The suitcase is unpacked. Now America wants to know who you are.
Arriving in the USA: your first 90 days as a checklist
In America, almost everything builds on something else: no address, no driver's license; no driver's license, hardly any chance of a car; no credit history, a hefty deposit with the power company. Know the right order and you'll get done in 90 days what takes others half a year of shuffling from counter to counter.
Your first 90 days in the USA decide how quickly you feel at home. Not because any of it is especially hard, but because so much builds on something else. The driver's license requires proof of address, proof of address requires a lease or a utility bill, the power company asks about your creditworthiness, and creditworthiness only starts with a bank account and a card. Know the order and you'll save yourself weeks of trips to offices that fail over one missing sheet of paper.
This checklist breaks the first three months into phases: what should be done before you fly, what matters in week one, and what needs to be in place by day 30, by day 60 and by day 90. Where the states have different rules, we show Texas, Florida, California and New York. Each section leads to a detailed guide.
One thing up front: this list is no substitute for a look at your own case. Which visa you hold, whether you're allowed to work and when you become a tax resident all change some of the steps. The visa itself isn't the topic of this page; the routes to the USA are in the visa overview, and choosing where to live is covered under Where to live in the USA.
1Before you fly: what you can only get at home
Some documents you can only get in your home country, and some only while you're still registered there. That makes the weeks before your move the weeks for paperwork. Whatever you pack now, you won't have to order from across the Atlantic later.
1.1Original certificates, diplomas and vaccination records
Pack the originals of birth certificates, your marriage certificate, diplomas and your children's vaccination records. American agencies work with originals: the Social Security Administration (SSA), for example, only accepts originals or copies certified by the issuing authority itself. Whether you also need an apostille or a translation is up to the office asking for the document. What applies where, from proof of address to notaries and apostilles, is covered in the guide to everyday paperwork.
1.3Medication and prescriptions
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lets foreigners bring, or have sent, a 90-day supply. Take a copy of your prescription in English. If you're staying longer, FDA rules allow further supplies to be shipped to you. For ongoing care, a local doctor is still worth it. That's why finding a doctor sits near the top of this list, not after your first fever.
1.4Household goods, containers and customs
Shipping a container across the Atlantic takes planning: a moving company, a packing list, insurance and an arrival date that fits your new home. Household goods arriving separately from you are declared to customs on Form CBP 3299. What the movers cost, what you can bring and what's better left at home are covered in two separate guides. For a first overview of the forms, see the article Importing household goods the right way.
Read more: containers, movers, costs →
Read more: clearing household goods through customs →
1.5Dogs and cats
Dogs fall under a separate set of rules from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If your dog has only been in countries the CDC lists as rabies-free or low-risk during the six months before entry, you need the CDC Dog Import Form, and that's the only form. Your dog must be at least six months old at entry and carry a microchip that a universal scanner can read. Cats have their own, different rules. Plan for both before the flight, not at the gate.
Read more: moving to the USA with a dog →
Read more: moving to the USA with a cat →
2Week one: status, phone, bank account
Week one is about the basics. You may still be sleeping in temporary housing, but three things should get done right away: check your arrival record, get an American phone number and open a bank account.
2.1Check your I-94
Your I-94 arrival record is created electronically when you enter the country; as a rule, you no longer get a paper form. Pull it up on the I-94 website of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or in the CBP Link app, print it out and check your name, your status and the date until which you may stay. You will need the printout for your Social Security number, your driver's license and often at the bank too. If you spot a mistake, deal with it immediately, because every next step builds on this record.
2.2Report every move within the US
Every foreign national in the US must report a change of address to USCIS within ten days, either online through a USCIS account or with Form AR-11. The only exceptions are A and G visa holders and visitors under the Visa Waiver Program. The rule also applies when you move from your first temporary place into your permanent home. It is easy to miss, because nobody at any counter will ask you for it.
2.3An American number
You need a US number from day one, because many services only send verification codes to American numbers. A prepaid SIM or an eSIM is enough to start with. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a postpaid contract billed monthly often requires a credit check, and that is hard to pass in your first few weeks. Your phone from Europe will work if it is unlocked and technically compatible with the network. What to watch for with your phone, internet and electricity is covered in the section on day 30.
2.4Your Social Security number
As a rule, only foreign nationals who are authorized to work in the US can get a Social Security number. If you arrive on an immigrant visa, you can apply for it together with your visa application, and the card is then mailed to the address you gave. Everyone else applies in the US. The SSA recommends waiting ten days after arrival so it can verify your entry data online. You start the application online and then visit an office within 45 days with your passport and immigration documents, such as your I-94.
If you are not authorized to work, you will not get an SSN. That is less dramatic than it sounds: according to the SSA, you do not need one for private health insurance or to enroll your children in school, and many companies will identify you another way if you ask. Learn more in Everything about the Social Security number and in our overview EIN, ITIN, SSN: which US number for what.
2.5Your first bank account
For your US company, you open a business account, for example with the online bank Mercury. For yourself, it usually means a visit to a branch of a big bank, with your passport, visa, address and, if you have one, your SSN or ITIN. What matters is having an account and a first card in your own name from the very start: that is how your American credit history begins. Our guide First bank and credit after the move shows how to get your first banking relationship set up.
3By day 30: housing, electricity, internet, school
In your first month, a visit turns into a home. Your lease starts the paper trail that makes you visible in America: bills, bank statements and insurance policies with your name and address on them.
3.1Renting without a credit score
US landlords check their tenants' credit, and as a newcomer you have none. So you make your case in other ways: an employment contract or proof of your business, bank statements, a higher deposit, a guarantor or rent paid in advance. Many people start in a short-term furnished apartment and take their time looking from there. Our guide explains how rental applications work and what to look for in a lease.
Keep your driver's license in mind while you do this. Texas, for example, requires two printed proofs of address in your name, and one of them must show that you have lived in Texas for at least 30 days. Your lease is the first of them.
3.2Electricity, internet and phone in your name
Who supplies your electricity, internet and phone depends on where you live. In much of Texas you can choose your own electricity provider, and the regulator, the PUCT, runs the official comparison site Power to Choose. Without a credit history, the provider may ask for a deposit, but not any amount it likes: at most one fifth of the estimated annual bill or the estimated bills for the next two months, whichever is higher. The FCC's National Broadband Map shows which internet providers serve your address, and every provider must show you a standardized label with price, fees and speed at the point of sale.
These bills are more than fixed costs. In Texas, electricity, water, gas, internet and phone bills no more than 180 days old count as proof of address for your driver's license. So put them in your own name from the start, not your landlord's.
3.3Getting your kids into school
Public schools in the US are tied to your address: your home determines your school district, and enrollment requires proof of address plus records of your child's age, schooling and vaccinations. That is why school belongs in the same month as housing, and families often choose their home based on the school district. The vaccinations Texas requires are covered in Vaccination requirements in Texas. Our guide shows how enrollment works.
Read more: Enrolling your kids in school →
4By day 60: health insurance and your first doctor
Health insurance is the item newcomers underestimate most, both the price and the deadline. In the US you do not sign up whenever you like, but within fixed windows.
4.1Your insurance
If you do not get coverage through an employer, your route to regular health insurance is the Marketplace at healthcare.gov. Moving to the US from abroad qualifies you for a Special Enrollment Period: you can sign up outside the annual open enrollment period, usually within 60 days of your move. Lawfully present immigrants, including those on a valid nonimmigrant visa, can buy Marketplace plans. From January 1, 2027, government premium subsidies will only be available to certain groups, including green card holders; if you come on an E-2 or L-1, you will no longer receive subsidies.
Do not leave a gap: keep travel or international health insurance in place until your US coverage kicks in. If you are older, also plan your path to Medicare. What coverage costs is covered in Health insurance in the USA: costs; which plan suits families, children, older people and retirees is explained in our guide by age.
4.2Find a doctor before you need one
Find a primary care doctor in your insurer's network while you are healthy. An emergency is the most expensive moment to get to know the system. The government site healthcare.gov gives examples of up to $7,500 for a broken leg and around $30,000 for a three-day hospital stay. For anything that needs quick attention but is not an emergency, there is urgent care. Our guide covers what doctors, dentists, urgent care and the ER cost, and how to protect yourself from surprise bills.
One hour with the firm: your case, your questions, a clear answer.
5By day 90: driver's license, car and insurance
You can drive on your license from home for a while, but not forever. Once you live in a state, you need that state's license, and the deadlines are short.
5.1Your state driver's license
In Texas you have 90 days after moving there, in New York 30 days. In Florida, if you drive, you must have a Florida license no later than 30 days after starting work or enrolling your children in school. California requires a California license for every resident who drives, and anyone who intends to live in California for at least six months a year counts as a resident.
Whether you have to take tests depends on the state and on the country that issued your license. Texas has an agreement with Germany: with a valid German license, the knowledge and road tests are waived. Florida, California and New York test everyone who arrives with a foreign license; New York also requires a five-hour course, and since February 6, 2026, Florida tests in English only.
Then there is proof of address. Texas accepts, among other things, your lease, utility and phone bills, bank statements and your car insurance. If you sign contracts at your permanent address in the first week, you will have your proofs together in time. Our article US driver's license without an SSN covers what to do if you have no SSN.
5.2Your car: buying, registering, insuring
You register a car in the state where you live. Texas gives new residents 30 days to do so, California 20 days. If you bring a car that was already registered in your name, Texas charges a flat $90 new resident fee instead of the 6.25 percent tax on the purchase price. Liability insurance with minimum coverage is mandatory everywhere, and the amounts vary widely, as the table shows. In New York, the DMV does not accept insurance from another state.
Our guide explains why a dealer must show you a Buyers Guide, how to check a used car's history and why financing can pay off even if you could pay cash. How much the car shapes everyday American life is the subject of Getting around in the USA.
| State | State driver's license | Tests with a German, Austrian or Swiss license | Registering a car | Minimum liability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | within 90 days of moving to the state | German license: knowledge and road tests waived (agreement); Austrian and Swiss licenses: both tests | within 30 days of moving to the state | $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident, $25,000 property damage |
| Florida | within 30 days of starting work or enrolling your children in school | Vision, hearing, knowledge and road tests, in English only | Registration with a Florida license, another state's license or a passport | $10,000 Personal Injury Protection and $10,000 property damage |
| California | Required for every resident who drives | Vision, knowledge and road tests | within 20 days of moving to the state | $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident, $15,000 property damage |
| New York | within 30 days of moving to the state | Knowledge test, five-hour course and road test | at the DMV, only with New York insurance | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, $10,000 property damage, plus $50,000 no-fault |
Sources: Texas Department of Public Safety, Moving to Texas; Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, New to Texas; Florida Statutes §§ 322,031, 322.12, 320.02, 324,022, 627,736 and FLHSMV, press release of 30 January 2026; California DMV, Driver's Licenses and New California Resident, California Insurance Code § 11580.1b; New York DMV, Moving to New York, Drivers from Other Countries, Insurance Requirements; NY Department of Financial Services. Accessed 24 October 2026.
6In the background: credit history and taxes
Two things start running on day one, even if you only notice them later: your credit history and your tax obligations.
6.1Your credit history
In the US, landlords, utilities, insurers and car dealers all check your creditworthiness. They usually know nothing about your credit record back home, so you start from zero. Your credit history grows with on-time payments on accounts and cards that are reported to the credit bureaus. The sooner you start, the sooner better terms open up. Find out how it works in US credit score for immigrants and US bank account and US credit.
6.2Taxes in the year you arrive
You become a US tax resident in one of two ways: with a green card or through the Substantial Presence Test. The test requires at least 31 days in the current year and 183 days over three years, with days in the previous year counting as one third and days in the year before that as one sixth. That is why, in the year you move, you are often resident for part of the year and nonresident for the rest. How to file for the arrival year is explained in The arrival year in US tax and 1040 or 1040-NR.
Once you are resident, you also report your accounts back home. If their combined value exceeds $10,000 at any point in the year, an FBAR is due by 15 April of the following year, with an automatic extension to 15 October. It is easy to forget, because nothing about the account at home has changed. What has changed is who you are for US tax purposes.
Credit for your company and for you, built step by step.
7Everyday life: what's different
Beyond the forms and deadlines, there are the things nobody writes down because Americans take them for granted: how much to tip, which holidays the country celebrates, which number to call in an emergency and how much a gallon is. Once that feels natural after three months, you have arrived. We have collected the key differences, with humor and with numbers. For the view of a German who has lived in Texas for a long time, read These Americans are crazy.
Everyday paperwork also includes what not to do. Foreign nationals may not vote in presidential or congressional elections, not even with a green card; anyone who does commits a crime under 18 U.S.C. § 611. Proof of address, notaries and apostilles are covered in the guide to everyday paperwork, which you already know from the start of this list.
8And if you go back one day
Nobody moves to America planning to go back. Still, it pays to give it a thought within the first 90 days. Keep your documents from home safe. The guide to returning shows how moving, driver's licenses and taxes work in the other direction.
9The 90 days at a glance
The table sums up the list. It follows the logic America sets: status first, then address, then everything that depends on the address. Stick to that order and after 90 days you will have a home, insurance, a driver's license, a car and the start of a credit history.
Whether moving to the USA is the right decision for you at all is best settled before the first of these 90 days. If you are still deciding where to go, see the country for yourself first: meet people who already have these 90 days behind them, and look at neighborhoods, schools and cities before you sign a lease. And if you want to plan your move as a whole, from the visa and taxes to the order of your first steps, talk to us in a consultation.
| When | Item | What it depends on |
|---|---|---|
| before you fly | Original certificates and diplomas, driving record, medication with a prescription in English, deregistering at home, papers for your dog or cat, declaring household goods | Residence and authorities at home |
| week one | Check your I-94, get a US number via prepaid SIM or eSIM, open an account, temporary housing | Passport and visa |
| from day 10 | Apply for a Social Security Number if you are allowed to work | I-94 and work authorization |
| by day 30 | Permanent home, power and internet in your name, school enrollment, report any change of address to USCIS within 10 days | Lease |
| by day 60 | Take out health insurance, choose an in-network primary care doctor | Special Enrollment Period of 60 days |
| by day 90 | State driver's license, buy, register and insure a car | Two proofs of address, SSN, insurance |
| in the first year | Build credit history, check tax residency, FBAR for accounts back home | On-time payments, days in the US |
Sources: summary of this page; deadlines per SSA, Social Security Numbers for Noncitizens (Publication 05-10096); USCIS, Change of Address; healthcare.gov, Special Enrollment Period; Texas DPS, Moving to Texas; IRS, FBAR. Accessed 24 October 2026.
- Before you fly, what counts are the papers you can only get at home: original certificates, your driving record, prescriptions in English, deregistration and the documents for pets and household goods.
- In week one you check your I-94, get a US number and open an account; if you are allowed to work, apply for your Social Security Number no earlier than ten days after arrival.
- By day 30 your home, power and internet are in your name. Those bills double as your proof of address for the driver's license.
- For health insurance, you usually get a 60-day special enrollment window on the Marketplace after you move.
- In Texas you need a Texas driver's license by day 90; in Florida and New York the deadline runs out after just 30 days.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to do in my first days in the US?
Check your I-94 on the CBP website, get an American phone number via prepaid SIM or eSIM, and open an account. If you are allowed to work, apply for your Social Security Number ideally no earlier than ten days after arrival, as the Social Security Administration (SSA) recommends.
When do I need an American driver's license?
Once you live in a state, its deadline applies: in Texas 90 days after moving, in New York 30 days, in Florida 30 days after starting work or enrolling your children in school. Everything by state is in the guide Converting your driver's license.
Can I get a Social Security Number as a newcomer?
Only if you are allowed to work in the US. If you come on an immigrant visa, you can apply for it together with your visa application. If you are not allowed to work, you won't get an SSN, but plenty of everyday things work without one.
Can I get health insurance right after I move?
Yes. Moving to the US from abroad opens a Special Enrollment Period, usually of 60 days. During that time you can take out Marketplace coverage outside the annual open enrollment period.
How do I get an apartment and electricity without a credit history?
With other forms of security: an employment contract, bank statements, a higher deposit, a guarantor or rent paid in advance. For electricity in Texas, the deposit is capped under the regulator's rules. More in the guides Renting an apartment and Phone, internet and electricity.
How we help you
- ConsultationOne hour with the firm: your case, your questions, a clear answer.
- US Bank Account OpeningYour own access to the American financial system, even without an SSN.
- Credit BuilderCredit for your company and for you, built step by step.
- Visa RoadmapIn writing: which visa fits you and your family, prepared with the immigration attorney on the firm's team.
- Your US Tax ReturnForm 1040 or 1040-NR, handled in English.
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