Your first year in the U.S.: what to do by month 3, 6 and 12

Your first year in the U.S., step by step: what to do by month 3, 6 and 12, your first tax season and the dates to know, with a guide for each step.

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Your first year
For
Everyone moving to the U.S.

At a glance

  • Who this is for: anyone in their first year in the United States. Some points apply only to certain people, and each one says who.
  • How to use it: start with your first 30 days, then use this page as a calendar. Each point links to a guide with the details and the official sources.
  • Two clocks run at once: some dates count from a move, such as reporting a new address to USCIS within 10 days (USCIS). Others follow the calendar: tax forms usually arrive in January or February (IRS). So your first tax season may come in your second month or your eleventh.
  • Cost: most steps are free through official services.

Step 1 — Months 1–3: finish the basics

Step 2 — Months 3–6: check, protect, settle in

  • Check your credit reports. You can check your report from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus once a week, for free, at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only website authorized to fill orders for the free reports (FTC). See building U.S. credit from zero.
  • Protect your number. See protecting your SSN and identity.
  • Work out your tax status before the year ends. If you aren’t a U.S. citizen, the IRS treats you as a nonresident for tax purposes unless you meet the green card test or the substantial presence test for the calendar year, January 1 to December 31 (IRS). You can be both in the same year, usually the year you arrive, and then you file a dual-status return (IRS). See tax residency for newcomers and, for students, taxes for international students.
  • Read your pay stub now, not in April. See your paycheck and withholding.
  • Expect a dip; it isn’t failure. Settle In says cultural adjustment happens over a long period, in phases that differ from person to person and may repeat (Settle In). The Peace Corps describes “further culture shock” for its own volunteers abroad in their first months of settling in (Peace Corps). See culture shock.
  • If the heaviness doesn’t lift, reach out. See finding mental health care. In a crisis, you can call, text or chat with the 988 Lifeline; it is free, confidential and available 24/7 (988 Lifeline).
  • Learn your rights before you need them. See tenant rights and, for the disasters common where you live, emergency preparedness.

Step 3 — Months 6–12: plan the year ahead

  • F-1 students: plan your work options. You may apply for pre-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) up to 90 days before you complete one full academic year of full-time study, but you can’t start work until you complete it (USCIS). Curricular Practical Training (CPT) also requires a full academic year, with an exception for graduate programs that require earlier training (SEVIS Help Hub). See F-1 work options.
  • Work permit holders: watch the expiration date. USCIS generally recommends filing a renewal up to 180 days before your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) expires, and says to file at least 90 days before (USCIS). See your work permit (EAD) explained.
  • Mark health insurance Open Enrollment. On HealthCare.gov, it runs from November 1 to January 15; enroll by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1 (HealthCare.gov). See health insurance for newcomers.
  • Reread your lease. Check what it says about renewal and notice well before it ends. See renting your first apartment.
  • Planning a long trip home?
    • Green card holders: your card is valid for returning after a trip of up to 1 year; for a longer trip, USCIS says you need a reentry permit (USCIS). Brief trips usually don’t affect your status, but an officer may consider your U.S. ties, including whether you filed U.S. income taxes as a resident (USCIS). Absences of six months or more may disrupt the continuous residence required for citizenship (USCIS). See traveling abroad with a green card.
    • Everyone else: ask your DSO, program sponsor or employer, or authorized legal help, before you book.

Step 4 — Your first tax season (January to April)

  • Collect your forms. Employers, banks and others who paid you must send you a copy of what they report to the IRS; you should get it in January or February (IRS). See your first U.S. tax return.
  • Know your deadline. For 2026 tax returns, it is April 15, 2027 (IRS). Nonresidents who had no wages subject to U.S. income tax withholding, and no office or place of business in the U.S., generally file by June 15 (IRS). The tax status you worked out in Step 2 decides which form you use.
  • Students and scholars: don’t skip Form 8843. If you leave out days as an “exempt individual” in the day count, you must send Form 8843 with your return, or alone by the return’s due date if you don’t file one (IRS). See taxes for international students.
  • Money back home counts. U.S. tax residents are taxed on their worldwide income (IRS). A U.S. person, including a resident, must file an FBAR if the foreign accounts they own or can sign on were worth more than $10,000 together at any time during the year; it is due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15, and goes to FinCEN, not with your tax return (IRS). See the FBAR and your accounts back home.
  • Don’t forget your state. In many states, counties and cities, you may have to pay tax on income (USAGov). See state income taxes.

Step 5 — Around your first anniversary

  • Conditional green card? Count forward now. A conditional permanent resident gets a green card valid for two years, must file to remove the conditions within the 90-day period before it expires, and can’t renew it (USCIS). Put that window on your calendar today. See your first 90 days with a green card.
  • Thinking about citizenship one day? On the most common path, USCIS asks for at least five years as a permanent resident, continuous residence for the five years before you file, and physical presence for at least 30 months of them, among other requirements (USCIS). The trips you take this year already count. See the path to U.S. citizenship.
  • Set up year two. Copy the dates that come back every year: tax season, the FBAR, Open Enrollment, your document expirations and the end of your lease.
  • Look at how far you’ve come. A year in, you know things a new arrival doesn’t. Helping someone newer is one way to keep building your circle.

Common mistakes and scams to avoid

  • Updating the Post Office but not USCIS. They are separate, and USPS won’t forward your mail from USCIS (USCIS).
  • Thinking your tax return covers your foreign accounts. The FBAR is a separate report, filed with FinCEN (IRS).
  • Trusting a “tax season” call. A call, email or text isn’t from the IRS if it’s unexpected, rushes or threatens you, asks for personal or financial information, or demands payment now, and a social media direct message is never from the IRS (IRS). More warning signs: scams that target newcomers.
  • Paying the wrong person for immigration help. USCIS says only attorneys or accredited representatives working for a Department of Justice–recognized organization (or certain law students or graduates they supervise) may represent you on immigration matters (USCIS). See free immigration legal help.

You’re not alone

A first year in a new country is long. The forms get easier with practice. The harder part is often quieter: missing your people, your food, being understood without effort. That is normal, and it doesn’t mean the move was a mistake. If you’re in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).

Where to get free, trustworthy help

  • Taxes: the IRS’s VITA and TCE programs offer free basic tax return preparation to people who qualify. Many VITA sites help people who generally make about $70,244 or less, people with disabilities and taxpayers with limited English. Use the IRS locator or call 800-906-9887 (IRS).
  • Immigration questions about your own situation: free immigration legal help.
  • Housing, debt or family legal problems: free civil legal aid.
  • Emergencies and crisis support: who to call in the U.S..
  • Official websites in one place: official resources for newcomers.

Ask the community

A place to compare notes with people in their first year, and with those who have just finished it, is coming soon to 4Livo.

Sources

  1. USCIS — How to Change Your Address (last reviewed August 4, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  2. Study in the States (DHS) — Maintaining Status (last updated April 29, 2025; accessed October 27, 2026)
  3. Selective Service System — Who Needs to Register (archived copy of October 20, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  4. Selective Service System — Update Your Information (archived copy of September 28, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  5. GovInfo — Public Law 119-60, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, section 535 (approved December 18, 2025; accessed October 27, 2026)
  6. HealthCare.gov — Special Enrollment Periods (accessed October 27, 2026)
  7. HealthCare.gov — Glossary: Special Enrollment Period (accessed October 27, 2026)
  8. IRS — Substantial presence test (last reviewed March 14, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  9. IRS — Determining an individual’s tax residency status (last reviewed February 11, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  10. Federal Trade Commission — Free Credit Reports (June 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  11. Settle In — Cultural Adjustment (updated October 13, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  12. Peace Corps — Culture Matters, Chapter 6: The Cycle of Adjustment (accessed October 27, 2026)
  13. 988 Lifeline — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (accessed October 27, 2026)
  14. USCIS — Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 Students (last reviewed November 25, 2024; accessed October 27, 2026)
  15. SEVIS Help Hub (DHS) — F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT) (last updated August 24, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  16. USCIS — I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (last reviewed October 7, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  17. HealthCare.gov — Dates and deadlines for 2027 health insurance (accessed October 27, 2026)
  18. USCIS — After We Grant Your Green Card (last reviewed October 11, 2024; accessed October 27, 2026)
  19. USCIS — International Travel as a Permanent Resident (last reviewed September 12, 2025; accessed October 27, 2026)
  20. IRS — Gather your documents (last reviewed October 26, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  21. IRS — File your tax return (last reviewed October 19, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  22. IRS — Taxation of nonresident aliens (last reviewed February 17, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  23. IRS — Tax information and responsibilities for new immigrants to the United States (last reviewed September 28, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  24. IRS — Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) (last reviewed July 30, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  25. USAGov — How to pay and get help with state and local taxes (last updated December 11, 2025; accessed October 27, 2026)
  26. USCIS — Conditional Permanent Residence (last reviewed April 24, 2025; accessed October 27, 2026)
  27. USCIS — I am a Lawful Permanent Resident of 5 Years (last reviewed March 16, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  28. IRS — How to know it’s the IRS (last reviewed October 22, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  29. USCIS — Avoid Scams (last reviewed August 4, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)
  30. IRS — Free tax return preparation for qualifying taxpayers (last reviewed October 19, 2026; accessed October 27, 2026)

Every step above links to a 4Livo guide, where you’ll find the details and more official sources.

Changes to this guide

  • October 27, 2026: Draft created (AI-assisted); sources checked. Waiting for human review.
  • October 27, 2026: Reviewed and approved by the 4Livo team.