...
Be aware that you might need to wait for an J1-Visa-appointment at the embassy over two months, for current waiting times at your US-embassy please check: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html/
...
- Be sure your passport and the passport of your dependencies (married spouse and/or children) are valid till 6 Month after the end of the J1-Visa, so if you (or your spouse) want to change the name (e.g. marry) have the passport ready at least 4-5 Month before you start to work.
...
- Ask for the SEVIS-Number of your DS2019 and the SEVIS-Numbers of dependencies to get at as soon as possible per email, since the Postal-Mail might take longer than expected. You need the SEVIS-Numbers for the DS160-Forms for yourself and for the DS160-Forms of your dependencies.
...
- You and your dependencies should start to fill out the DS160-Form before you receive the DS2019-Form. You will need the DS160-Form for the appointment with the embassy.
...
- Have a current (printed) Passport-Photo and as-well make a current (digital) quadratic 600x600px-Visa-Photo (max filesize 240kB).
...
- Make a profile at https://ustraveldocs.com/ and pay the MRV-fee, it takes about 2days after arriving at their bank-account till the Fee is marked as paid in their system.
Ariving in the US
- Choose a Cell-phone-plan
- Request the most recent I94-Form, which you will need for the Social-Security-number, Bank-accounts and the I9-Form.
- Ask for a Social-Security-Number, since this will provide you access to American bank-accounts and if you are working this enures that you pay your taxes.
- Wait ~5 working-days for your Social-Security-Number to arrive per mail
- If you are staying for at least a year in the US, change the Region on your iOS-App-Store or your Google-Play-Store to the US, otherwise Apps (e.g. Bank-App) might not be available for your Smartphone.
- Open an American bank-account (for a debit and a credit-card), since some markets&online-shops do not not accept European credit cards and your credit-score depends on it (which you might need for renting). I recommend to take a bank that has a store in all states, if you want to visit other states and has a ATM at MIT. Ensure that you take cash (≥200$) with you when opening a bank account.
- Apply for a Massachusetts-ID/US-drivers license (otherwise you need your passport for going into bars, such as the MIT-Pub)
...