Home>Travel to USA
If this is your first extended trip to another country, you may be a little nervous. Don't worry! The tips in this section will help make sure you arrive in one piece and with all your luggage.
Packing
Before You Leave
Air Travel
Budget/Student Travel
Customs and Immigration
The following checklist will help you make sure you haven't missed anything important.
Money, credit cards, checkbook, traveler's checks, financial records (copy of bank statements and list of account numbers), PIN codes for your bank cards Emergency Money (keep US$100 hidden somewhere on your person in the event of an emergency) Clothing, including shoes, coats, cold weather clothing, and rain gear Official academic transcripts and English translations Medical and dental records, including immunization and vaccination records and prescriptions, eyeglasses, insurance records Marriage certificate and birth certificates for all family members Passport and plane tickets, Form I-20 National and international driver's licenses, International Youth Hostel Card A list of the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of key contacts, both in the US and at home, including the contact information for friends and family who live in the US Books, including a dictionary and phrase book Business cards
Academic documents, such as the school's course catalog and other material you received from the school
You should bring enough money with you to cover your first month's expenses until you are able to transfer funds from abroad. This will be at least US $1,500, but probably more (look at your budget to be sure). Make two photocopies of any important document. Leave one copy at home, and bring one copy with you, but keep it separate from the originals. It might be worthwhile to bring several spare sets of passport photographs in case you need to get a new passport or visa. The following items may seem inconsequential, but you will find them very useful: pen and pad of paper, safety pins, paper clips, sewing kit, extra buttons, nylon cord, first aid kit, alarm clock or watch, calculator, flashlight, spare batteries, plastic bags, and duct tape. Also a small lock for your luggage. Label your luggage inside and out with your name and your university's name and address. If your luggage is lost in transit, this will help the airline return it to you. Needless to say, critical documents, medines, and other supplies should be carried in your carry-on luggage. Your carry-on bag should also include one change of clothing. It can be very expensive to transport a lot of belongings. It is better to buy what you need in the US. If you decide to send your belongings separately, your main options are by boat and by air. Shipping items by boat takes longer, but is also about half the cost of sending them by air. Allow 8 weeks for items to arrive by boat, or one or two weeks for items shipped by air.
Before You Leave
Before you leave, let the international student advisor know about your travel plans and expected arrival date. Likewise, give your family members who are staying behind your contact information in the United States. Attend the US Information Service's pre-departure orientation session. It will provide a lot of helpful information. Find out about any income tax filing requirements for your home country before you leave. If your parents or guardian will not be handling your financial affairs in your absence, arrange for an appropriate 'power of attorney' for the person who will be taking care of your affairs. Likewise, you may need to arrange for absentee voting for elections while you are in the US. Visit your doctor and dentist before you leave. Tell your doctor about your trip, so he or she can give you any required inoculations. Also arrange for an eye examination, so you can carry an up-to-date prescription in case you need to replace your glasses or contact lenses. Don't forget to reconfirm your reservations 72 hours before departure, and to arrive at the airport early.
Air Travel
When purchasing your tickets, always ask about APEX (Advance Purchase Excursion) fares, which offer significant discounts for tickets that are purchased several weeks in advance. If you will be traveling extensively around the US, ask your travel agent or airline about Visit USA. These discount tickets are offered by many major US airlines, including American, Delta, Northwest, TWA, United, and US Airways, to travelers from abroad. Visit USA tickets must be purchased before departing for the US. You will most likely arrive in one of the following gateway cities: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. These cities have the most international flights. Other airports may have direct flights from selected countries. If your ultimate destination is elsewhere, you will need to take a connecting flight after you exit immigration and customs. Processing through immigration and customs can take up to two hours or more, so allow sufficient time to make any connections. Keep in mind that air travel covering more than a few time zones often results in a disorientation called "jetlag". Your body will initially have trouble adjusting to the time shift. During your flight, avoid caffeine and alcohol, but drink plenty of water. After you arrive at your destination, it is important to go to sleep at the normal time for your destination, and to walk around in the bright morning sunlight after you wake up. Most people take about 3 days to recover from jetlag. The major US airlines are as follows:
For travel to the US, you should compare the fares on several major international carriers. Sometimes the US airlines are cheaper, and sometimes the major carriers serving your country are cheaper. You may also wish to check prices with a consolidator (also known as a "bucket shop"). Consolidators can often offer significant discounts over the published fares.
Budget/Student Travel
Several US travel agencies specialize in student, and budget travel, including international travel. These include:
The International Student Travel Confederation (ISTC) is the organization that sells the International Student Identity Card (ISIC). Their web site includes a list of the more than 6,000 discounts available to holders of the ISIC card and a list of locations worldwide that issue the card. For more information, send email to istcinfo@istc.org. They also provide a home page for the Student Air Travel Association (SATA). There are also several guides to discount travel on the web. The most popular guides are:
The Air Traveler's Handbook was written by the author of this site, and offers a lot of advice on finding inexpensive tickets for air travel.TripAdvisor provides information about cities, hotels and attractions worldwide. It is a useful tool for learning basic information about your destination.
Customs and Immigration
When you arrive in the US, you will have to go through Customs and Immigration. They will ask you questions about your purpose for visiting the US. Your answer should be "Student". Keep your answers simple and direct. If they want to know the name of the school, tell them the name of the school, without any extraneous information. If they want more information, they will ask additional questions. For more information see the US Customs Service web site, which includes the brochure Customs Guidelines for Visitors to the United States. Immigration laws can also be found at the US State Department web site. You may also be asked whether you are bringing in any food. Do not bring any food with you. Food you received on the plane should be left on the plane. It is forbidden to bring perishable foodstuffs, such as fruit, vegetables, and meat, or plants into the US. Also forbidden are articles made from certain protected species of animals. For more information, see the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) web site. If you bring in more than US$10,000 in US or foreign currency you must declare the amount to customs upon entering or leaving the country. If you use medications that contain narcotics or which are administered by syringe, carry a signed prescription from your physician with the medicine. Also tell your physician that about your upcoming visit to the US, since he may have to prescribe alternate medications. (Some controlled substances are prohibited, even in medicine.) Penalties for smuggling narcotics are severe.