Start Here: New to the United States
A first-month orientation guide for families, workers, students, and sponsors helping someone settle in the U.S.
Category: Start Here
Audience: Refugee, Asylee, Parolee, TPS, Student, Worker, Mixed-status family
Source status: verified
Official sources
First 72 hours
- Confirm safe housing for at least two weeks.
- Save emergency numbers in your phone.
- Keep identity documents in a dry folder and create secure photo backups.
First month priorities
- School enrollment plan for children.
- Transportation routine to work, school, and health appointments.
- A trusted legal-help list before any application or interview.
- A weekly budget for food, phone, rent, and transit.
What to avoid
- Paying strangers for “guaranteed” immigration outcomes.
- Sharing full case files in social media groups.
- Signing papers you do not understand.