Chiranth Nataraj

Celebrating Christmas as an Exchange Student in the USA

December 12, 2018 by Chiranth Nataraj

Christmas is a beautiful time of the year. For many, it is a time to spend with family and friends, eat great food, and exchange gifts. However, for an international student studying in the United States, Christmas can be difficult. Plane ticket prices are high, so many students opt to spend their holiday away from their respective countries. However, there are ways to brighten the holiday up if you are an international student.

christmas

Find Out How Americans Celebrate Christmas

As you discover how Americans celebrate Christmas, it may surprise you to find out that many of the Christmas traditions in the U.S. are not much different from those in your native country. You will notice that Americans enjoy preparing food and gathering with family and friends for their Christmas dinner. Some attend church on Christmas Eve while others prefer to stay home. Decorations for Christmas trees and homes are a tradition as is baking cookies.

Staying on Campus

Although many international students go home for Christmas, there are students just like you who remain on campus for Christmas. Perhaps it is time to get together with some fellow students on campus and enjoy this time together? Chances are they are as confused as you are regarding the holiday so why not reach out to them and plan a fun time. Many universities plan Christmas events for students remaining on campus for Christmas so check to see if your school has anything planned. Take the initiative and schedule a Christmas dinner or party for other students staying on campus. Each person can prepare a dish or share a Christmas tradition. Enjoying each other’s company will help in easing the loneliness felt by being away from home.

Take a Christmas Trip

This Christmas could be the perfect time to visit a place you have always wanted to go. A fun trip is an ideal way to spend a memorable Christmas while staying too busy to be homesick. A snowy ski resort, shopping in a major city like New York, or even lying on a beach are all great ways to spend your Christmas away from home. No matter which destination you choose, chances are you will find festive celebrations and good times all over the country.

Go Home With a Friend

As you attend a university, remember that it is the ideal time to make friends with other international and native students. There may be an invitation to spend Christmas with a friend’s family. This invitation is an opportunity to experience new cultural traditions. Not to mention an incredible experience for an international student who has never celebrated Christmas.

Help Someone in Need

Spending Christmas away from home is lonely, and so is spending Christmas on the streets. Life is challenging for the homeless in America and this time of the year only magnifies feelings of isolation and despair. Volunteering this Christmas by helping those who are less fortunate is a fantastic way to spread the spirit of Christmas to all. Food and a place to sleep is something many of us take for granted, but for the homeless, it is the best gift they can receive. Just a few hours of your time could make a person’s entire year. Check in with your local community shelters for information about ways to help the less fortunate this Christmas.

Take Care of Yourself

As an international exchange student, you may find yourself in need of help. The last thing you want to do for your first Christmas abroad is to get sick. Not only will an illness put a stop to your fun time, but it may also cause financial strain. However, if you do become ill, exchange scholar health insurance can help you. J visa insurance provides illness and accident expense protection, can help you locate a doctor, and can pay for the treatment. Check out and be aware of what your health insurance policy covers.

Christmas is coming, and hopefully, your Christmas away from home will be unique. Whether you choose to stay on campus celebrating with friends, take that dream trip, or help those who desperately need help, make this holiday a memorable one. Merry Christmas!

Social Security Numbers for J-1 Visa holders

November 21, 2018 by Chiranth Nataraj

Visas are legal documents that serve to indicate that a person is authorized to enter the issuing country. This fundamental document allows people to travel to a specified area for a specified amount of time. The J-1 is a non-immigrant visa that U.S. immigration uses to allow exchange visitors to participate in science, art, and educational exchange programs. According to the rules of the program, applicants must fulfil eligibility criteria and obtain sponsorship from either a government program or any private sector organization. For those who will receive compensation from their U.S. host organization, a Social Security Number (SSN) is a requirement.

The Need For A Social Security Number
If you plan on receiving compensation by your U.S. host organization, you will need an SSN. The reason is that you will pay taxes on all of the income you earn in the U.S. as a J-1 trainee or intern. The card serves many purposes including employment eligibility. Your employment eligibility verification takes place when your host organization enrolls you into their payroll system. Even if the program is unpaid, an SSN is excellent to have because the SSN may be a requirement to open a bank account, rent an apartment, or to make a large purchase. Be sure to speak with your host organization in advance to determine if they require an SSN.

Applying For Your Card
There are instructions for applying for your SSN on the Social Security Administration website. You must go to a local Social Security office and apply in person for your Social Security number. The process is straightforward, and the office can assist you with any questions that you may ask of them. Although it is a simple process, it can take two weeks so plan accordingly. The following steps are required to obtain an SSN:

1. Validation of a visa is a requirement for getting an SSN. Upon arrival to the U.S., participants must submit a U.S. residential address.
2. Go to a local Social Security office with the required documentation to apply. The following are required documents:
• Form SS-5. The SSN application form is available here.
• Form DS-2019
• Letter of sponsorship
• I-94 Record
• Passport with J-1 visa
• Form DS-7002
• Offer letter from the host company
3. Wait for SSN processing which may take up to two weeks. The agency will mail the card to the residential address provided. Your host organization can add you to their payroll without an SSN. A participant can show a receipt of having applied for a card, or the host organization can provide a temporary number for the payroll until the number arrives. An individual must submit their SSN to their host organization as soon as it comes.

Social Security Card Type
Social Security offers three types of cards. You will receive the number two card that is valid for work only with DHS authorization. This particular card is for people with temporary admittance to the U.S. for employment. If you feel that the card you receive is incorrect, contact your visa sponsor and go to a local Social Security office to correct the problem. If you have an SSN from prior work experience, know that it is a lifelong number and you do not need to apply for a new SSN.

J Visa Medical Insurance
As you prepare for your work experience, remember that you are required to purchase medical insurance for your visit. J visa insurance plans meet the requirements set forth by the U.S. Department of State. You can buy exchange visitors insurance for five days up to one year at a time. This insurance will keep you compliant with J-1 visa requirements and may cover:
• Emergency medical expenses
• Emergency medical evacuation
• Accidental death and dismemberment
• Prescription drugs
• Return of mortal remains

Protect Your Identity
It is vital to keep your number safe. Remember there is a connection between your number and your tax information, payroll information, bank account, driver’s license, and other sensitive information. Identity theft is common, and people steal numbers to use identities to engage in criminal activity. The American Immigration Council will not need to know your information for any reason, and neither do most people. Protecting your information is your responsibility.

New Blood Pressure Guidelines and Tips to Prevent and Treat High Blood Pressure

August 8, 2018 by Chiranth Nataraj

What is High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure (HBP) is also called Blood pressure is the force with which blood flows through your blood vessels. This includes the network of veins, arteries and capillaries.

Doctors are able to diagnose high blood pressure with a simple test. They use an inflatable upper arm cuff. This device comes with a gauge attached. The cuff is slid above the elbow of your arm. As the cuff fills with air it tightens around your upper arm and a reading is taken. The cuff then deflates and can be removed.

Blood pressure readings provide two numbers that may appear in fraction form. The systolic pressure number appears first. It indicates the pressure your heart exerts to push blood through your vessels. A reading of 120 or less is normal.

The second number is the diastolic pressure. This is a measure of the pressure between heartbeats. A reading of 80 or below is normal.

If the reading falls between 120/80 and 129/80 the patient falls within an ‘elevated’ blood pressure category. This means the individual is beginning to exhibit symptoms of HBP.

Doctors have now identified a ‘prehypertension’ It presents as ‘higher than normal’ blood pressure readings that are not within the true HBP range.

True HBP may fall within a Stage 1 or Stage 2 category. Stage 1 readings may be any combination of the numbers 140/90 to 159/99. This condition may be treatable through lifestyle changes. A Stage 2 HBP reading would begin at 160/100 and go upward. If an individual is in Stage 2 he or she will need immediate intervention in the form of medication to reduce the likelihood of an adverse health event.

A blood pressure reading of 180/120 or higher places the patient in a category of hypertensive crisis. Immediate medical intervention is advised.

HBP

HBP is an indication that the heart is working harder to pump blood through your network of vessels. It can result in a variety of problematic health conditions including stroke, atherosclerosis, heart disease and kidney failure. Some research is revealing a connection between HBP and dementia as well.

What Causes High Blood Pressure?

The causes of HBP are not known. Instead, medical professionals point to a number of instigators that may result in any of the forms of HBP. They are:

Excessive salt in the diet
Excessive weight to obesity
Overindulgence in alcohol
Genetics, ancestry, and age
Smoking & sedentary lifestyle
Kidney, thyroid & adrenal disorders

Despite advances in medicine it should be noted that in 95% of HBP cases the cause cannot be identified.

Why are There “New” Guidelines for High Blood Pressure?

New guidelines for many disorders including HBP do not necessarily occur on a continual basis. They are updated only when evidence from new studies suggests the previous guidelines were not accurate or relevant any more.

Recent research indicates a much greater portion of the population should be diagnosed with high blood pressure or hypertension.

What Does the Latest Research Suggest for the Prevention of High Blood Pressure?

Multiple esteemed resources offer the same advice for the prevention of HBP. The greatest inhibitor of HBP is making healthy lifestyle choices. This includes the following:

Eat a healthy diet. It should include fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meat or another protein source. DASH – or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension is an excellent resource for ensuring you are getting the proper nutrition.
Exercise regularly. This does not have to be in the form of running marathons or intensive workouts. Instead, work with your physician to find a regimen that fits you and your needs.
Avoid unhealthy lifestyle habits including smoking, and the excessive intake of alcohol, pharmaceuticals or other drugs, and stress.

What Does the Latest Research Suggest for the Treatment of High Blood Pressure?

A treatment protocol for HBP comes in various forms. If there is an early indication of the disease then your doctor may suggest lifestyle changes to prevent further progression of the ailment and perhaps reverse symptoms. However, at a certain point, any number of medications may be prescribed according to the presentation of symptoms. These may be diuretics, enzyme inhibitors, and multiple forms of ‘blockers’.

It is important to have regular checkups and follow your doctor’s advice to ensure HBP is controlled. It is the road to a healthier, longer life.

Key things to know about education loan for study abroad

May 17, 2018 by Chiranth Nataraj

Many lenders today offer education loans that will enable you to get an education abroad. If you are a student and have wanted to live in another country and learn about their way of life and customs, this could be the ideal situation for you. Each lender will have different qualifications and some loans are better than others, so looking over the terms and comparing study abroad loans before signing is very important.

education loan

Two Types of Loans

Loans from the federal government of the United States are quite straightforward. Everything is spelled out rather clearly, but you still need to know what to expect. Before applying, you will need to find out if the school you are applying to will accept that type of loan – some do not.

Federal Student Loans

The government offers three types of student loans: Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, and Perkins Loans. In order to start the loan process, it is necessary to fill out the FAFSA application. You also want to start applying months in advance of the date you want the loan, because there is a lot of paperwork to fill out. Each loan is different and you will need to determine which government student loan you qualify for.

Stafford Loans – These loans are given to students who have financial need. Stafford Loans are available as a loan in which the government pays the interest while the student is in school (subsidized), or as a loan that starts accumulating interest right away (unsubsidized).

PLUS Loans – These Federal loans provide money for graduate studies. PLUS loans are available to students, to parents of undergraduate students, and to professional students.

Perkins Loans – This government loan provides money for needy students for college or career schools. Perkins loans are low interest, but not every school offers them.

Private Loans

The private loan industry will differ considerably from government education loans. This difference requires that you look carefully at the documents before getting the loan. The things that you want to look at include:

The Interest Rate:

This is the rate of interest you are going to pay each year on the loan. The interest rate may be either fixed or adjustable. The rate on private loans is apt to be higher than Federal loans, but compare rates to be sure you are getting a good one. Find out what the average is and watch out for rates that are much higher than that. When rates are too high, it can make repayment difficult.

The Repayment Period

Some lenders will expect payments to be made each month after you take out the loan. This can be a problem if you are overseas, and are not allowed to work there without special permission. Other lenders will allow you to not pay anything until after you graduate, but may require payments to start immediately. Federal loans have the advantage of not requiring any repayments until six months after completing your degree.

The amount of time that you have to repay your student loan will also vary with lenders. The Federal government will give you up to 10 years to repay a loan, but private lenders will offer varying periods – possibly even half that time.

Co-signer May Be Required

Many lenders are apt to require a co-signer on a study abroad loan. The co-signer will be required to live in the United States and must be financially able to repay the loan. Those qualified may include parents, a spouse, guardians, siblings, and parents in laws.

Personal Qualifications

Before applying for a student loan to go overseas, you will need to meet two basic qualifications. It will be necessary to have good grades at an American college, and good credit.

If you do not have any credit yet, you can establish some by applying for a credit card. If you do not already have a good credit score, you will want to get one right away, and do it several months prior to sending in your application. Your credit score will be looked at before you are given a loan to ensure that you are likely to pay it back.

Many lenders will require that you come up with a percentage of the cost of going overseas to study. It may be around 10 percent, or more. You also need to be sure that you have money for a good health insurance policy that is accepted in the country you are going to, as well as for books, food, housing, etc.

Insurance for Your Loan

Students can unexpectedly die just as easily as anyone else. If there is a co-signer on your student loan to go abroad, it is a very good idea for you, or for the co-signers to get a life insurance policy on the student for the amount of the loan. This way, if the student does die, the co-signers (or the spouse) are not in debt for the loan, which could place them in serious financial straits for many years. These loans are inexpensive and will be well worth it, if a death should occur.

It is equally important for students to get health insurance as healthcare costs abroad are significantly higher than domestic expenses. It protects students from financial burden if an unexpected illness/ injury should happen.

Investigate Carefully

Although there are many good lenders out there, not everyone offering student loans is honest. There are many scams out there, but sticking to a major well-known lender may be a good idea. If you choose to go with a lender that is unheard of, be sure to learn more about them first.

Study abroad student loans are available to students who qualify. They can offer you the opportunity of a lifetime for a unique learning experience and provide you with fun at the same time.

Tips for international students to establish a good credit score

October 12, 2017 by Chiranth Nataraj

Having good credit is incredibly important in modern U.S. society. It impacts nearly every phase of life. Would you like to purchase a car? You will need good credit. Want to apply for an apartment or rent a house? You will likely be subjected to a credit check. And If you hope to eventually buy a home, you will definitely need a good credit score.

credit score

Understanding that is easy, but building credit can be challenging, especially if you are an international student. However there is hope. Here are some tips to help international students build their credit scores.

One great first step is to get a credit card. There are many banks that will issue a credit card with a small limit (perhaps under two thousand dollars) to students. Use the card – but try not to max it out – and make your payments on time or early. Each time you pay your card, you are helping your credit score. Demonstrating that you can handle a small amount of credit responsibly will help show other creditors that you are worth lending larger amounts of money to as well.

Which one is right for you? The answer will be different for each person. You will want to learn the differences between secured and unsecured credit cards, and what terms like APR mean (and how they affect your choice of card). Applying for a credit card is certainly not something you want to do without investing some time in research first.

However the process of determining the best fit is made easier by technology. We live in an age where every product and service is reviewed online, and credit cards are no exception. You can compare different credit card offers so you can make the right choice when applying.

Something else to keep in mind is that credit history is built through reporting with the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Make sure that before you apply for a credit card, you know that it reports to those agencies. Otherwise, the payments you make will not help build your score in the way that you intend.

You will also need a social security number in order to begin building your credit score. Pretty much every major thing you will want to do in life in the United States from getting a loan to paying taxes to getting a job. It serves as an official record tying all of your activities as a citizen together for the government, banks, employers, and other groups. You can follow the steps found here to obtain one if you have not done so already.

Holding down a job while studying can be difficult, particularly if you are an international student who is also worrying about fitting into a new country and learning about a new culture. But earning money is important to building your credit score. The more income you are able to show that you reliably earn, the more likely your chances of being able to secure a loan when you need it later on in life.

You should also make certain to open a bank account. As with a credit card, one of the best ways to prove to creditors that you can handle money is to actually handle money. Opening a bank account, preferably a checking account, will give you a chance to build some financial history.

You will need to be careful in selecting a bank account, as you need to avoid accounts that charge annual fees or other charges. Having a checking account will also make it easier to make your payments on the credit card you will need (as mentioned earlier).

Finally, if you are able to rent a home or apartment while studying, you may be able to report the rent you are paying to the credit reporting agencies yourself. There are a variety of tools available for doing this. As long as you are paying on time, this can be another great way to help build your credit score as an international student.

The process of building credit is essential to starting a future in the United States, but it is not a process that can be completed overnight. But if you follow the various tips we have shared here, you can absolutely expedite the process and find yourself with a good credit score much faster than you would if you did not take steps like opening a bank account or acquiring a credit card. That will then put you on the road to being able to secure larger loans which will make milestones like purchasing your own car or buying your own home more attainable in the near future.

Know the Difference Between Travel Insurance Types Before Traveling Abroad

June 29, 2017 by Chiranth Nataraj

Having the right type of insurance when heading on a trip abroad can mean the difference between traveling with confidence and worrying about potential costly expenses. But there are many types of policies available, so how can you know how each type differs and which is right for your needs? It is important to understand the differences between trip insurance, travel insurance, and global medical insurance before planning your next international trip.

Travel Insurance Types

Trip Insurance: Trip insurance helps cover the expenses related to a trip in the event that something unexpected happens. For instance, let’s say you miss a connecting flight to your end destination because your original flight was delayed. After all, less than 80% of flights in 2017 depart on time. Then because you miss your flights, you wind up missing a night or more of hotel expenses that you have already paid for. Trip insurance can help recoup that.

Or imagine that you have a cruise planned, but the cruise is cancelled due to a hurricane. Again, trip insurance can save the day by allowing you to recover the costs of the cruise tickets and related expenses. Considering that the average cost of a cruise starts at $50 per person per day, that is a significant amount to save.

Travel Medical Insurance: Like a trip insurance plan, a travel medical insurance plan is designed to save you from potentially exorbitant costs during a trip. But rather than focusing on the cost of travel itself, a travel medical insurance plan focuses on the cost of healthcare should medical needs arise on a trip.

While you may have a comprehensive medical insurance plan in your country, there is no guarantee that the plan will be honored in other countries. In fact there is a very good chance that it will not. And if it is not, then you could be faced with hundreds of dollars in medical expenses on the low end, and thousands on the high end. If your medical treatment requires you being sent back to the United States, the cost of medical evacuation could be $50,000.

If that is a risk you are not comfortable taking, then travel medical insurance is an investment you will likely want to make.

Global Medical Insurance: How then does a global medical insurance plan differ from a travel medical insurance program? After all, both are created to help cover medical costs while you are overseas. The big difference though is that while a travel medical insurance policy is designed to protect you while you are temporarily traveling (perhaps for work or business) the global medical insurance policy was designed with the expatriate in mind.
So if you are living abroad or staying abroad for a long period of time, this is the type of insurance policy you will want to look into. This means that not only will you be able to obtain affordable medical care in the event of an emergency while living abroad, you will also be able to enjoy in your home country as well.

Preventative care like periodic checkups are covered under this type of plan. Dental care, prescription medication, and maternity-related care are other examples of non-emergency needs covered by a global medical insurance plan.
This plan type will help ensure that you can maintain good health while living abroad.

Even though these three types of coverage have very similar names, the truth is they are very different in regards to what types of coverage they provide. In order to understand which one is the best fit for your unique needs as a traveler, you will need to ask yourself questions such as:

How long am I traveling abroad for – short or long term?
Do I have an insurance policy that already covers me in the country I am visiting?
Am I seeking a policy that covers me for medical emergencies only, or I am looking to secure a plan that offers coverage for preventative procedures, regular office visits, prescriptions, and more.

These are just a few of the considerations to keep in mind. If you begin thinking about which type of insurance policy you need by answering these simple questions, you will find it easier to reach your decision. Remember, making an educated purchase of the right type of travel insurance will save you money in the long run!