Finding housing is one of the tasks you must accomplish before starting work, whether that is temporary or permanent housing.
While BDV Client Services does provide support and follow up for finding housing, we do not secure the housing for you. You are responsible for finding and securing housing for yourself before you start work.
It is important that you do not commit to a housing location without checking with Client Services on your timing and work assignment. The address on your LC is not necessarily the address where you will work. This article explains the reason behind this.
Note: Check out this article and this article for two great options in certain states. You can find furniture to rent, roommates, and housing near your sponsor.
Rural Areas
If you are moving to a rural area (outside of a city), you should use resources like the following, since rural areas will have more rental homes than apartments:
Finding a Place to Live
When you get your work authorization, Client Services will send you a settlement guide with local housing options. If you would like to find options other than the ones listed in your settlement, you can use the following resources to search:
Temporary Places to Stay
For short-term housing, we recommend the following options:
www.extendedstayamerica.com - Note: BDV has a special discounted rate at Extended Stay America hotels. Please see the flyer attached at the bottom of this article for a BDV discount code!
Different Types of Clients
Consular Clients
If you are a Consular client moving from overseas, we highly recommend you stay with family or friends at the time of your arrival into the US before moving to your worksite, or choose a hotel/Airbnb to land for a few weeks before renting a more permanent place.
AOS Clients
If you are an AOS client (Adjustment of Status), it may be easier for you to arrange permanent housing, since you may have a credit score and previous work history. Nevertheless, you may find it difficult to obtain housing at a reasonable price.
Q. Can I find low-income housing?
A. We do not recommend public housing (ie - "Section 8") because of possible "public charge" language that has been used by the US government in the past or may arise in the future. We also do not recommend it because the waiting list is very long, and you would most likely not be able to secure this type of housing in time to start working asap after work authorization.
However, if you find yourself in a true emergency and in need of housing, of course you should take every option available. But otherwise, we recommend not to use Section 8 or other vouchers or rent reductions.
Q. How do I rent a place to live?
A. When you receive work authorization, BDV's Client Services will send you a Settlement document for your worksite city which will include links to recommended housing near your sponsor's worksite.
We will also send you an Apartment Job Offer Letter which you can show to your prospective apartment manager as proof of your upcoming employment.
See this article for more house/apartment rental information.
Q. Could I live in student housing?
A. It may be possible for you to live in a housing development that is rented to mostly students, even if you are not on an F1 visa. We suggest searching online for the name of your sponsor's city + "international student housing" or even simply "student housing." Options may arise for apartment complexes near local universities that are more flexible. For example:
they may be familiar with renting to foreign nationals
they may accept applicants without a credit score
they might be able to match you with roommates
the apartment is more likely to be furnished
they might give you pro-rated rent year-long even if roommates move out due to semesters ending, etc.
Q. I'm having problems getting approved because of my low salary.
How can I get approved for housing?
A. Client Services Can help! Read below.
We will send you an Apartment Job Offer Letter which you can show to your prospective apartment manager as proof of your upcoming employment. Unfortunately, you may find that some apartment managers may not accept this letter because of the low salary or lack of credit score/history. See this article for what to do if you have a low (or no) credit score.
In that case, here are some options:
Your spouse may help with an ability to pay rent by working another job, or possibly agreeing to work the Sponsor job as well, thus allowing us to provide a second job offer letter.
You can find a roommate to split the rent. Proceed with caution on this one.
If you are a Consular client, you can show the landlord your EVL (Employment Verification Letter) from your visa interview. This letter will often have a higher wage than your Job Offer Letter from BDV because the LC wage is a couple years old. We use the LC wage on Job Offer Letters, but the EVL has the sponsor's current wage.
Get a bank account first, and demonstrate to the apartment manager that you have funds in your account – some apartment complexes accept this, some do not. (You can also have a family member transfer funds there in your name, if needed.)
Put down a deposit of a couple months' rent in cash/check so that the manager will be more likely to accept your submission.
Find someone to co-sign the lease for you. They do not have to be physically present to do so and may be removed later on during the lease period. However, they must be physically in the US.
Decide to rent a room only instead of an entire apartment. Again, proceed with caution.
You may choose to seek temporary housing (hotel, Airbnb) until you meet work or social friends after starting work. It is always much easier to find a room or roommate when you know people in the area.
Some apartment managers like paystubs over job offer letters. You may have more luck finding a place to live after you start work (living in temporary housing until then). If you don't have a paystub yet, you could ask for a job offer letter from your sponsor, and bring that letter to a potential landlord. The salary will likely be higher than the Job Offer Letter we can provide.
If you are having trouble with these various options and still need some advice or help, let us know in the Client Services Department, and we will try to help you overcome this obstacle.