New 2 U.S

Monday, April 20, 2009

[New 2 U.S:144] Re: suggestions to buy a car

Hi,

I have my Toyota Avalon car 1998 model.Milleage is 1.3 lacs.It is in very good condition.I came to india and not planning to come over there.It is very very nice car with leather seats.

Pls let me know if you need it.I can promise u that it has no probs and very good condition.

Thanks,

Balaji.

On 4/20/09, sagar g.v <mydearsagar@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi,

I want to buy a car. My current settings are like this::

Budget: $4000 (+ or -)

Nothing specific about model or company...etc

Requirements: Should be able to move here and there 60-80$ on a given day without any problems.

Re-sale: I want to use it for 12 months. Then I am ok to bare 500$ loss during re-sale.

I am able to get the list of the cars available in craigslist, but I wanted to know what are the specifications I need to look for ? what are the details/steps to proceede with ?

Any suggestions/guidelines/steps please ..........

Regards

GVS

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India 2 USA (Checklist): The following items are required for you, where as all others you can buy them here.

1. God Photos: I’m starting with this as a good sign, bring God photos as u like and pooja needs (Sandal wood powder you will not get here,Termaric powder,Sindhur,Agarbathi initially).

List of Documents for H1B/F1/L2/H4 (Checklist ):

Below are the list of documents for H1b/F1/L2/H4 1.Copy of Passport Provide legible copies of ALL pages of your passport. Including ALL blank pages. 2. Copy of SSN card If one has.

Social Security Number (SSN):

SSN is Most important ID in U.S.A, so S.S.N is the first thing which we need to apply after we landed here. To find the nearest location of the Social Security Office you can use http://www.mapquest.com/ . SSN will be used for Identification purpose as well as for Tax purpose. You can apply S.S.N any location (Irrespective of the place you landed).

Mobile Communication - Cellular Phones:

Initially when you come here its difficult to pass time or share information unless you are really busy in other works. If you come on H1b through any small consulting company, most of them would not be placed in project till you have S.S.N. As i told you earlier it will take 3-4 weeks to get it after you landed here. So mobile is essential thing to be in touch with friends for any urgent information or help. Till you get your mobile, to talk with in U.S and Canada you can download and use (www.adcalls.com) .You can use this only to call within U.S and Canada,even i'm not aware how long this site works as long as it works it's really helpful to you.

Bank Account - Debit Card:

Savings account - To have any bank account, we need to have 'Savings a/c' first, its mandatory to open any other account in most of the banks. Savings account policies will change from bank to bank. In some banks at least 5$ should be there to open savings account, for some banks it would be 25$. We can't use savings account regularly, there is some restrictions on number of times to use.

Driving License:

Driving License is very important in U.S. International Driving Permit (I.D.P) will be accepted by lot of states in U.S.A , with that we can drive for some time without any issues and I.D.P can be used when we rent a car as well. If you have I.D.P with in one day you can get the complete driving license in U.S (Learner's Permit & Driving License).

Credit History -really matters:

Try to get credit card as soon as possible (If you have a chance, try with your employer). In my case i got the credit card before i got the S.S.N through my employer reference. Some of my friends told me that we can get secured credit card by depositing our money in advance.

Rental cars:

There are lot of companies which are providing the renal cars services in the U.S. Here i am trying to mention some of the most popular companies (given below) which are offering the rental car services. You will get the better deals on weekends and in holiday seasons. Better to check the corresponding websites for better deals and availability and make the call to the nearest branch to get the more details about the rent and other charges.

Kitchen needs: 1. Floor Cleaning :

For Wood floor: One of the best brand we know is Bissell vacuum cleaner without bag, it costs around 15$ to 20$
For Carpet : Some of the brands we know is Dirt devil with bag and as well as Bissell vacuum cleaner with / without bag (Bissell without bag would be small and filled frequently so it will suit more for wood floor than for carpet ).
Broom : We can get broom for sweeping kitchen in Indian stores it will be for 2-3 $, depends upon the state rates might vary some times.

Living room needs: 1) Lights : Will get in Home depot, lowells, walmart, sams.If you want tubelight for better lighting you can buy that too in walmart and can keep above the blinds 2) Chairs : office chairs for use will be available in office depot,office max,walmart, sams, chairs for house hold use will be available in walmart,sams , costco 3) Phone : for land lines it's best to go for vonage , rocketVOIP.You need internet for these two. Some of the available internet providers are At&t, bell south, version wireless, Comcast. 4) Laptop : we can buy laptop in bestbuy, circuit city, compu usa, online sites.

Bedroom needs: 1.Bed or Mattress: We have to choose this according to the size of our cot. Available Sizes :

Crib This is a bed for babies of width 28" and length 52"
Twin Bed This is also called single bed with width 39" and length 75"on which kids can sleep
Double or Full beds are 15" wider than a Twin, but if two share the bed, each has only 27" of personal space, much less than a twin!

Restroom needs: 1) Rest room tissues : Will be available as bulk in sams , Costco, walmart, target, publix, kmart 2) Bursh stand : Will be available in walmart,dollartree, kmart, target 3) Clorox and Lysol for cleaning bath rooms: we can get these in sams , Costco, walmart, target, publix, kmart 4) Brushes for tub and other cleaning: We get these in walmart,dollartree, kmart, target

Personal needs: 1.Shoes : Its difficult to suggest particular company name, since its depends on individual choice. We can get more discount if we buy in outlet shopping malls (factory outlets). Check out Sketches,Nike,Puma,Adidas,Reebok.

2. Wallets: You will find these in Leather / Woolen shops.

3.Pants (Formal & casual wear) : Check out in Kohls, Dillards,Jc penny,Macys, Sears,Target,Marshalls,Ross ,Berlington coat factory,Tjmaxx, Wal-mart.

Bapuji's Parents Visa Exp [At Chennai]:

Sharing my parents Visa interview experience with you all…

1.To get HDFC DD(Rs:4000 for each person) - 2 to 3 days 2. Book the appointment at Chennai cons. through Visa site - 2 months 3. You have to be at consulate in 2 hours prior to interview.

Flu shots - Influenza (FLU) Vaccine:

Inactivated Influenza Vaccine (Flu) -Why get vaccinated ?

Influenza (Flu) is contagious disease. It is caused by the influenza virus, which spreads from infected persons to the nose or throat of others. Other illness can have the same symptoms and are often mistaken for influenza. But only an illness caused by the influenza virus is really influenza.

Credit Card [0% APR] from Bank of America:

If you are looking for the credit card, then its right time to apply in Bank of America for 1 year 0% APR. If you are already customer of Bank of America then there are more chances of getting credit card.

Consultancy Selection (Precautions while choosing an Employer): Choosing an employer is the most significant thing in anyone’s professional career, that too especially in U.S we should be very cautious while selecting consultancies. Out of mine and my friends experience with consultancies, my sincere advice to the people who are applying for H1b is, think several times, pay extra attention and make a wise decision when selecting consultancy.

Payroll Process: Since most of the people will come from big companies from India, definitely payroll process of the consultancy seems different here. Most of the consultancies never pay salaries when you are out of project/on bench, of course it’s really hard to digest for the new comers but its known fact to everyone and most of the people are working in the similar way. Of course there are very few consultancies which are paying from the first day you land here irrespective of whether you are into project or not.

H1b Visa Documentation Process: After employee chosen right consultancy, then we need to submit all the below documents to the consultancy either through Fax / by Scanning them for H1b processing.

For educational evaluation advocate may take 2 weeks to 6 weeks, since its not possible to have direct contact with the advocate we will get updates only through the consultancy people.

Buying a Car ?: In India its not necessary to buy a car since we will have very good transportation facility, but in U.S its almost compulsory to have a car. Though we have good transportation such as Subways, Commuter trains and buses in some cities, its required to have a car. Of course it may be difficult to buy a car immediately after you come here, since we won’t get auto loan easily. Here I am trying to give some tips for the people who are planning to buy a car: Initially our major concerns are what car we need to buy and budget of the car.

How to fill DS-156 Application Form: Question pattern is same as how they are appearing on DS-156 application form. You can easily refer the same number with the form. ( ) - Indicates that possible answers. [ ] - Indicates that explanations by me.

How to fill DS-157 Application Form: Question pattern is same as how they are appearing on DS-157 application form. You can easily refer the same number with the form. ( ) - Indicates that possible answers. [ ] - Indicates that explanations by me.

A Complete guide of H1b Visa Process: Once you receive all the required documents from your employer then you can start booking the slot in the corresponding visa embassy. You can book the slot immediately after your h1b petition approved but if anything delayed from your employer in sending the required documents then it will be tough time to postpone the slot again.

Tips for successful stamping:

Better to schedule an visa interview at morning, it will be more useful to attend the interview with more activeness and to avoid unnecessary delays in interviews.
Ready with all the required documents before you start. Better to carry only with the required documents, don’t weigh unnecessary laguagge.

List of Documents from U.S Employer for H1b Visa:

List of Documents needs to be received from your Employer before you go for Visa interview:

Company Photos (It would be good if you have bunch of photos in & around of U.S company (Consultancy), which you are going to work for).
Company Broacher (Physical documents on which company detailed will be printed).

Slot Booking for H1b Visa Interview: HDFC Bank fee receipt: You need to carry your passport to pay the Visa fee in HDFC bank. [Go to any HEFC branch and ask for Visa interview form, just fill it out necessary form and give your passport and need to pay 130$ now].

Important Days (Dates) in 2008 of U.S.A:

Jan 1 - New Year's Day
Jan 21 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Money 2 India:

After you decide which service to use to send the money to

India

, you need to give the personal details and register in the corresponding website. While you are registering you need to give the remittance account (remittance account is nothing but account from which you are planning to send money to India) To get the confirmation from corresponding bank on registration process it may take 1-3 days, confirmation and will comes by mail (which you have provided during registration).

Driving License Transfer: One state driver’s license is not valid in other state, so we need to transfer the license to the current state by surrendering the other state license, when change from state to state.

Driving License - Written Test (Sample Paper):

Written Test Questions:

1. With the exception of intermediate permit, if our driver license expires

(a) Cannot drive legally

(b) Can drive during day light

(c) Can drive when valid licensed driver accompany you

Ans: a

How to take Car (auto) loan: Through this article I would like to share my experience on how to take car loan?

Which bank is good to take auto loan: There are many companies which offes auto loans, but choosing a bank is very important thing to get easy loan for lesser APR (Annual Percentage Rate). Comparatively Credit Unions are very good, since we will get for lower interest rates. I know very few credit unions such as Northwest Federal Credit Union (NFCU) and Digital Federal credit Union (DCU) in the list of largest Credit Unions Network.

U.S Time Zones: In U.S 'Day light saving Time' will change 2 times in U.S, It will start from second Sunday at 2:00AM (one hour will be pre-poned) in the month of March and Daylight saving Time will end at 2:00AM (one hour will be postponed) of the first Sunday of the November month.

U.S States & Capitals: 01-Albama-AL-Montgomery 02-Alaska-AK-Juneeau

Partial Secure Credit Card from Bank Of America:

What is Partial Secure Credit Card (Bank of America): In case customer not having the required credit history then he can't eligible to take the Credit card, instead he/she is eligible to get Partial Secure Credit card from Bank of America worth of $500 (Earlier there was Secure Credit card Only from bank of America).

U.S Postal Service (USPS): What is U.S.P.S ? United States Postal Service, its a government postal service. Comparative to other postal services its cheaper. If you want to post any documents or package: Go to www.usps.com and find the nearest location by giving your ZIP code and go to the post office and use the service.

Health Insurance in U.S: 1. What do you mean by health Insurance?

Health Insurance is nothing but an insurance that pays for individual medical expenses.

2. How to obtain that?

It may be purchased on a group basis by a company to cover its employees or purchased by individual consumers (very few people take individually since for most of them only employer will provide). In each case, the covered groups or individuals pay premiums or taxes monthly, to help protect themselves from high or unexpected healthcare expenses.

U.S Auto Companies:

Acura
Alfa Romeo
Asuna
Audi
Austin Martin

Fedex: How to take Xerox: If you want to scan or take Xerox of any documents Fedex kinkos and Staples are the places where you could get it done. For this findout the nearst locations of the Fedex Kinkos or staples stores online from their websites and get the directions to the corresponding location through map quest or Google maps. Since no one help you there to take the xerox of the documents, initially it will be difficult to do for us.

Rent a House: Project to Project we will move to lot of places, renting a home is big pain in U.S since we are not sure about the project duration. Are you not sure about the project duration then it would be good to rent a house for short term. Normally you can rent a house month to month / 3 months / 6 months /1 year . Normally for 1 year lease monthly rent will be less, if you take for shorter periods then we need to pay more.

DVDs Rental: If you want watch movies at home then Netflix and Blockbuster are the good options. You can register through online to any of these services. They will offer you 2 weeks trail, if you dont satisfy then you can withdraw the service before the limited time as per their terms and conditions.

Casino - Place of Gambling in U.S:

What is a Casino: Casino is the place where certain types of gambling activities takes place.In U.S they are legal to play gambling if you are age is more than 18. Casino's are combined with hotels, shopping, cruise ships and restaurants, bars and other attractions. In some states there is a restriction that casino should be only on water these casinos are called river casinos, thats why these buildings are constructed near to the rivers, or on boats.