Review of the US as a non resident

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50 states
- every state feels like a different country with own set of rules and regulations
- know federal rules as they applies everywhere
- know the state rules before entering the said state to avoid unwanted surprises
- If you like cannabis, do your research around legal usage of buying, carrying and smoking state laws
- Republicain vs Democrates states
- Choose your state based on the weather if you are staying for a year (ie mountains, desert, edging ocean)
- personal preference for the South East (Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Florida)
  - weather is nice
  - surrounded by my peers
  - EST timezone not too bad compared to PST
- Living in the city for the opportunities and the lifestyle (Downtown or Uptown)
- Living in Upstate when looking for a house for quality family life. New york city vs Upstate New York (ie Connecticut)
money / banking / financial apps
- open a bank account - proof of address - relative name on the bill: your relative proof of address - ask for a written confirmation from your relative that - two forms of identification (CNI + Passport)
- Cashapp
- Chase
- TD bank if in New York
- Paypal
- use PayPal for paying P2P services (ie facebook marketplace, offer up)
- zelle for instant interbank transfert but use only for friends and family not with strangers
restaurants
- chick fil a
- gusto
- longhorn
- fogo de chao Brazilian steakhouse
- chipotle
Different type of visas
- Tourism / Business B1/B2
  - up to 10 years validity
  - you are not supposed to live in the US there you are supposed to stay out of the US the majority of the time
  - good guideline is stay twice as much outside of the US before coming back. For example if you stayed for 3 months in the US, you probably should stay at least 6 months out of the US before coming back
  - non immigrant visa where you can stay up to 6 months but recommendation is not to come close to it
- National interest with EB2
- O1 visa for startup founders
  - long but simple process when broken down to steps
  - one year validity
  - renewable to infinity
  - path to EB2 either as self petition with your own company or some other
- Worker visa H1B
  - 3 years validity
  - renewable once
  - immigrant visa but tied to your employer. Losing your job means losing the visa too
- Every green card opens path to citizenship after 5 years (3 if married to a US citizen or 1 year after enrolling the US army)
  - physical presence requirement:
    - no trip out of the US longer than 6 months
    - you need to stay majority of the time in the US (ie 3 out of 5 years total)
  - As opposed to tourism visa, you supposed to spend more time in the US then out of it
  - not doing so, will void your resident status
Working
- make sure your visa allows you to
- nothing commercial unless it is via an LLC your create. See guide around LLC creation
- remote workers should be careful of what they disclose. Custom border patrol might consider your remote work while on the US soil as a violation ?
- get yourself an ITIN. Takes about 3-4 months (~$500-$1000) with your EIN after you created a business to build US credit
- with an ITIN you can work on a 1099 contract
- with an EIN you can work on Corp to Corp (C2C) contract