Review of the US as a non resident

Draft Disclaimer: Please note that this article is currently in draft form and may undergo revisions before final publication. The content, including information, opinions, and recommendations, is subject to change and may not represent the final version. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to refine and improve the quality of this article. Your feedback is valuable in shaping the final release.

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