USA: Current Residents
From Foreignliving
This article aims to provide helpful information to those currently living in the US. Also see information for prospective visitors, and city-specific information on various cities.
The information below is divided into sections for easy navigation. When these sections become large, they should be moved to their own pages. In the meantime, feel free to make inline changes.
Contents |
Credit History
(Could someone explain the whole credit history business? why does it matter? who calculates it? how to have a good credit history? are those free history providers a scam?) All of your bills, bank accounts and credit cards are connected to your Social Security Number. By not going default on any of your transactions (bills, accounts, Credit card) you build your credit history. This is the level of trust system has developed in you. If you are a very trust worthy person your insurance rates go down becuase it is expected that you will not default also you get better deals on credit cards and pretty much all transactions. You are entitled by US law to request your credit history two times each year for free. This allows you to verify that all accounts, credit cards and transactions against your history are really your own. If someone steals your personal information and is able to fool the system and open an account or credit card in your name, he can use your trust worthiness to take away a lot of money from the banks and agencies. Looking at the history you will be able to identify the fraud. The companies that provide credit history try to trick you into giving you a first free credit histoy and then send you more histories (like every month) and charge you for it if you fail to cancel this service. Many people forget to cancel and hence those companis end up making a lot of money.
Travel Related Information
Travel Agencies
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Traveling within the US by Air
- SideStep (http://www.sidestep.com/air/): searches several services and finds the lowest fare.
- Students Fly Cheaper (http://www.studentuniverse.com/)
Traveling within the US by Car
(Add car rental agencies information here, and possibly with advice on which is the cheapest etc, which offers better services etc.)
(Need info on travel-along type transport options where you can take a ride with someone going your way and pay them.)
Economical Means of Calling to Pakistan
Calling Cards
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Using Telephone Codes (without card)
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Internet-based PC-to-Phone
Note: PC-to-Phone mechanisms require access to a computer and appropriate software.
Voice over IP Buster or Internet Calls Both seem to be identical down to the software used, except for the name and the color-scheme.
- As of Dec 2006, the rate to Pakistan land-lines and mobile is 6.6 cents/minute (7.7 cents/minute including VAT). Calls to North America and several European countries is free.
- The rates can be found at http://www.voipbuster.com/en/rates.html
Skype
- As of January 2, 2006, the calling rates to Pakistan landline and mobile numbers has been reduced to 11.6 euro-cents (~15.3 dollar-cents) per minute (http://support.skype.com/?_a=announcements&_m=details&_i=21) (not sure if this is with or without tax).
Online Communities & Mailing Lists
(Add here if you know of any)
Visa Related FAQ
Feel free to add questions or contribute with answers.
- Q: How do you change visa category?
- A:
- Q:
- A:
Job Resources and Mailing Lists
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Miscellaneous Information
Pakistani Embassy
(Insert mailing-address, email-address and other contact information here)
