Working in the US

xenicuslongpipe

Hi all,

If you would all be so kind I have a number of questions regarding working in the US I would very much appreciate an answer to. Without further ado...

Im off to work in the US on an L-1B Visa at the end of the month.

My company wants to pay into my UK account in GBP and let me handle transfer to my US account and USD.

So to my questions:

1. Am I going to be worse off doing this than I would be if money was paid directly into my US account from our US branch in USD?

2. As a L1-B can I get a US bank account? If my salary is being paid directly into a UK account will this have any affect on my getting a US bank account?

3. Likewise can I get a US credit card? Again if my pay is going into the UK and being transferred will this cause a problem?

4. Finally if anyone has any recommendations on how I should be handling this please let me know.

Thanks for your time.

hammy_the_hammer

nationwide ...open a flex account (for cash ) and a nationwide credit card (for purchases ) . set it up so you pay off your credit card in full each month from your current account
please search this forum and site for all info on nationwide regarding foreign currency etc

xenicuslongpipe

Can't get a Nationwide CC unfortunately as I was rejected for a CC earlier this year when I wasn't on the electoral roll. Guess I can still get a flex account though.

jenniferpa

You will find getting a bank account in the US much easier than in the U.K. The L1B visa entitles you to a social security number. With that and another form of ID you will be able to open a bank account virtually anywhere (credit scoring is not commonly carried out for bank accounts). Actually the law says you don't need a SSN to open a bank account, but banks don't necessarily know this. Whether you would be better of being paid in $ in the US or in £ in the Uk depends on a number of factors. Exchange rate (generally the dollar has been weaker against the £ over the recent past, however interest rates are rising in the US at the moment. Fees for money transfer (will you have more bills in the US or more in the U.K.) However, if you have any intention of coming back to the U.K. do not let your U.K. bank account lapse. Taxation - you'll be expected to file a U.S. tax return and a U.K. tax return, although there are reciprocal tax agreements in place. On balance, I would think it would be more straightfoward to be paid in the U.S., although whether it makes sense from a financial point view only you can decide. Depending on where you are located an offshore version of a U.K bank might work for you, but it does depend on location - banking is set up on a state by state basis, so there are lots of different banks in different places.

On the whole credit is much easier to obtain in the U.S. There are a wide range of different format credit cards (pre-pay or very low limit or tied to an account up to very high or no limit cards) A bank account will offer you a debit card, and then provided you manage your account effectively for 6 months or so, you won't be able to move for credit applications.

Don't forget to apply for a US driver's license within 6 months (most states) as you can get one without taking another test within that period. Not that the US driver's test is at all difficult (my 16 yo son has just passed his, God help us all).

If you have any other questions post them and I'll see if I can answer them (I'm a UK expat living in the US)

Jennifer

zappahey

xenicuslongpipe wrote:

1. Am I going to be worse off doing this than I would be if money was paid directly into my US account from our US branch in USD?

Maybe. It certainly means that you're carrying all of the risk of exchange rate fluctuations. If the dollar strengthens then you get less US cash each month. Obviously, the reverse also applies.

hammy_the_hammer

a consideration will also be what you need to do financially in the uk . if you get paid in the us would you have to transfer money back to the uk to pay bills etc.?
also how long will you be in the us for ?

xenicuslongpipe

hammy_the_hammer wrote:

a consideration will also be what you need to do financially in the uk . if you get paid in the us would you have to transfer money back to the uk to pay bills etc.?
also how long will you be in the us for ?

I need to pay my rent and bills in the UK myself. My US rent and bills are being paid by our US branch. So yes if I were payed completely in the US I would have to transfer money back.

Im going to the US for 6 - 12 months but returning to the UK every so often for short periods.

Cook_County

1. I assume that your employers are obtaining a certificate of coverage to keep you in the UK National Insurance system.

2. From what you are saying you will become resident in the US for US tax purposes but also remain UK resident for UK tax purposes. Both countries (plus potentially a US State) will tax you on worldwide income. You could claim potentially the closer connection exception to the US residence rules, so saving paying US taxes, but this is possibly not going to be the cheapest answer. A better answer may be to arrange to be treaty resident in the US for the time that you are there. The overall answer will be improved by detached duty and away from home deductions for rent and commuting costs. Overall I suspect that you could save several thousand pounds of your money through getting good tax advice before you leave.

hammy_the_hammer

i'd go for the nationwide account then for cash and look into the credit card ...could your company help you obtain a cc in the us ? i forsee problems of getting a us credit card as you won't have any history there