What to do after being accepted at Bell Labs Before your Arrival After you have been accepted at Bell Labs there is a lot to do in preparation. You should not wait too long because these things are time consuming and need to be well thought out. Get in touch with us. There is a mailing list for the current interns. Mail to sddv-bell@postino.mpi-sb.mpg.de will be sent to all subscribers. Archives and subscription information are also available online. Visa: You will need a J-1 visa for your internship at Bell Labs. Do not try to enter the U.S. as a tourist because this may cause severe problems. To obtain the visa, follow this procedure Passport, valid at least 6 months longer than your stay in the U.S. fill out the OF-156 form Get your IAP-66 (needed for the J-1 visa) directly from Lucent (better) or from an organization such as Interexchange Follow the procedure given at the Home page of the U.S. Embassy. You also may add proof that you are going to return to Germany after your internship (e.g. student ID of your university) and proof of sufficient money (e.g. a copy of your Lucent contract, or something written down and confirmed regarding the money Lucent will give you for the time of your internship) Important: The U.S. consulate only accepts normal postal delivery, not "overnight express" or registered mail. Some of the former students did encounter problems of getting their visa in time. They were not successful in trying to obtain information about the advance of their case by telephone (0190 ....) nor by personal appearance at the consulate. It is a bit frustrating but you could receive your visa as late as 4 weeks after the application has been sent. Insurance: good international health insurance (e.g. DKV ..., < 100 DM / month) "Internationale Haftpflichtversicherung" (something like 10 DM / month) Money The first salary check from Lucent is due after 4-6 weeks; in order to get started you need a lot of extra money (about $3,000). The best way to transfer such a large amount of money is to obtain a check drawn on a U.S. bank or to use traveler checks (Thomas Cook, American Express). Note that traveler checks may have to be ordered by the branch office of your German bank or that you may have to pay for them in cash. Get a credit card in Germany (VISA or MasterCard) Life is very expensive, such as rent (about $400 - 600 per month) and dining at restaurants. Flight: Book your flight to Newark International Airport (EWR). This will be more expensive but much closer to Murray Hill than John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). There are several airlines going from Germany to Newark Airport: Lufthansa (direct) SAS Air France (via Paris) Continental British Airways (via London) Cheap flights can also be booked via Flugbörse or ITN. How to get from the airport to Bell Labs/your new home: If you have not arranged a pickup with us or your department secretary or if you rent a car at the airport, follow these directions: Murray Hill Holmdel Room: Ask someone from the department (e.g. the department secretary) to rent a room for you, at least for the first weeks. Rooms for rent cost about $400-600 per month. Apartments are more expensive. Check out the map of New Providence for distances. International Driver's License: if you want to buy a car, you need to apply for a driver's license in the U.S. If you have your German driver's license and an International Driver's License you are only required to take the written test. Otherwise you will have to take both the written and the practical test. Buying a Car: You may want or even have to buy a car in the U.S. If you have not already bought a car from a former participant of the program who is just about to leave when you arrive you may find it very uncomfortable to be without a car. Since you are required to obtain a social-security number (to get the car insurance) to register a car, which will take you at least one week, you may want to rent a car (at best at Newark Airport). If so, do it from Germany because that will be much cheaper. You can explore the local environment with MapsOnUs If you are a member of the ADAC then take your membership card with you. You can obtain a show&save card to get cheaper offers, e.g. in motels. You can also get free maps and tourbooks of all states in any AAA office. With your ADAC membership card you get cheaper membership in the American Automobile Association (AAA). Get an International Student ID (ISIC) at your university. After your Arrival After arrival you should immediately look for the following: Apply for a social-security number (necessary to receive payment, to get a driver's license, to register the car and to get access to the stockroom and library service) General information: (800)-772-1213. You must appear in person. It appears that the clerks at the social-security offices regularly come up with new ideas on what documents are needed to obtain a social-security number. What might come handy are your passport with the IAP-66, the Lucent letter agreement, a birth certificate, and an id card that has been issued more than a year ago. Go figure... Recently, the best results were obtained at the North-Plainfield office. Your mileage may vary. It takes about two weeks to get the social-security card. It is possible to call after about three days to try to get the number in advance. Open a bank account (e.g. at the Summit Bank, which has an office inside Bell Labs). To get a driver's license, you need a driver's manual, available either from the Motor Vehicle Service office in Springfield or from another Stifti Study the questions for the written exams Take a written test at the Motor Vehicle Service and -very important- bring the International Driver's License to avoid having to take a practical test Look for a car (acceptable used cars range in price from $1,000 to $3,000) Get car insurance (State Farm or AllState) Register car at Motor Vehicle Service station (more information is available in the NJ Drivers Manual) Get car inspected (NJ Drivers Manual) Together with your contract you should hand in the Exemption of Withholding which will save you from paying federal tax. In addition, you should fill out an IRS tax form (usually one year later) explaining the fact that because of this Exemption of Withholding you do not pay any tax during the time of your internship at Lucent. Unfortunately, New Jersey also has a state tax. But nobody could definitively say if we are obliged to pay it or not. Generally spoken: Bureaucracy is very chaotic, but reasonably fast Back to the top. Back to the main page.