Relocating to the United States with your family
A state, not a country, for schools and insurance. A child born in the United States is a citizen. The parents are not.
Who this is suitable for
Families with a work visa, a posting, or another status counsel has named, who know which state they will live in. Not a fit for a birth trip, and not a fit for ‘America’ without a city.
Visa and residence
H-1B, L-1, E, O, and immigrant visas are counsel’s words. They are not interchangeable, and several of them are capped or tied to one employer. We do not file them and we do not suggest a visitor visa as a way to wait inside the country. The family’s status is derivative of the principal in most work cases.
Family residence
A spouse and children need dependent visas or status. Work rights for the spouse exist in some categories and not in others. Ask before you assume two incomes. Ageing out of a child’s status is a real calendar for teenagers.
Work
The visa specifies the employer and often the job. A side activity can violate status. Remote work for a foreign company while living in the US is a question for immigration counsel and a tax lawyer together. We will not shrug at it.
Business
A US company is easy to form and does not give you a visa. The E-2 and other investor categories have rules and are counsel’s work. Forming an LLC to look settled is a waste.
Schools
Public school is by district, and the district is the address. Quality swings from one street to the next. Private and international schools in New York, the Bay Area, Houston, Miami, and Los Angeles are a parallel system with fees and tests. Start with the district if the stay is long.
Healthcare
There is no national health service. Insurance is through the employer, the marketplace, or a private plan. A birth without the right cover is a five-figure invoice, sometimes six. In-network hospitals matter. Choose the obstetrician and the hospital from the policy, not from a recommendation alone.
Housing
No national lease. New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles need income multiples and credit you may not have. An employer letter and several months of rent are sometimes the way in. We look for a home inside the school district, not a skyline.
Cost of living
The coasts are a different country from the Midwest on rent. Health insurance premiums and deductibles are a line Europeans forget. Sales tax is not included on the price tag. School, if private, can exceed rent.
Family-friendly areas
The school district is the area. Suburbs with a known district are why families leave the city centre. Name the metropolitan area before we name a street.
Safety
Varies by block. We will talk about the specific district’s ordinary risks, including guns in the public conversation, without turning a briefing into a lecture. A family that wants a security driver is a different mandate, and we say so.
International schools
Useful for a two-year posting. Less useful if you are staying and the public district is the reason you chose the suburb. Ask who pays, in the employment contract.
Birth abroad
A child born in the United States is a US citizen under the Fourteenth Amendment, including when both parents are foreign, other than the narrow diplomatic exception. The parents do not become citizens or residents. We do not plan trips whose purpose is the birth. If you already live in the US on a lawful status and a child is coming, we plan the hospital, the insurance, and both passports.
Birth registration
The state issues the birth certificate. A US passport for the child is a federal application and needs both parents’ cooperation. Your own consulate can also register the birth so the child holds your nationality as well, if your law allows dual citizenship. Social Security for the child is a separate errand.
Citizenship rules
The child’s US citizenship is real. It does not expire when your visa does. It also does not give you a green card. Parents who later want to immigrate because of a US citizen child face an age requirement on the child and a full immigrant-visa process. It is not a hospital product.
Parent immigration
A newborn US citizen cannot sponsor a parent. The child must be an adult before a petition of that kind exists, and even then it is a visa process with its own wait. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling a story. We will correct it in the first meeting.
Banking
A Social Security number or a reason you do not yet have one, a passport, and an address. Banks differ in how they treat new arrivals. We make the appointment. There is no informal account.
Property
Foreigners can buy. A mortgage without US credit is a specialist product. Title insurance and a local real-estate lawyer are the minimum. Do not buy to manufacture a feeling of status.
Business setup
An LLC or a corporation with a US lawyer and a CPA. Immigration status has to allow the role you will actually perform.
Transportation
A car is the country, outside a few city centres. A driving licence from your state is an early task. Car seats are a legal requirement, not a preference. Airport pickup for the landing.
Nanny and childcare
Daycare waitlists in large cities are long and expensive. A nanny is a household employer, with payroll tax. If you sponsor a nanny’s visa, that is an immigration file. We help you hire locally where that is the lawful path.
International health insurance
An international policy must be accepted by the hospital, or you use the employer plan. There is no general public fallback. Read the deductible before the pregnancy, not in the billing office.
Timeline
The visa is the critical path and can be a year. School district registration needs the lease. Insurance should start the day the visa starts. Do not ship a container to a state you have not been approved to live in.
Estimated budget
Quoted for the metropolitan area. New York is not Austin. Insurance, a possible private school, rent, and a car are the shape. Legal fees are paid to the immigration lawyer.
Documents
Passports, civil certificates, the employer petition, school records, vaccination records that meet the school’s list, and photos. The school nurse will ask for vaccines American records expect.
Professional partners
A US immigration lawyer, a CPA, the school district, the insurer, and a hospital in network. Daniel Okonkwo leads the New York desk for the family side. He does not file the visa.
Frequently asked questions
Is a baby born in the US a citizen?
Yes, other than the child of a diplomat. The parents do not become citizens or residents. A baby cannot sponsor a parent.
Can we come on a tourist visa to give birth?
No. We will not plan that. If you already live in the US lawfully and you are pregnant, we plan the hospital and the insurance.
Which state?
The one where the job and the school district are. Insurance, tax, and school are all state questions.
Book a family assessment
Tell us the passports, the children’s ages, and whether a birth is part of the year. We come back with a plan, or with a no.
This is family orientation, not a visa grant and not legal advice. Licensed counsel in the country confirms the rule before you travel, sign, or give birth.
