A return to U.S. residency is a return to government bureaucracy. You traveled around the world with ease, you became a master of navigating cities, then you return to the U.S. and crash into a wall of bureaucratic inefficiency. I was fortunate to be able to move back in with my parents, who have lived at the same address for over thirty years. It’s the house I was raised in and Pennsylvania retained records of me previously living at that address. More bureaucratic complications will arise if you return to a different city and/or state. The complications will increase if you live in a hostel or Airbnb for a few weeks until you find a job or sign an apartment lease.
IT ALL STARTS WITH A DRIVER'S LICENSE
You do not need a driver’s license to begin employment. Your passport alone may serve as proper evidence for the I-9—Employment Eligibility Verification form. But you will need a state issued ID for all the other “welcome back to America” activities.
A relocation to a new city and state from where you were living pre-trip will necessitate obtaining an updated driver’s license. If you haven't lived in the city you're returning to, you may struggle to prove you reside in the state where you are applying for a driver’s license. If you are temporarily living with friends, you may not have a lease or utility bill in your name thus you'll need to identify the additional documents the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) accepts for residency. If you are living with family, it's easier to meet the residency requirements because a family member can go with you to the DMV and vouch for your residency. You can travel around the world but still need your parents to go with you to obtain a driver’s license. It’s easier to obtain an ID in Hong Kong than it is in Pennsylvania. Let that sink in and remember this the next time a politician argues for strict Voter ID laws. Make it easier to obtain an ID first.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
A driver’s license helps to establish residency which is the starting point to begin applying for government assistance. I was looking forward to partaking in the benefits, albeit from the "how does this work" perspective.
I was disappointed to learn that since I was out of the country for a year it was nearly impossible to collect unemployment when I returned. The first issue is that unemployment benefits are calculated off your prior year’s wages...thus if you received no wages in the past year, you'll have no base from which the state agency can perform the calculation. There is a minimum amount you can collect, however, you need to jump through several verification hoops and may need to make an office appearance or have a judge hear your case.
Second, like obtaining a driver’s license, if you return to a new address and state, the unemployment process becomes more complicated because it’s difficult to determine what state should be paying your unemployment benefits. It should be the state where you last worked, however, if you haven't worked in that state for over a year and don’t live there now, that state will not start sending you unemployment checks. There will be additional levels of government review and a needs assessment will be performed, a process which takes several months, and by the time the assessment is completed, you will have been able to find part-time, if not full-time employment. If you've been out of the country for a year, do not expect unemployment compensation to help keep you afloat when you return.
Also, if you are looking for a job while traveling you can't collect unemployment because you are not residing in the U.S. Even if I had traveled straight to Hong Kong to look for a job, without seeing the rest of the world first, I could not have collected unemployment insurance. You must be in the U.S. to collect.
HEALTHCARE AND MEDICAID
It is possible to obtain health insurance, however, it will take two months from the point of completing your application to the initiation of your coverage. The insurance process can't start internationally because internet browser cookies will determine you are not in the U.S. Nothing else about the public health insurance process is hi-tech.
You'll need to apply for healthcare coverage through a state exchange and since you have no income you will likely qualify for Medicaid. It takes a month for the state agency to determine how to route your case and assign healthcare. It takes another month for the state agency to verify that you have no income. The health insurance evaluation requires a background check as additional evidence that you are who you claim to be and to confirm your residency. You will be employed, hopefully at a company that provides a health insurance benefit, before you are fully enrolled in Medicaid.
Once you are employed and obtain coverage through work you will need to call and cancel your health insurance which is yet another complicated process. You will again be passed across government agencies before finding someone who can cancel your coverage. And then the state won’t cancel your coverage and you’ll need to go through the entire cancellation process a second time. It’s a pain to sign-up, it’s a pain to cancel. At least Medicaid is free.
Oh…and…don’t do anything crazy your first two months back in the U.S. before you obtain full health insurance coverage. You need to purchase short-term health insurance. It won’t cover pre-existing conditions, but it covers being hit by a bus or breaking your leg. Short-term health insurance costs about $100 per month and is as necessary as travel insurance was during your travels.
YOU DIDN'T PAY YOUR TAXES
Two years after returning to the U.S., the state treasury of where you reside will come calling wondering why you didn’t file any taxes in prior years. The state won’t remember the headache they created to avoid paying you unemployment benefits. They’ll be wondering where you have been hiding. The burden of proof is on you to prove that you weren’t in the state. It’s the equivalent of proving the existence of nothing. I supplied Pennsylvania with my 2013 and 2014 tax returns which showed I filed my taxes in California but listed my parent’s residence on the return. I explained I was living outside of the country and sent the Pennsylvania Treasury a copy of my 2014 W-2 which included a few weeks of severance from NBCUniversal. That fortunately cleared up my tax issues. I haven’t heard from the Pennsylvania Treasury since…at least not related to my 2013 and 2014 taxes.
In summary, you pay the government taxes when traveling internationally yet you can't collect government benefits when you return because you have been traveling internationally.
IT ALL STARTS WITH A DRIVER'S LICENSE
You do not need a driver’s license to begin employment. Your passport alone may serve as proper evidence for the I-9—Employment Eligibility Verification form. But you will need a state issued ID for all the other “welcome back to America” activities.
A relocation to a new city and state from where you were living pre-trip will necessitate obtaining an updated driver’s license. If you haven't lived in the city you're returning to, you may struggle to prove you reside in the state where you are applying for a driver’s license. If you are temporarily living with friends, you may not have a lease or utility bill in your name thus you'll need to identify the additional documents the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) accepts for residency. If you are living with family, it's easier to meet the residency requirements because a family member can go with you to the DMV and vouch for your residency. You can travel around the world but still need your parents to go with you to obtain a driver’s license. It’s easier to obtain an ID in Hong Kong than it is in Pennsylvania. Let that sink in and remember this the next time a politician argues for strict Voter ID laws. Make it easier to obtain an ID first.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
A driver’s license helps to establish residency which is the starting point to begin applying for government assistance. I was looking forward to partaking in the benefits, albeit from the "how does this work" perspective.
I was disappointed to learn that since I was out of the country for a year it was nearly impossible to collect unemployment when I returned. The first issue is that unemployment benefits are calculated off your prior year’s wages...thus if you received no wages in the past year, you'll have no base from which the state agency can perform the calculation. There is a minimum amount you can collect, however, you need to jump through several verification hoops and may need to make an office appearance or have a judge hear your case.
Second, like obtaining a driver’s license, if you return to a new address and state, the unemployment process becomes more complicated because it’s difficult to determine what state should be paying your unemployment benefits. It should be the state where you last worked, however, if you haven't worked in that state for over a year and don’t live there now, that state will not start sending you unemployment checks. There will be additional levels of government review and a needs assessment will be performed, a process which takes several months, and by the time the assessment is completed, you will have been able to find part-time, if not full-time employment. If you've been out of the country for a year, do not expect unemployment compensation to help keep you afloat when you return.
Also, if you are looking for a job while traveling you can't collect unemployment because you are not residing in the U.S. Even if I had traveled straight to Hong Kong to look for a job, without seeing the rest of the world first, I could not have collected unemployment insurance. You must be in the U.S. to collect.
HEALTHCARE AND MEDICAID
It is possible to obtain health insurance, however, it will take two months from the point of completing your application to the initiation of your coverage. The insurance process can't start internationally because internet browser cookies will determine you are not in the U.S. Nothing else about the public health insurance process is hi-tech.
You'll need to apply for healthcare coverage through a state exchange and since you have no income you will likely qualify for Medicaid. It takes a month for the state agency to determine how to route your case and assign healthcare. It takes another month for the state agency to verify that you have no income. The health insurance evaluation requires a background check as additional evidence that you are who you claim to be and to confirm your residency. You will be employed, hopefully at a company that provides a health insurance benefit, before you are fully enrolled in Medicaid.
Once you are employed and obtain coverage through work you will need to call and cancel your health insurance which is yet another complicated process. You will again be passed across government agencies before finding someone who can cancel your coverage. And then the state won’t cancel your coverage and you’ll need to go through the entire cancellation process a second time. It’s a pain to sign-up, it’s a pain to cancel. At least Medicaid is free.
Oh…and…don’t do anything crazy your first two months back in the U.S. before you obtain full health insurance coverage. You need to purchase short-term health insurance. It won’t cover pre-existing conditions, but it covers being hit by a bus or breaking your leg. Short-term health insurance costs about $100 per month and is as necessary as travel insurance was during your travels.
YOU DIDN'T PAY YOUR TAXES
Two years after returning to the U.S., the state treasury of where you reside will come calling wondering why you didn’t file any taxes in prior years. The state won’t remember the headache they created to avoid paying you unemployment benefits. They’ll be wondering where you have been hiding. The burden of proof is on you to prove that you weren’t in the state. It’s the equivalent of proving the existence of nothing. I supplied Pennsylvania with my 2013 and 2014 tax returns which showed I filed my taxes in California but listed my parent’s residence on the return. I explained I was living outside of the country and sent the Pennsylvania Treasury a copy of my 2014 W-2 which included a few weeks of severance from NBCUniversal. That fortunately cleared up my tax issues. I haven’t heard from the Pennsylvania Treasury since…at least not related to my 2013 and 2014 taxes.
In summary, you pay the government taxes when traveling internationally yet you can't collect government benefits when you return because you have been traveling internationally.