IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT RELOCATION TO THE USA

 
Important Note : PathwayUSA provides relocation advice and assistance. We are not immigration lawyers or financial advisors and we do not provide legal or financial services in any shape or form. Neither do we provide visa-petition preparation or legal filing services. For professional legal and financial services, we refer our clients to legal and financial professionals that we have worked with for more than 15 years and which we have found to be reliable, trust-worthy and well-priced.

Our function is to educate you about as many aspects of relocation to the USA as we possibly can. We are providers of advice and information, acquired over many years of personal experience and research.

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LOOKING AT RELOCATION FEASIBILITY

#1 : TWO-hr Relocation Strategy Workshop Zoom Consultation :  MOST POPULAR OPTION
The US immigration laws are extremely complex and very rigidly applied with no room for error and it is therefor essential to select the visa or legal route that has the greatest chance of success. To better educate you about this, we need to know a lot about you and your family - academic qualifications, skills, ages, children, work history and work experience, finances and health. Without this information, we cannot offer an opinion as to whether you have any chance at all of getting into the USA or whether you will "fit" into the USA.   This is the Zoom-version of our 2-hr 1-on-1 face-to-face relocation strategy workshop. We'll educate you about all of the visa options and then work out the best strategy for you to follow when you meet with an immigration attorney (either your own or one of our "preferred" attorneys). You'll learn about the advantages and disadvantages of each of the visas, your own strengths and weakness in qualifying for a visa and your own "best-case scenario" and how to prepare for a meeting with your immigration attorney. Plus things like planning a Look-See-Decide (LSD) trip, reasons for opening a US bank account and buying a US property with a mortgage secured with your SA credit. Our forte is educating you about non-immigrant versus immigrant visas, dual-intent versus non-dual-intent visas, B1/B2, H-1B, L-1A, L-1B, O-1A, O-1B, EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-5, and NIW visas.

#2 : ONE-hr Relocation Phone Consultation
"Pick-our-Brains-for-Advice-and-Assistance". So you want an overview of all the visa options and you have loads of questions about how to do things. Everything and Anything. Call us - we've been there, done that, learned from our mistakes. Learn the hard way, like we did, or let us guide you and advise you.

#3 : 30-minute Relocation Phone Consultation
"Pick-our-Brains-for-Advice-and-Assistance". So you have loads of questions about how to do things. Everything and Anything. Call us - we've been there, done that, learned from our mistakes. Learn the hard way, like we did, or let us guide you and advise you.

#4 : ONE-hr Consultation on Building a Credit Score and purchasing an investment home through the Foreign National Property Investor Program (FNPIP)
In the USA, a good credit score is essential. Without it, everything from insurance to health-care to vehicle finance to mortgage rates, and even cell-phone costs, are more expensive. While you can start building your credit score once you get to the USA, this will be a slow and expensive process which can take 2 years or more. Smart people start this process BEFORE they even get to the USA - while you still have your foreign credit history intact. This consult will teach you how to accelerate the process of establishing a great credit score within just a few months of arriving in the USA. Also a range of tips to maintain and enhance your credit score.

#5 : Opening a US Bank Account
We have an arrangement with a FDIC-insured commercial bank to open personal bank accounts for non-resident foreign-nationals. We do this online so you don't need to come to the USA or even have a US address to get a US bank account. These accounts can be sole-accounts or joint-accounts. A US bank account is essential if you want to get a US mortgage and purchase an investment property in the USA.

#6 : Buying an Investment Property In the USA : The Foreign National Property Investment Program (FNPIP)
The best and fastest way to build a US credit score is with a property mortgage. We get you a US mortgage (based upon your foreign credit history), we find a good investment property, you fund 30 to 35% of the purchase price from your US bank account, we find a tenant to rent the property and cover the mortgage payments, taxes and insurance. Essentially you are paying a third of the purchase price - the tenant is paying the rest. We also offer a Property Management Service if required.

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PLANNING YOUR LOOK-SEE-DECIDE (LSD) TRIP

#7 : Application for a Tourist Visa to the USA 
You MUST have a visa to enter the USA. Certain passports enjoy visa waiver status. SA Passports require a B-visa. You can do this yourself or we can educate you through this process. If you are denied a visa to enter the USA, future applications may be more difficult.

#8 : Planning a Look-See-Decide Trip to the USA
Relocating to another country is a major step. It can be stressful. Before making any decisions about relocation, we strongly recommend that you do an LSD trip to educate yourself about living and working in the USA. While you may have visited the USA for a vacation, an LSD is something totally different - now you are not a sightseeing tourist. Now you are looking at the practicalities of living and working in the USA.
We help you plan this trip so as to get maximum benefit. Our services are primarily educational - you will learn about life in America, schools and universities, how the banking system works, the importance of a credit score, how to buy a house and a car, how utilities work, how to get a social security card, how health-care works, how to get a driver's license, how to get car insurance. Essentially how to do things the American way without making mistakes that are generally costly. You will see houses at different prices and how houses are built. And you'll experience shopping in America and how to get real bargains -- "Only tourists pay retail". Once we know what your priorities are, we will plan your itinerary for your consideration and approval.  The fee includes :

• LSD itinerary planning,
• getting you acclimated into the USA,
• 1 to 2 days accompanying you and showing you around for you to get your 'bearings',
• then pointing you in the right direction to do your own exploring.

If needed, we will arrange for you to spend a day with a realtor to look at houses that suit your schooling requirements (schools are zoned in the USA) and your budget. And we will educate you about getting a mortgage. Thereafter we give you directions and you start exploring. If you want a bit more hand-holding (some do), we can do this.

Ideally you want a full week for an LSD trip. But the longer you stay, the more you will learn and the more you can get done.

Suggested Available Activities to include in your LSD Trip

• Pre-School Visits for under 5yr-olds;
• School visits Public &/or Private Schools Elementary, Middle & High Schools;
• University / College information;
• Attending Networking events to meet other US business people;
• Attending Social events;
• City Tours;
• Meet with a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) regarding US Taxes;
• Charlotte Chamber of Commerce visit;
• Shopping experience and how to make your Rands go much further;
• Why you DON'T rent in the US!
• A Real Estate experience to view properties with a licensed realtor;
• Visit residential neighborhoods to consider property prices and properties within your budget;
• Set up an MLS portal to view properties online before you arrive;
• Meet a Mortgage broker to discuss your finances for a home;
• Explanation about Foreign National Property Investor Program (ie buying a home in the USA using your South African credit);
• Learn about power, water, gas & internet utilities;
• Visit big-box & essential stores like Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy, Costco, Sams Club, Walmart, Harris Teeter;
• Explanation about Credit score establishment;
• Meet other South Africans living here;
• Learn about cost of living in the US;
• The Do's and Don't's of American living;
• Sightseeing around the NC and the Charlotte Metro area;
• Visit to a Place of Worship;
• What to pack and what to leave behind;
• Explanation about how the various visas work and what is happening in US Immigration;
• General discussion about living in America in general and in Charlotte in particular;

 
Excluded LSD Activities (These are billable extras if our involvement is required - see Add-Ons below))
Involvement with Resume Preparation, Meeting Recruiters / Head Hunters, Meetings with Prospective Employers, Meetings with Business Brokers, Meetings with Business Owners wanting to sell their companies, Business Meetings in your area of business, Meeting with Franchisors / Franchise agents. Involvement with visa-qualification specifics.

#9 : Real Estate Educational Experience
Buying a home in the USA is highly regulated and very different from other parts of the world. Once we have an idea of your housing needs, size of home, number of bedrooms, special features required, proximity to schools, approximate price-range, etc, our Realtor will prepare a list of available properties, within your price range, and also some slightly above and some slightly below your price-range - all in different neighborhoods. He will also provide you with an internet MLS portal for you to view properties before you arrive in the USA for your LSD. He will explain the house-buying process, how buyers and sellers agents work and how the "closing" works. He will take you to view houses and neighborhoods and answer all your questions. 

Should you wish to purchase a North Carolina or South Carolina home in the USA, WHILE STILL LEGALLY A RESIDENT OF SA, this can be done under our Foreign National Property Investor Program. With a 30-35% deposit, your foreign credit is used to qualify you for your mortgage in the USA. You are essentially buying an Investment / Second Home, in the USA. But you can only do this while you are still a non-resident of the USA. Then once you have taken transfer of your new property, you do with it whatever you choose OR hand the keys to our Realtor who will endeavor to find a tenant for your property at the best possible rental rate.   Please Note : The standard rental in the USA is 12 months and more. Short-term rentals of less than 12 months are less common, so you have a better chance of getting a tenant to cover your mortgage payments if the property is available for 12 months rental and more.

#10 : Resume Preparation & Job Hunting Assistance
If you are going to be looking at employment opportunities, preparation is essential. America is not asking for you. You have to sell yourself to America. And to do this, you need to package yourself with an "Americanized" resume and to get in front of decision-makers. We know the people and we can get you in front of them. While we don't promise to find you employment, we increase the chances of success. Our services include :

• helping you "Americanize" your resume,
• we set up appointments for you with a number of head-hunters & job-sites (once you arrive in the USA),
• we introduce you to and set up appointments with our industry contacts (once you arrive in the USA),
• and we plug you into our extensive range of personal business contacts,
• we help you plan interview strategies,
• if needed, we help you customize your resume for each interview. 

#11 : Establishing a US Corporation 
If your relocation planning requires the establishment of a company in the USA, we check name availability and register a North Carolina C-Corporation (similar to a Pty Ltd) and the IRS, open a corporate bank account, set up internet access, secure a company check-book, provide the registered address, serve as registered agent & treasurer, open a set of financial records on QuickBooks (if required) and manage the company until you are able to assume control of the company. A secretarial/management fee to oversee the statutory and regulatory requirements of the corporation is billed quarterly in advance and endures until you are in a position to assume control of the corporation. At the end of the fiscal year, we ensure that Federal and State tax returns are prepared and submitted by a CPA (Certified Public Accountant).

Should the corporation be actively trading, and you decide that you need someone on the ground locally in the USA to provide secretarial, administrative or other business services, these can be provided.

* We only provide this service in North Carolina. Under US law, the registered agent of a corporation must be resident in that state. If you want your corporation registered in another state, you will need to retain the services of an attorney or CPA in that state to do this for you.

Very Important : We have absolutely no business relationship with suppliers that we refer you to. We earn no commissions or introductory fees from these suppliers. We are referring you to them NOT for any personal or financial gain, but only because we have used them ourselves and find them to be solid, reliable and competitive.

 

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NEW ARRIVALS IN THE USA

#12 : New Arrival Help-line
Ever heard of Murphy's Law? For new arrivals, crises will happen. And in many forms. And at the most inconvenient and inopportune times. Getting inoculations for your kids, a midnight medical crisis, how to save money on car insurance, questions about your visa, what are you allowed and not allowed to do. The list is endless. Think about how often you go to Google for answers about everyday life. Well, PathwayUSA is your "Google for Immigrants". After more than 20 years in this country, and having worked with hundreds of immigrant families, we've become quite knowledgeable about everything that impacts the lives of new immigrants.
You can do this in one of two ways :
1. You can book and pay for a Zoom or phone meeting with us. We offer these in 30-minute or 60-minute sessions to "Pick-our-Brains" about anything and everything.
2. Pay-as-you-Go. Lodge a deposit with us and we'll automatically bill that deposit for time and services provided - this will give you the benefit of being able to call 24/7 without having to book and pay in advance.