have access to any unemployment benefits since I pay Social Security/Payroll/FICA Taxes?
Can I work while the transfer process is underway?

I will try and document the answers to these questions briefly on one page, although a lot of these answers are in more detail elsewhere in the blog in other posts and you can go the All Posts List which documents all entries and visa information by title.

1. How long do I have?
Technically you only have 10 days to find a new employer once your current employer notifies USCIS of your termination date. We explain in the above post more fully how you can ask you employer to delay this notification to give you more time.

2. How can you extend your time to find a job?
Will this really follows on from question 1, so the delay in notification is one option. Leaving and re-entering the US on the visa-waiver program is another option. Transferring to a B1/B2 visa or even another category (although you have to meet their individual requirements) can also potentially extend your time.

3. Is the transfer process easy and not too costly?
It certainly could be easier, I mention in the above linked post the entire process and forms involved. Eassentially it involves getting a new LCA form and a filing form for transfer of employer to USCIS which I think costs around $300 although this constantly changes. It can be relatively straightforward in what you do but it can be a long process.
Of course if travel is involed if you plan to get a new visa outside the country this of course will amplify costs.

4. Can you transfer to B1/B2 status to allow you more time to find an employer?
You certainly can trasnfer to B1/B2 if you do this application to USCIS. Visapro states USCIS officers have been allowed to exercise their discretion to grant you another nonimmigrant status, if you apply for change of status within 10 days after you are laid off.

5. Do you have access to any unemployment benefits as you pay Social Security taxes?
No you don’t in any shape or form if you are on any non-immigrant visa. Yes this is completely unfair given you are forced to pay these taxes just like a US worker but you have no claim to any benefits.

6. Can I work while the transfer process is underway?
For H-1B visa holders you can given the application has been filed and you have your approved LCA from the Department of Labor. However your transfer application could still be denied potentially by the USCIS.

For E-3 visa holders the answer is a little more strange as it is largely undocumented. So some USCIS officers will say the rules are the same as H-1B as they are for most other things when not fully documented as seems to be the general direction of the visa. However other officers say this is not the case and you have to wait for your transfer. This combined with the transfer visa application cost has caused many of E-3 to just go to Canada and apply for a new visa with their new employer instead.

Good luck if this is your predicament…I wish you all the best

CJ

**look I should say again I am not a lawyer but I answer these questions to the best of my ability having gone through the visa process many times and having shared experiences with many others so I want to save you guys as much money as I can with potential legal costs. Some of the policies change a lot and I try to keep us as much as I can but I do miss a few changes.

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

The US Health System is first and foremost a business and secondary a process for caring for people!

So while there a few exceptions, most processes follow that rule and also is why the corporate players in this industry make a lot of money  (i.e. owners of clinics, pharmaceutical executives, owners of pharmacies, etc.).

As foreigners (or non=immigrants as we are classified) on a working visa like H-1B, L-1, E-3, etc. or other types of visa like J-1 we also have an additional set of things we need to be wary of when living in the US. Some states like Massachussets make health insurance mandatory either via the employer or paying yourself.

For the true working visas; H-1B, L-1, E-3, etc. there is no specific requirement that you have health insurance. In most cases you will be with employer who either mostly or fully pay your monthly premiums on your behalf for medical, prescription, dental and vision insurance. At the corporate negotiated rates this probably amounts to hundreds of dollars a month (probably minimum $350-$400/month for all three).

There is no public health system in the US…Repeat….There is no public health system in the US

So If your employer does not provide you with private health insurance and you don’t take it out yourself, you are not covered for anything in any situation. Should you choose to visit a doctor for a general check up at the casual rate, your bill can run into the hundreds of dollars!

While I will give you further tips in another post, even if you have health insurance, the insurers are looking to deny you coverage at any possible opportunity so don’t assume automatically they will pay for your visit. Like I said it is a business firstly!

So stay tuned in the future as I will tell you how to frame doctor visits and write letters to insurance companies to appeal their ridiculous judgments.

For the J-1 visa holders, your health insurance is mandatory in most cases and either via your sponsor organization or an approved insurer you will need to pay for a travel type insurance policy. (occasionally some interns will have nice employers that provide them full insurance but this is rare).

This travel policy generally is designed to cover only the basics when you are truly sick or hurt performing general activities. It is not for general check ups, issues with sexuality/pregnancy, usually only emergency minimal dental, no optical coverage, no alternative care or chiropractic, etc.

Depending on your policy for all visa holders , you will also have to pay what is known as a co-pay (co-payment) for your doctor visits and this ranges mostly between $0-50 depending on your plan. So often even with full coverage insurance that applies to your visit you will still have to pay money! This increases even more if you are talking about hospital visits and surgeries.

I know this post sounds like all doom and gloom…well it is for a large proportion of US citizens as well but I will do my best in my posts to help you navigate through the mess!

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

The two major problems that foreigners on working visas face compared to a fellow US citizen or resident who may have been laid off is;

1. No access to Social Security Benefits or any sort of unemployment support or safety net
2. Extremely Limited to time to find new employment and change visa legally without having to leave the US

Essentially this means if you are in this unfortunate predicament you have to bear all the costs from any savings you have of your regular expenses and finding a new position while trying to do it in record time and fit in with the regulations.

In actuality as you only are allowed to be out of employment legally for 10 days, you really don’t have any time to find a new position and transfer your position if, as most lay-offs are, sudden and unexpected.

Now many employers are very understanding in these situations given in an ideal world they never wanted to let you go having gone through so much for sponsorship to get you in the first place, that officially they will keep your position open even if you are not in it, allowing you time to find a new role and thus technically not be out of work for more than 10 days. They don’t have to do this but many do so request this if you can to buy you time.

There is no advice I really have in terms of finding a position than what you already did to get your initial role. If you were smart and dedicated enough to find a position in the US to begin with, I have no doubt, given the time and financial ability, you will find a position again even in this economy. There are positions out there…you only have to look at major job sites.

Hey even despite the gloomy numbers of January employment loss in the US, the health industry recorded an increase in positions so choose your target area wisely.

As for the situation of financially supporting yourself through this ordeal, paying your rent, etc. Well this is a decision you will have to make as it really depends how much you have, who you have to support and what your and the size of your obligations are. Like Americans it is probably a good time to live below your means for a while, save a little more. Your other problem is the US Dollar is getting stronger meaning transferring money over here from abroad buys you less.

I am sorry unlike other posts I didn’t have more advice for you but I wanted to at least address the current situation so you know the basic facts of what you can and can’t do and the basic tip about the employer holding your role open while you search.

I feel for you if you are in this situation and wish you well and a speedy find to continue your adventure…..

CJ

EDIT: There is one other option I recently was made aware of if you want to remain in North America but not specifically the US. The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program for Canada is seeming to take more and more people in who had been laid off on a H1B or E3 visa. You don’t need a job offer or sponsor to get this visa as you can loof for work after entering if you are in this broad range of job categories. I am certainly no expert on it but hear it could be a good option and a fast track to permanent residency in Canada.

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

Ok that said, the US tax year as far as personal income tax is concerned is the Calendar Year (so Jan 1 – Dec 31)

This differs from many countries which have the July-June or April to April year and it is important to note not all US corporations us the above as thier tax year but as you filing your taxes that is what you need to do.

For J1:
So this is the visa where you have most likely been working on a Work and Travel Program, Internship, Au Pair or programs like Camp USA. As far as tax treatment goes, you get it pretty easy in that only Federal, State (if applicable) and Local (if applicable) taxes apply.
You DO NOT have to pay either Social Security or Medicare taxes which is a great saving and given that neither you nor people on H1B, E3, L1, etc. have access to Social Security or Medicare it seems fair that you don’t have to pay it.

For H1B, E3, L1:
So this being the regular working visa group with slightly different entry criteria and benefits. Here you are obliged to pay all of Federal, State (if applicable), Local (if applicable), Social Security and Medicare. So it is important to look at the tax rates of your State and possibly city and factor in the other taxes beyond your federal tax bracket.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_income_tax for the different tax rates of states

General Info

Now the reason why I said if applicable for state and city is that a few states like Texas, Florida and a couple of smaller populus states like New Hampshire, Alaska do not have state income tax which is a great saving to you.

For cities, well New York CIty charges you the privilige for living there but am not aware of any other city in the US that charges a city income tax.

Now the question comes up, what if I reside in one city but work in another, what is my tax rate then? am I taxed twice? do I get a credit?

The answer is, it depends on which 2 states you are talking about, whether there is another party involved like a spouse who may live in your same state but work in the same state or a third state and what the relative difference is in tax rates between the states in question. IN SHORT IT IS CRAZY!

For example in normal circumstances a common occurence is the case of living in the state of New Jersey but working in New York. More often than not you will ultimately only pay NY taxes as the NJ government recognizes your taxes paid in NY and the rate in NY is higher than NJ. However that does not work as easily in reverse and with other states it depends on the treaties regarding tax they have with each other.
Your employer should be withholding tax correctly during the year as you are beign paid but ensure you are getting your full credit/refund or paying taxes owed if this is your circumstance and consult with experts if necessary.

Generally you will have until mid April to file your taxes and you should receive your W2 form from your employer sometime in January for the previous year. Go to the IRS website to find people to do your taxes through for both Federal and State.

Stupidly it is not free for most people  as you will invairably go through a 3rd party online portal like HR Block, Turbo Tax, Tax Slayer, etc but these are very straightforward and easy to use for most circumstances. Forget using an accountant unless you are really clueless (which I doubt given you got to the US to begin with) or you have a complex situation. Generally the online portals cost about $10-$30 to do both returns which isn’t too bad.

Most J1 visa holders should quality for free filing as you are probably young enough and/or have below the companies income threshold for charging you. You will still use one of the above companies except it will be FREE.

You can get refund checks mailed overseas (and you can file taxes from overseas). It is your obligation to do it so ask your employer for your W2 form if they don’t send it. It is their legal responsibility to give it to you. Contact the IRS if they refuse. You can also get your refunds deposited into your US Bank account from both Federal and State.

With deductions it probably similar to most places where you can get exemptions for travel, health, moving costs, education, work costs, mortgage repayments, etc. so just ensure you have all the documentation.

If you lived in multiple states during the year you will most likely have to file multiple state returns.

I hope this overview helped and do your own research too. As always send through your comments and I will try and help and otherwise I hope you get a Fat Refund Check!!

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

From this I came up with topic where I will hopefully demistify all that is unclear for you as well as tell some home truths about actual life versus what you might experience on a holiday or see on tv/movies.

Sex and the City is widely seen as one of the main players in the modern female sexual revolution but it also helped glamorize New York as a must live destination beyond what it was already thought to be.

Each year wherever you are in the world, you hear the story about some local home grown star from your region of the world who went to LA and Hollywood after years of struggle and made it big with that major movie, tv deal or recording contract. Then you see things from Paris Hilton parties to the Oscars televised and California also seems like the place to be.

NY and LA are probably top of most people lists of places to visit and potentially live if they desire the US and are two cities which have many benefits you probably aren’t aware of but also huge negatives that you would never really experience properly unless you live there. These are the things I think anyone should consider when moving to any city in the world.

Firstly let’s talk about NY

You watch a sitcom like Friends or Will and Grace and as mentioned above Sex and the City and whole NY experience just seems like 24/7 fun if you love city life. I mean you have hundreds of shows to choose from, thousands of restaurants, conveniences everywhere as things run for 24 hours, life, musical events every day almost, celebrities everywhere without even mentioning the endless famous sites, museums and areas. Then you take in the type of lifestyle they seem to portray on TV with their jobs and it all seems so easy. IT ISN’T

New York City is made up of 5 parts with Manhattan being the most famous (the other FYI are Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx & Staten Island). Now Manhattan rentals are on average the most expensive in the US and the World by a fair way given what you get. The price for a studio so a 1 ROOM apartment with a mini kitchenette and tiny bathroom attached in a middle of the road area of Manhattan usually start around $1,800 USD (so approx 1,260 GBP and 2,770 AUD as I write) per month. While most other living costs in NYC are cheap compared to world standards (although expensive by US standards), the rent alone takes a huge chunk of the average person’s salary. So groceries, utilities, internet/cable, cell phone, etc. are all pretty cheap because of the competitive market. However health costs are not but will leave that for another post

NY probably work longer hours than most of the country and remember the average US company only gives 2 weeks annual leave and just because a day is a Federal Holiday doesn’t necessarily mean it is a day off. Each company decides that policy (generally 2 federal holidays, Martin Luther King Day in January and Columbus Day is October are often omitted)

So with large expenses, longer hours, tiny apartments and less holidays do you think the slack lives of Joey on Friends or Jack on Will and Grace are even remotely possible!

I am not trying to scare you about life in NY, it is amazing and as mentioned above there is so much to do..all the time BUT be prepared for the reality of NY. It is ultra competitive, it is harsh and ruthless, the people can seem snobby and unfriendly at times and finding a place to live is like Christmas sales in other parts of the world, if you turn your back, it will be gone!

NY has the only fully operational 24/7 subway system in the world. It is 3 times bigger than The Tube in London and has more stations than all the other subways in the US combined. It is easy to get around.

NY is also extremely safe in most areas. From being the most violent and dirty cities in the US in the 70s and 80s, it is now in the top 5 safest cities in the country with very little crime at all given how many people live here. The streets and subways are very clean with barely any graffiti or damage and the police presence is large and visible all the time. You can walk around Central Park at night, take the subway all hours and be perfectly fine. Of course there are the odd really undesirable areas in outer Brooklyn, outer Queens and areas of The Bronx but for the most part everyone is always stunned by how clean and safe the city is.

So while this is only a short outline of NY and only covers some parts and as promised I will do other parts of different cities and aspects of life, I hope this cleared up a few misconceptions in your mind

Good Luck As Always and Happy Australia Day/Indian Reupublic Day/Chinese New Year

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.