Your first weeks in America: SSN, health insurance and a credit history from zero

America has no population register and no registration counter, but it does have something that surprises newcomers more often: a system that only trusts you once you have a past — and that past you don't have. This is the order that works fastest.

The Social Security Number

The SSN is your American citizen service number: without that number no salary, no tax return, no loan, and at most banks no interest-bearing account. Applying is free. If you come with an immigrant visa (green card), you can have it applied for during the visa application already — tick that box, and the card lands on the mat by itself within a few weeks of arrival. If you come with a work visa such as E-2, H-1B or L-1, you arrange it after arrival: start online and then visit a Social Security office with your papers. After approval the card takes another five to ten working days. If you don't get an SSN (yet) but do have to file, there's the ITIN — purely a tax number, not a work permit.

Health insurance: a clock of sixty days is ticking

This is the most important step of your first month. If you're employed, the insurance usually runs via your employer — the most common route, and at once the reason Americans cling to their jobs so much. If you arrange it yourself, you buy a plan on the marketplace of healthcare.gov, where lawfully present immigrants can simply go. Watch the timing: normally you can only sign up in autumn, but moving to the US counts as a qualifying life event and opens a Special Enrollment Period of sixty days. If you miss it, you sit without cover until the next enrolment round.

Count on American amounts. The average benchmark premium is around $625 per month per adult (2026), and that's before the excess: the deductible you pay yourself first, the copay per visit, and a legal ceiling on out-of-pocket costs that stands at $10,600 per person in 2026. At lower incomes the premium tax credit reduces the premium considerably — but the pandemic-era expansion of it ended at the end of 2025, so calculate with current rates and not with stories from friends who went five years ago.

Bank account and the credit problem

Good news: opening an account is possible without an SSN too — banks accept a passport plus a second document, though an interest-bearing account is sometimes not possible then. The real obstacle is the credit score: a prediction of your payment behaviour, built up from your American past. That past is zero, and you notice it right away — when renting a home, switching on utilities and even with a phone contract you may be asked for a hefty deposit.

So start building in week one. The proven route is a secured credit card: you deposit for example $500 yourself and may spend up to that amount. Use it lightly and pay it off in full on time every month — payment behaviour is by far the weightiest factor. A credit builder loan at a bank or credit union works similarly. After six months or so you have a score that opens doors.

Renting, driving licence and school

Landlords run a tenant screening report with your credit data, rental history and sometimes employer verification. Without history they ask for a higher deposit — keep money aside for that. If you're rejected on the basis of such a report, you're entitled to a free copy and to correction of errors.

Your driving licence is a state matter, and the deadlines are short: California requires a licence of its own within ten days of settling, New York within thirty days. And unlike in Europe, exchanging isn't on: with a Dutch licence you simply take the theory and practical test again in both states (New York even takes in your Dutch licence at the practical test). Plan that early — in most states a car isn't a luxury.

For the children the opposite of all this hassle applies: every child in the US is entitled to free public education, regardless of status. You enrol with the school district of your home address, with proof of that address and the vaccination records — so bring the Dutch vaccination booklet.

One thing Dutch people often miss

Once you're a tax resident of the US, you have to report your Dutch bank accounts every year as soon as they together exceed $10,000 at any moment — the FBAR report with FinCEN, separate from your tax return and even if the account yielded nothing. Hefty penalties stand on failure. Whoever keeps their Dutch savings (sensible) thus has to fill in one extra form a year. Put it in your calendar next to the tax return.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to America.