About HKUAANE - HKU Alumni Association of New England (HKUAANE)

Transportation

MBTA pass for bus and green/red/blue/orange lines: http://www.mbta.com/

Get the free Charlie card at the T station, add value. Students or staff in hospitals may have discount in monthly card.

Pay attention to the inbound and outbound train platforms, it leads to opposite directions

Inbound is always toward downtown Boston, and Outbound is away from it. In the subway system, Inbound is toward four stations: Park Street, State, Downtown Crossing and Government Center. However, this can get confusing if you are already in the city and don't know which way you are going. At every stop it will name the stop, show the color of the line and say "inbound" or "outbound". Underneath the inbound/outbound sign it will say something like "to Lechmere" or "to Boston College" for example. these stops indicate the end of the line in the direction you are going. All you need to do is find a map of the T stops, find your stop and the stop you are trying to get to. check to see which stop is at the end of the line in that direction, then get on the side that has that stop listed under the inbound or outbound sign.

Useful bus/train tracking app: Smart ride

Uber: Uberpool (share with other strangers) is cheaper than taxi.

Ways to travel to New York:

4-5 hours commute travel: https://www.amtrak.com/home

4-5 hours bus travel but usually with heavy traffic, usually 7-9 hours https://www.megabus.com/

Bank

Pick the one close to your school / company / home

Bank of America

Santander

TD bank

Citizens Bank

What do you need to open a bank account (without a social security number)?

The USA Patriot Act says that all Banks, Credit Unions, and Savings Associations (and some non-federally regulated banks) must have specific steps for checking the id of anyone who wants to open up an account. The requirements are diﬀerent at each bank, but most banks want proof of:

Name
Date of Birth
Residential or business street address within the United States
Identification number

Name:

unexpired passport

birth certificate

consular ID card

government issued driver’s license

Date of Birth:

unexpired passport

birth certificate

consular ID card

government issued driver’s license

Street address:

utility bill

Army/Fleet Post Oﬀice box number

Identification number:

Social Security number

ITIN (individual taxpayer identification number)

Employer ID

If you do not have a Social Security Number you might be able to apply for an ITIN!

How to transfer money from Hong Kong?

You can go to a local bank (e.g. Hong Kong Bank; Hang Seng Bank etc) and purchase ‘Money Order’. The bank usually do not charge the handling fee if you have an account.

You can also wire money using Moneygram. Link: www.moneygram.com

How to apply for a credit card to shop online?

It is very different to apply for a credit card in US compared to Hong Kong.

Credit Score is required for the application of credit card in US. There is no credit for a new US resident. The new resident has to accumulate their credit score.

Ways to increase credit score:

1) Get a charge card: Usually you can apply for a Macy charge card in Macy Department Store. Although it looks like a credit card, you can only do purchasing at Macy.

2) Similarly, you can also apply for an American Express. If you have an American Express credit card in Hong Kong, you can negotiate to switch it to US.

3) One young alum's experience: I opened a CD deposit account in the credit union of the college that I worked. Then I negotiated with them to let me have their credit card. It took a long time for negotiation, but it worked.

Phone Carrier

It is very important to get an inexpensive phone carrier. In general, there are 4 basic phone carriers in Boston.

1)    Verizon (www.verizon.com)

2)    AT&T (www.att.com)

3)    Sprint (www.sprint.com)

4)    T-Mobile (www.t-mobile.com)

5)    Else: Phone carrier website (very cheap)

www.ctexcel.us/index_pc.jsp

* T-Mobile has pre-paid phone card. You don’t need to have a contract and pay monthly.

Food

Use “Yelp” app

Chinatown: close to Green Line Boylston Station, Orange Line Chinatown station, and Red Line Downtown Crossing Station.

Shopping

Always remember that sale tax (6.25%) is usually not included in the price (except that there are no sale taxes for groceries, clothes and shoes under $175, and for prescription drugs)

Newbury Street

Prudential center

Copley place

Outlets

Downtown Crossing area (Macy's, T J Maxx, Primark)

Online: Amazon (university email address has 50% off in the annual fee for Prime: 2-day shipping)

Registration with the Chinese Consulate/ J1 visa

1. For protection and other services, all Chinese citizens should register with China's Consulate immediately upon arrival in Boston. According to the Chinese Consulate website, although registration is voluntary, it is highly recommended.

http://ocnr.mfa.gov.cn/expa/

This may be done online through the New York Service Center for Chinese Study Fellows, Inc.
紐約中國留學服務中心

http://new.chinesehighway.com/

2. Keep the original or E-copy of all documents/forms related to your arrival in US (visa stamps, forms associated with visas, university letters, entry/exit records etc).

Note: it will also be helpful to ask the university/organizations (US and HK sides) to generate a letter to show that you have finished the program successfully.

3. For those who are from Mainland China: If you have J1 visa coming to US, you will be automatically subjected to 212(e) two-year home residency rule, which means you will need to go back to Mainland China to physically stay there for two years before you apply H, L, K visas or green card to come back to US again. You can apply for a waiver for this J1 if needed.

https://travel.state.gov/
http://new.chinesehighway.com/

Note:
i) The two-year rule still applies even after you have changed your citizenship to HK or other countries.
ii) The two-year rule still applies even after you have switched to other type of visas (e.g., F1 or O type etc).
iii) If your legal permanent residence is Hong Kong when you arrive in US with J1, you may be able to get Advisory Opinion (https://travel.state.gov/) to show that you are not subjected to 212(e) rule. But if the funding source for your program is directly or indirectly from the Hong Kong or U.S. government, you may still be subjected to the same rule.

Other Resources

Association of Chinese Students and Scholars

Harvard：http://www.hcssa.org/

Has an extensive online guide to life in Boston波士顿新生生活指南

MIT：http://mitcssa.org/

Boston University：http://bucssa.net/wordpress/

Northeastern University：http://nucssa.org/website/

Umass Boston：https://www.facebook.com/umbcssa/

· Pick-up service from the airport may be provided for newcomers at the beginning of each semester. Contact each Association of Chinese Students and Scholars for details.

Longwood Translational Medicine China Initiative (good match for Chinese scholars working in Longwood Medical Area / Harvard Medical school)

Website: http://www.lwtransmed.org/zh/

Wechat: 长木转化医学中国计划

Mayor's Office of New Bostonians

http://www.cityofboston.gov/

An interactive, online database of community-based organizations that work with immigrants, refugees and newcomers in and around Boston. This comprehensive directory is searchable by name, location, population served, languages on staff, and services offered.

If you desire answers to questions not answered above, please send email to contact@hkuaane.org