First Time in USA

First time
In continuation of the section on General Information, this page will have some more information for the New Students.

Carry Baggage The Arrival International Stops Immigration
Baggage Claim Domestic Flights Using Telephones Using Public 'Pay' Phones
Bank Accounts

Carry Baggage

The carry baggage is the biggest problem while coming to U.S. What to carry? How much to carry? Do I carry more woolen clothes because its cold out there? Well, we all think, it depends!! Usually Airlines allow 2 bags of 32 kg each and a carry bag of 10kg. These days the rules have changed a bit, so you are better off checking with the specific airlines or the travel agent. Don't carry too many heavy utensils, cooker etc. You can buy most of the utensils here. They are not costly and you don't have to carry much. You can carry some spices with you if you want to, because after coming here you will definitely miss the wonderful taste of Indian food . Don't carry too many warm clothes (unless you are coming here in winter), or sports shoes etc. It would be better if you buy them after coming here. That way you can buy the latest style! It would be nice if you can get all your leather goods from India,like, shoes,belt,wallet etc.Leather goods are very expensive here. You will find some more details on the FAQ page too. Rest, it all depends on you and your needs !!

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The Arrival

Enjoy your flight. Try to learn more about other nations from the co-passengers. Of course, don't pester them!It is really exciting to know someone from an entirely different part of the world. There can be international stops on your way to the U.S.

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International Stops

Generally passengers are required to get down at an International stop, which might be for Security checkup or cleaning of the airplane. You will be given a 'transit card` or say 'transit visa`. Normally the halt is for a couple of hours. Listen to the announcement, which is always made before the international halt. You will hear information about departure time, gate number etc. After getting down at Intl. Airport, you can move around in the airport. But be at the gate within 45 minutes of your flight's departure for the onward journey, because they may require checking your tickets etc. Once you get in, you are all set to take off for the final destination.

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Immigration

The first thing you need to go through at the port-of-entry U.S. airport (international airport where you first land in the U.S.), after landing is the immigration and customs clearance. After which you may board a domestic flight to reach your final destination. Before getting down at your port-of-entry final international halt, inside the plane, you will be given a form to fill up called I-94. SPECIFY MSU`s CONTACT NUMBER, ADDRESS AND OTHER OFFICIAL INFORMATION AS YOUR CONTACT NUMBER, ADDRESS WHERE YOU WILL STAY etc.
On alighting from the plane you may ask people or signs will guide you to the immigration. Keep your passport, I-20 (School & Student Copy) & Filled up I-94 copy ready. Make sure you take I-20 (Student copy) with you after getting it stamped by the immigration officials. At the counter you might be asked some questions. TALK ABSOLUTELY TO THE POINT. DON'T TRY TO LIE. MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER YOU SAY IS WRITTEN ON THE PAPER. Also don't panic, answer calmly. You will be given the counter foil of I-94 form. Keep that very carefully. It looks very small but here the size doesn't matter. You don't want to lose it in any circumstance. And say to yourself "WELCOME TO USA".

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Baggage Claim

In some airports, you need to pay for the baggage trolley. Try to acquire some 25 cent coins (called "quarters"), for getting a trolley cart for your baggage and also for making telephone calls etc. Thereafter move towards the baggage claim carousel assigned to your flight; simply follow the signs directing you to the place. Collect your luggage and look for signs directing you to customs clearance. At the customs Clearance they may ask you to open your bags for a security check/verification.

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Domestic Flights

Since the Port-of-entry may not be your final destination in the U.S. and you have to proceed onwards, locate the counter for the domestic airline you will be taking to your final destination. Above all don't hesitate or feel shy to ask for help from airport support staff (at information desks) or police officers, if you need anything. Follow signs directing you to your domestic flight because you will need a boarding pass. If it is far away, take the Airport shuttle (bus) service, which is free. If you don't know where to get down, tell the driver in advance and he will drop you off at the proper place. At the counter (podium) check-in your baggage and get your boarding pass issued and ready. On arrival at the final destination, collect your baggage once again and look around for that someone who may be there to receive you. If you don't find anyone or you already have specific instructions, follow those, otherwise call up (telephone) the MSU contact whose phone number you should be carrying. Therefore remember to KEEP PHONE NUMBERS HANDY. Get information from the MSU contact on the stay arrangements made for you. Finally, if no one comes to pick you up, try to locate the information counter from where you will get all the information regarding how to call for taxi and so on. Also the Public Transport section of this guide will help you in understanding the travel facilities available in the U.S.

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Using Telephones

The first thing you might do when you come to U.S.A. is call someone. So this is a good time to tell you about telephone usage. Telephone calls within U.S. are considered "local" (within the area of the caller) or "long distance" (outside the area of the caller). Local calls within a short region are free unless made from a public pay phone, which is a coin-operated machine. Long distance calls are charged at varying rates, depending on how you make the call (which long distance carrier/company you use), for how long you speak and the time of the day.
Note that the telephone companies in the U.S. are private. Each local region is assigned an "area code". So the phone numbers are denoted as (area code)-123-4567, where 123-4567 is your actual phone number. If you are calling a number within your "area" then you should dial only the phone number. If the call is outside your area you need to dial 1-(area code)-123-4567, which is the long distance call. Again, sometimes when the area code is the same as yours, you may still have to dial a "1" before the number without the area-code e.g. 1-<7-digit phone number>
To make an international call i.e. to India you need to dial 011-91- CODE>- e.g. 011-91-22-1234567. Here 011 indicates an international call. 91 is the country code for India. 22 is the "area code" for Bombay and 1234567 may be the actual phone number you want to dial. Other important facilities provided are

Yellow pages (Tel. directory) advertisements and telephone numbers of businesses.
Emergency Telephone Number:
There is one emergency number that you can dial for any type of emergency which is 911 (Fire/Ambulance/Police).
Directory assistance
Toll free
Most of the 1-800 numbers are toll free. You will not be charged for the calls you make to such numbers. Some telephone numbers have alphabets in them such as 1-800-COLLECT. To dial this number, just press the digit on the telephone pad which has the corresponding alphabet you want to dial on it, simple!.

Most people use answering machines, which are connected to their telephones, or some kind of voice mail system. It has a standard pre-recorded greeting which is played when you call up and then after some beeps, it records your message. Initially you will feel like you were talking to a dead person, but soon you realize the importance of owning an answering machine. We bet you'll buy one too!.

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Using Public 'Pay' Phones

The important difference is, you need to insert the money first then dial the number. To operate a pay phone you need 35 cents. This pays for one local call. If your call is not connected your money is returned in the "coin return" slot.
COLLECT call - If you want the called-party (person whom you are calling) to pay for the call then you make a collect call. To make a collect call, pick up the receiver and press 0. Let the operator know that you want to make a COLLECT call, the operator will connect you to the phone number you need. But before that the operator will check with the other party if they want to collect (pay for) the call. An easier way is to dial 1-800-COLLECT from any phone and just follow the recorded instructions.

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Bank Accounts

They are basically of two types:
Savings a/c (with interest) and Checking a/c (with NO interest) Generally most people open a Checking a/c at first. To open an account you need a Social Security Number (SSN), however since it takes a week or more to get the SSN, one can request the bank to verify the passport and open the a/c. Later, do remember to inform the bank once you receive your SSN.
Then there are concepts like minimum balance which is either NO or YES (It is better to open an a/c with NO MINIMUM BALANCE otherwise you have to maintain the specified minimum amount always in the account). Another one is the overdraft facility (This allows you some amount of overdraft. This might be beneficial in some cases, such as when the monthly salary is not received on time and the house rent, phone bills etc. have to be paid.)
There are various kinds of check/cheque books available that one can choose from, such as the kind of colored paper and printed background design on paper etc. Usually a set of 200 checks bound together in books of 20 each, is sufficient for 6 months. But it depends on how many checks are issued by you and at what frequency. The first checkbook is given by the bank immediately on opening an account, the other 200 checks are mailed to you at the given address. The next thing is to ask for an ATM card. This allows you to withdraw money 24 hrs. from any ATM machine of the bank or related ones.
Some banks charge money to issue an ATM card and the first set of check/cheque books. Something like $5.00 for the ATM card and another $10.00 for the first 200 checks (10 books of 20 pages each). But most banks do not charge anything. The whole procedure of opening an account takes about 10-15 mins. A few shops/gas stations etc. ask for a valid photo-id when payment is made by check. This is just for verification. (A photo-id could be a U.S. driver's license or an actual ID-card which is issued by the local Dept. of Motor Vehicles office.
Small payments such as $1.25 etc. too can be made by check and it is not absurd to do so. People carry very little or no cash on person. Most of them make their payment by Credit card or check. But it is advisable to carry about $10.00 in cash at all times to cover emergency needs. Of course you will have to always carry your checkbook around. The following style is used to write the amount in words on the check. Say for e.g. the amount to be paid is 35.47 then you would write:
Amount in words $ : THIRTY FIVE & 47/100 ----

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