[codegeek]

Plenty of people have already replied about the challenges. I would like to add a few tips that would help a lot as an immigrant.

1. The moment you land in America, you need to try and get a Social Security Number (SSN). As a legal immigrant, you can get this by applying either yourself or through your school/employer etc.

2. Once you have SSN and a decent proof of Address (lease/school letter), go and apply for a local State ID at your local Motor Vehicle Agency. You probably won't be able to geta Driver's License right away BUT many people don't know that you can get a State Identification Card or State ID which is really useful for ID purposes. Carrying your passport everywhere for ID if needed is very inconvenient and frankly opens you up for more scrutiny unfortunately. Get a State ID.

3. Go to a local bank/credit union and ask them for a secured line of credit. In other words, they will ask you to deposit something like $500 and in return give you an actual credit card (not a debit card). This will help you build credit slowly over time. Don't wait for this. Do it as soon as you can. Debit cards in US will not help with building a credit score.

Once you have these in order, you will find it much easier to get other things done.

As an immigrant to the US who is now a citizen for many years, I can tell you that most Americans are friendly and want to help but there is a lot of ignorance as well. Racism etc exist but it is not as common. What really hurts the immigrants is the ignorance and knowledge gap that Americans in general have especially if they have never travelled outside. But most mean well and you just have to be patient and get your ducks in a row. All the best.