Moving to United States
Visas and residency, citizenship, tax, company and banking, cost of living and the places to live in the United States, in one place.
Northern America
Navid lived hereThinking about moving to the United States?
In the United States, I lived in New York, Los Angeles and San Diego.
Here's how long you can stay, the ways to live there for good, what you'd pay in tax and what everyday life costs, each figure from an official source.
In this guide, I'll show you:
- How long you can stay, by passport
- The visas and residency routes that let you live there
- How long citizenship takes
- How tax works, with the rates
- What it costs, and the internet and safety
- The best places to live
- The basics: capital, currency and languages
Pick your passport at the top of the page, and the stay rule shows for you.
TL;DRKey takeaways
United States at a glance
How long can you stay in the United States?
It depends on the passport you hold.
Here's the rule for the most common ones:
UK passport- Rule
- eTA before you fly
- Stay
- 90 days
EU passport (German)- Rule
- eTA before you fly
- Stay
- 90 days
Canadian passport- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 180 days
Australian passport- Rule
- eTA before you fly
- Stay
- 90 days
Indian passport- Rule
- Visa needed
- Stay
- –
For any other passport, pick yours at the top, or see every country on the visa-free countries map.
Visas and residency in the United States
These routes don't need a local job either:
- EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (golden visa (residency by investment)) – US$800,000 in a targeted employment area or infrastructure project, or US$1,050,000 elsewhere (petitions filed from March 15, 2022), and it can lead to permanent residency
See the investor routes side by side in the golden visa finder, and the ones for retirees in the retirement visa finder.
Citizenship in the United States
Naturalization takes about 5 years of residence.
Dual citizenship is allowed, so you can keep your passport.
Work out your own timeline with the second passport calculator.
Tax in the United States
The United States taxes its citizens on their income wherever they live.
See where it sits among every country on the territorial tax map.
The main rates:
- Lowest income tax band – 10%
- Top income tax rate – 52%
- Corporate tax – 21%
- VAT or sales tax – 12%
- Capital gains tax – 20%
Where you're a tax resident usually comes down to days.
Count yours with the 183-day rule calculator.
Company and banking
Compare the banks and cards that work for people abroad in the bank account finder.
Move money for less with the money transfer comparison.
Setting up a company here?
See the fees and yearly costs in company formation compared.
Many people who live abroad run a US LLC instead; check yours with the US LLC for non-residents checker.
Cost of living in the United States
Everyday prices in the United States are about 100% of US prices.
That's the World Bank's price level for 2025: its purchasing power conversion factor divided by the exchange rate.
It's close to US prices, or above them.
A night's stay in a whole place, by Inside Airbnb's median:
- New York – $208
- Los Angeles – $294
- San Francisco – $288
- Austin – $232
- Seattle – $314
- Chicago – $265
Convert what things cost with the currency converter.
Internet in the United States
In M-Lab's open speed tests across the United States over the last 12 months, half came in above 126 Mbps download.
The fastest quarter of lines came in above 327 Mbps, closer to a good fiber connection (227,168,194 tests).
By place:
- New York – 117 Mbps typical
- Los Angeles – 107 Mbps typical
- San Diego – 119 Mbps typical
- San Francisco – 113 Mbps typical
- Austin – 157 Mbps typical
- Seattle – 97 Mbps typical
- Chicago – 101 Mbps typical
- Miami – 115 Mbps typical
- Denver – 119 Mbps typical
- Honolulu – 80 Mbps typical
Test your own line when you arrive with my internet speed test.
The best places to live in the United States
- New York – I lived here
- Los Angeles – I lived here
- San Diego – I lived here
- San Francisco
- Austin
- Seattle
- Chicago
- Miami
- Denver
- Honolulu
Compare them with places everywhere in digital nomad locations.
United States: the basics
| What | United States |
|---|---|
| Capital | Washington |
| Currency | US dollar (USD) |
| Languages | English, Spanish, Hawaiian |
| Population | about 327.2 million |
From GeoNames' country data (CC BY 4.0).
More tools for the United States
- Passport index and compare passports
- Time zone overlap calculator for calls with home
- eSIM finder for data when you land
- Card fees abroad calculator before you spend
United States FAQs
It depends on your passport.
Pick yours at the top of the page to see the days, and whether you need a visa first.
Not that I've found in official sources as of 2026-09-29.
The digital nomad visa finder lists every country that has one.
Yes: EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.
US$800,000 in a targeted employment area or infrastructure project, or US$1,050,000 elsewhere (petitions filed from March 15, 2022)
About 5 years of residence.
Yes.
Check that your own country allows it too.
The United States taxes its citizens on their income wherever they live.
Check the details with a tax adviser before you move.
Everyday prices are about 100% of US prices, by the World Bank's price level for 2025.
Rent in the biggest cities can be higher than that suggests.
Half of M-Lab's tests there came in above 126 Mbps download over the last 12 months.
The fastest quarter of lines passed 327 Mbps.
The places I cover there are New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Austin, Seattle, Chicago, Miami, Denver and Honolulu.
Each has its own guide with the weather by month, internet and costs.
The US dollar (USD).
The main languages are English, Spanish and Hawaiian.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
Navid.me is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
Places to live in United States
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