Moving to the United States from South Africa

No national ID card, no single portal, and fifty different DMVs — the U.S. runs on a patchwork of federal and state paperwork you have to assemble yourself.

Social Security Number vs. ITIN

If you’re authorized to work in the U.S. (H-1B, L-1, O-1, a green card, etc.), your first stop is the Social Security Administration (SSA) for a Social Security Number (SSN) — it’s free, takes about 2–4 weeks to arrive by mail after you apply in person, and unlocks everything else: payroll, bank accounts, credit, leases, phone plans. You need it to get paid legally, so apply in your first week. If you’re not eligible to work (a dependent spouse on some visa types, or someone who needs to file U.S. taxes without work authorization), the IRS issues an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead via Form W-7 — it doesn’t authorize work and won’t build a credit file the way an SSN does, but it lets you file taxes and, at some banks, open an account.

State ID and the REAL ID Act

There is no federal ID card. Every state issues its own driver’s licence or state ID, and as of 2026 REAL ID enforcement is fully in effect at TSA airport checkpoints — a standard, non-compliant state licence will no longer get you through security for a domestic flight; you need either a REAL ID–marked licence (look for the star in the corner), a U.S. passport, or another TSA-accepted federal ID. Get the REAL ID version when you apply for your state licence to avoid a second trip to the DMV later.

The driver’s licence maze

This is one area where the U.S. is genuinely more complicated than most countries: there is no federal driver’s licence and no uniform rule for exchanging a foreign one. Each of the 50 states sets its own rules, and those rules often depend on which country issued your original licence. Some states (e.g., many with reciprocity agreements) let residents from certain countries swap a foreign licence for a local one with just a vision test; others require you to pass a full written and road test regardless of your home-country experience. There is no central list — you have to check your specific state’s DMV/DPS site. Budget several weeks and $20–$100+ in fees, and don’t assume your home-country licence, or even an International Driving Permit, will be honored for more than a few months as a visitor.

Opening an account is straightforward once you have an SSN or ITIN — building the credit history that actually gets you approved for anything is the part nobody warns you about.

Opening your first account

Major banks (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi, HSBC) will open a checking and savings account for a newly arrived visa holder, but almost all of them want an SSN or ITIN plus a U.S. address and a government photo ID. If you’re arriving on a confirmed job offer, a handful of banks let you get ahead of this: HSBC’s Premier / international arrival program and Chase International both allow certain visa holders (H-1B, L-1, and others with an offer letter) to open an account before landing or within days of arrival, sometimes using an existing relationship with HSBC in your home country. Outside those programs, expect to wait until your SSN/ITIN paperwork clears — typically 2–4 weeks after you apply.

Typical fees

Monthly maintenance fees on standard checking accounts run $0–$25, usually waived if you maintain a minimum balance (often $1,500–$2,500) or set up direct deposit. Out-of-network ATM withdrawals commonly cost $2.50–$5 per transaction (plus a fee from the ATM owner). Overdraft fees, historically $30–$35 per incident, have been shrinking or disappearing at major banks under regulatory pressure, but check your specific account’s terms — they still exist at many banks.

The credit history problem

This is the single most underestimated part of relocating to the U.S.: your credit history does not transfer. Two decades of perfect repayment in Toronto, London or Singapore means nothing to the three U.S. credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) — you start at zero, exactly like an 18-year-old opening their first account. A thin or nonexistent credit file, not bad credit, is what quietly makes life harder: landlords, cell phone carriers and even some employers check your FICO score (a 300–850 scale built from payment history, amounts owed, length of history, new credit and credit mix), and “no history” often gets treated worse than a mediocre score.

Rebuilding from scratch

The standard fix is a secured credit card: you deposit $200–$500 (sometimes more) as collateral, which becomes your credit limit, use it lightly, and pay it off in full every month. After 6–12 months of on-time payments, most issuers either graduate you to an unsecured card or your score is strong enough to qualify for one elsewhere. Some newer fintech products (e.g., cards aimed specifically at newcomers, or ones that factor in bank-account cash flow instead of credit history) can shortcut this, but availability varies. A few large banks will also consider your foreign credit history from certain countries through third-party services, though this is inconsistent and shouldn’t be counted on.

The U.S. has no simple points-based system and, as of 2026, no digital nomad visa — nearly every path runs through an employer, a family member, a lottery, or a multi-year queue.

H-1B: the default, and its 2025–2026 turmoil

The H-1B “specialty occupation” visa remains the main door for skilled employment migration: an annual cap of 65,000 regular slots plus 20,000 reserved for holders of a U.S. master’s degree or higher (85,000 total), allocated by electronic lottery each spring for an October start. Employers register candidates for about $215 per registration, and only registrants selected in the lottery may file the full petition. In September 2025 a presidential proclamation attempted to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions for beneficiaries outside the U.S. — a dramatic jump from the previous few-thousand-dollar cost. That fee has had a turbulent life: a federal court in Massachusetts vacated it in June 2026 as an unauthorized tax, the government appealed, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals declined to reinstate it in July 2026, leaving it blocked as of September 2026 — but the underlying appeal is still pending and could change this again. Confirm the live status directly with an immigration attorney or uscis.gov before budgeting for a petition.

Other major employment categories

L-1 lets multinational companies transfer managers, executives or specialized-knowledge staff (L-1A/L-1B) from an overseas office to a U.S. one, with no annual cap and no lottery — you just need at least one year of qualifying employment abroad first. O-1 covers people with “extraordinary ability” in their field (sciences, arts, business, athletics) and is also uncapped, though the evidentiary bar is high. On the permanent side, employment-based green cards run through five preference categories: EB-1 (extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers, multinational executives), EB-2 (advanced degrees / exceptional ability, often via PERM labor certification), EB-3 (skilled workers and professionals), EB-4 (special categories like religious workers), and EB-5 (investors, roughly $800,000–$1,050,000 depending on the project’s location).

Family-based immigration and the country caps

Spouses, parents and minor children of U.S. citizens are “immediate relatives” with no annual numerical cap and the fastest timelines (roughly a year). Everyone else — adult children, siblings of citizens, and most relatives of green-card holders — falls into capped family preference categories (F1–F4) that are further limited so no single country can take more than about 7% of the visas issued in a category each year. That per-country cap is what produces the U.S. system’s most notorious backlogs: Filipino and Mexican siblings of U.S. citizens (F4) can wait 20+ years, and Indian-born applicants in the employment-based EB-2/EB-3 categories commonly face waits well over a decade because so many qualified applicants are competing for the same capped share.

A federal wage floor that hasn't moved since 2009, employment you can lose without cause, and — for most visa holders — a job that is legally tied to the employer who sponsored you.

Minimum wage: one federal number, fifty realities

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25/hour since July 2009 — the longest stretch without an increase since the wage floor was created. In practice, this number is close to irrelevant in most cities, because states, and often individual cities, set their own higher minimums that override it wherever they’re higher. Roughly 30 states plus D.C. now exceed the federal floor, some dramatically.

Always check the specific state and city where you’ll live and work — the gap between the federal number and a place like Seattle or New York City is nearly threefold, and it materially changes what an entry-level job actually pays.

At-will employment

This is one of the sharpest cultural differences for newcomers: in the U.S., most employment is “at-will,” meaning either the employer or the employee can end the relationship at any time, for almost any reason (or no reason), with no notice period and no severance required by law, as long as the reason isn’t illegal discrimination or retaliation. Compared to countries with mandated notice periods, severance formulas, or works councils, this is a real shift — there’s no default entitlement to warning, cause, or a payout when a role ends. Employment contracts, union agreements, or specific state/city laws (a small but growing number require notice for mass layoffs, like the federal WARN Act at 100+ employee firms) provide some of the only exceptions.

Visas are tied to the employer

Most U.S. work visas — H-1B, L-1, O-1 — authorize you to work only for the specific petitioning employer. Lose that job and you don’t automatically lose status immediately: H-1B holders currently get a 60-day grace period (or until the end of authorized status, whichever is shorter) to find a new sponsoring employer who files a new or transferred petition, change status, or leave the country. But that clock is real and short, which means a layoff on a work visa is simultaneously a job search and an immigration deadline — something citizens and green card holders never have to think about.

Unemployment insurance

Unemployment benefits are administered at the state level, funded by employer payroll taxes, and vary widely in amount, duration (commonly 12–26 weeks) and eligibility rules — there is no single national program or amount. Crucially, most visa holders whose status is tied to a specific employer are not eligible for unemployment benefits even though their employer paid into the system, since drawing benefits generally requires being authorized to seek any work, not just work for the sponsor who let you go.

Public school is free but funded by local property taxes, meaning quality tracks your zip code closely — and higher education and childcare are both genuinely expensive by global standards.

Public K-12: free, but uneven

Public school in the U.S. is free from kindergarten through 12th grade and enrollment is a matter of your residential address — you’re assigned to the public school (or district) that covers where you live, and typically need proof of address (a lease or utility bill) plus immunization records to register. The critical thing to understand: American public schools are funded heavily by local property taxes, which means school quality, resources and outcomes can vary enormously between two towns 10 minutes apart, or even between school zones within the same city. Researching the specific school district — not just the city — before signing a lease or buying a home is one of the most consequential things a relocating family with kids can do; school-rating sites (like GreatSchools) are commonly used for this.

Private school

Private K-12 tuition varies from roughly $8,000/year at parish or community schools to $30,000–$60,000+/year at elite independent day schools, with boarding schools higher still. Families sometimes choose private school specifically to opt out of a weak local public district without having to move.

University: in-state, out-of-state, international — three different price tags

U.S. public universities charge dramatically different tuition depending on residency: roughly $11,950/year for in-state students at a public university, versus $31,880/year or more for out-of-state students — and international students are generally charged at or above the out-of-state rate, often with no financial aid eligibility, since most U.S. federal and state aid programs are restricted to citizens and permanent residents. Add room and board (typically $13,000–$15,000/year) and a public out-of-state or international student is realistically looking at $45,000–$50,000/year. Private universities average roughly $45,000/year in tuition alone, pushing total cost with room and board toward $60,000+/year at many schools. This is genuinely one of the most expensive higher-education systems among wealthy countries — budget for it years in advance if you’re relocating with kids who’ll eventually attend a U.S. university, or research need-blind aid and merit scholarships specifically for international applicants at your target schools.

Childcare: notably expensive

Childcare is one of the costs that catches newly arrived parents most off guard. The 2026 national average for full-time infant daycare is about $332/week, or roughly $17,264/year — in high-cost metros (San Francisco, Boston, New York) this routinely runs $25,000–$30,000+/year, on par with private-school tuition, and there is no federal universal childcare subsidy. A small dependent-care tax credit and some employer benefits (dependent-care FSAs) help at the margins, but they don’t come close to covering the gap that public childcare systems close in many other countries.

There's no national housing market — rent for a comparable apartment can be three times higher in San Francisco than in Phoenix, and a landlord will want proof you're a safe bet without a U.S. credit file to check.

One country, wildly different housing markets

The U.S. has no unified national housing market — costs are set metro by metro, and the range is enormous. A one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco or New York City can rent for $3,000–$4,000+/month, while the same size unit in Austin, Phoenix or a mid-sized Midwestern city might run $1,100–$1,500/month. This single variable — which metro, and often which neighborhood, you land in — will affect your budget more than almost any other relocation decision you make.

Renting without U.S. credit

Most landlords and property management companies run a credit check as part of the application, alongside proof of income (commonly requiring gross monthly income of roughly 3x the rent) and a background/eviction check. With no U.S. credit history — the common situation for anyone newly arrived — you’ll typically be asked for one of: a U.S.-based co-signer or guarantor (someone with established credit who agrees to be liable if you default), paying several months of rent upfront (sometimes 3–6 months, occasionally the full lease term), or a larger-than-standard security deposit. Some larger buildings and newer platforms have started accepting international income verification or letters from a foreign bank/employer, but this is far from universal — ask explicitly during your apartment search rather than assuming you’ll be rejected.

Security deposits and move-in costs

A standard security deposit is one month’s rent in many states, though some states cap it (e.g., at 1–2 months) while others allow more, especially for tenants without local credit history or with pets. Broker fees are common in a few markets (notably New York City), where a tenant can be on the hook for an additional 1 month’s rent (or more) paid directly to the broker — a cost that surprises many newcomers who’ve never encountered a renter-paid broker fee before.

Utilities

Electricity, gas, water and internet are almost always set up separately by the tenant, not bundled into rent, and require the same SSN/ITIN and sometimes a deposit if you have no local utility payment history. Budget $150–$300/month for electricity and gas depending on climate and season (air conditioning in summer or heating in winter can spike this considerably), plus $50–$90/month for home internet.

There's no single U.S. cost of living — the biggest variable by far is which state and city you land in — and healthcare stands apart as the one expense category with no real equivalent in most other countries.

Cost of living is a metro-area question, not a national one

More than in almost any other country in this guide series, asking “what does it cost to live in the U.S.?” is close to meaningless without naming a city. Overall cost-of-living indices commonly show more than a 2x gap between the most expensive metros (San Francisco, New York, Honolulu, Boston) and the least expensive (much of the South and Midwest), driven mostly by housing but also touching groceries, transport and services. A grocery basket that costs $120/week in a low-cost metro can run $170–$200/week in a high-cost one; a monthly unlimited transit pass ranges from about $30 in some mid-sized cities to $132 in New York City.

Everyday costs

Outside of rent (covered separately), typical monthly costs for a single adult look like: groceries $300–$500, dining out highly variable but a casual restaurant meal averages $18–$25, a basic phone plan $30–$60, and gym membership $30–$60. Car ownership is close to mandatory outside a handful of dense cities with strong transit (New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, D.C.) — factor in insurance ($100–$250/month depending on state and driving record), gas, and parking, which can itself run $200–$400/month in dense downtowns.

Healthcare: the biggest structural difference

This is the category with no real equivalent in most other developed countries covered in this guide series. There is no universal public health system for the general working-age population; coverage is normally tied to your employer, who typically pays most of the premium and you pay the rest via payroll deduction (commonly $100–$400/month for an individual, more for family coverage). Plans still carry meaningful cost-sharing: average annual deductibles of $1,500–$2,000+ on many employer plans before insurance starts paying its share, plus copays and coinsurance on top.

If you lose your job, COBRA lets you continue your former employer’s exact health plan — but you now pay the full premium yourself (both your former share and the employer’s), often $500–$700+/month for an individual, for up to 18 months. The alternative is buying an individual plan on your state’s ACA marketplace (healthcare.gov or a state exchange), where costs depend heavily on income-based subsidies, and high-deductible health plans paired with a tax-advantaged Health Savings Account (HSA) are a common lower-premium, higher-out-of-pocket option. Whatever plan you choose, verify your specific doctors and hospitals are “in-network” — going out-of-network, even accidentally (a routine risk during ER visits, where you don’t always choose your treating physician), is the root cause of the notorious American surprise medical bill, where a single ER visit or hospital stay can generate bills in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars even for insured patients, though federal “No Surprises Act” protections since 2022 have closed some of the worst gaps for emergency and certain out-of-network provider bills.

Putting it together

Compared to most other relocation destinations, the U.S. isn’t simply “expensive” or “affordable” — it contains destinations at both extremes, and the two variables that matter most in choosing where to land are which metro area you’ll live in and whether your employer offers strong health coverage. Get both right and daily life can be comparable in cost to Western Europe or Canada; get either wrong and costs — especially an unexpected medical bill or a high-cost-metro lease — can escalate faster than in almost any other country in this guide.

South Africa versus the United States

The United States costs roughly 1.8× more to live in than South Africa, while average pay is about 3.2× higher. The gap usually works in your favour — but housing is where it bites hardest, so budget that first and everything else second.