Updating based on IMs, few are optional but might be useful to others!
Below docs are very useful during immigration check and VO might ask for them
1) Correspondence Letter from CIC
2) Admission Letter from the University
3) Flight Tickets & Hotel Reservation
4) Financial Statement - Both Forex Card Balance and Bank Statement/GIC
5) Educational Documents
6) Medical Report (the one submitted during visa application)
Personal Items
1) Universal Plug - atleast 2
2) Winter Clothing
3) Pressure Cooker - Not sure if we can carry it anymore
4) Spices - Tur Dal & Chili Powder
5) Medicines for cold,cough
6) Medical Insurance for the first month
7) Trimmer
8) Iron Box
9) Raincoat & Umbrella
10) Muffler and Monkey Cap
11) Nail Cutter
12) Inner wear and socks
LIST OF THINGS TO BUY BEFORE DEPARTURE -
CLOTHES:-
1.T-shirts (round neck) - 8
2. T-shirts (collared) - 3-4
3. Jeans (stick to blue/black) - 6-7
4. Formal shirts - 3
5. Formal trousers - 2
6. Undergarments - at least 15 pairs (very important)
7. Formal suit - 1 complete set
8. Ties - 2-3
9. Shorts/three-fourths - 5-6
10. Track pants - 2-3
11. Swimming trunks - 1 (if you plan to swim after coming here)
12. One traditional dress for festivals
EXTRA APPARALS:-
1. Towels (any kind, but I would prefer Turkish(Or Tunisian) – 1 turkish,3 Simple
2. Hand towels - 3-4
3. Leather belts - 1-2
4. Belt for jeans - 1
5. Formal leather shoes - 1 pair
6. Woodland all-weather shoes - 1 pair (very important)
7. Sneakers (optional) - 1 pair
8. Sports shoes (optional) - They are very cheap in the US/Canada. You will most probably have a pair already. Wear it and come. Wait till the black friday sales where you will get awesome pairs of shoes for cheap.
9. Sunglasses - 1 pair (any good brand is okay)
10. Socks - 6-7 pairs
11. Sweater - 1-2 good warm ones
12. A light jacket (you can get a thicker one once you land in the US/canada)—and its cheaper
13. A good umbrella (don't get the cheap ones, they can't stand the wind)
14. Handkerchiefs - 12 nos.
15. Hawaii slippers - 1 pair (for wearing inside the apartment)
16. Flip-flops - 1 pair (for summer and spring)
17. Bedsheets - 2
18. Blanket - 1 (optional)
19. Pillow covers - 3
20. A good wallet (leather) - 1
21. A wallet for passport
22. Shoe polish - 1 (don't get liquid, might spill during travel)
23. Shoe polishing brush - 1
24. Monkey cap - 1
ELECTRONICS
1. External HDD (get the portable one) - You might need this for bringing all those movies, music and files from back home. Minimum of 1 TB. Any brand is fine. Flipkart has a sale on Transcend and WD till 26th May.
2. USB keyboard and mouse (optional) - gamers might need this. Even otherwise, it is a good thing to have. Get Logitech.
4. If you already have a laptop, you may bring that. Even if it is quite old, preserve it till black friday. You will get super deals, both online and in-store.
5. IPod/mp3 player (optional) - You might need this if you have to wait for long times at airports. Else, get it in the US/canada.
6. Digital Camera- Get it from India. It might be a little more expensive, but you will need it to record all those initial snaps in the US/canada. Preferred brands are Canon, Sony and Nikon. Don't buy cameras that require AA batteries. Buy models with Li-ion batteries.
7. A good pair of headphones with mic.
8. A branded spike-buster.
9. Indian pin to US pin converters - 5. (very important)
10. A small table clock with alarm functionality
11. A scientific calculator (very important) Casio fx991MS or fx991ES - This is damn expensive in the US/canada.
12. A good branded, decent wrist watch.
13. An extra battery for your wrist watch.
14. Blank DVDs - 4-5.
Personal hygiene products
1. Tooth paste - one large tube. Brands also available in the US/canada - Colgate, Close-Up, Pepsodent, Aquafresh (Note: The Pepsodent here is not the same as the Pepsodent in India, it is owned by a different company, not by Unilever. (This is a very important fact))
2. Tooth brushes - 3-4
3. Soap - 1-2 bars. Brands also available in the US/canada - Dove, Palmolive and Pears. If you don't use any of these brands, then better get used to them. No use bringing lots of soap bars from India.
4. Shampoo - 1 bottle. Brands also available in the US/canada - Head and Shoulders, Sunsilk, Dove, Pantene, Nizoral. Again, get used to any one of these brands.
5. Shaving razor(for guys) - A couple of disposable ones.
6. Shaving foam (don't buy cream) - 1 small can
7. Cold cream - 1 bottle
8. Vaseline - 1 bottle
9. Good clean combs - 2-3
10. Comb cleaner/old toothbrush for cleaning the combs.
11. Soap cases - 2
12. Hair oil - 2 bottles
13. Deodorant - 1 can
14. Nail cutter - 2
15. Earbuds - 1 small pack
16. Sunscreen - 1 bottle
17. Lip balm - 2 tubes
Stationery items
1. Pens - 3-4
2. Notebooks - 2-3
3. Pencils - 3-4
4. Erasers - 3
5. Sharpeners - 3
6. Key chains - 2
7. Staple machine - 1
8. Pins - 2 boxes
9. Glue sticks - 2
10. Markers - 2
11. Highlighters - 1
12. A4 sheets - 1 quire
13. Small ruler - 1
14. Phone book - 1. Keep all your friends' and relatives' phone numbers written inside before you leave ( or use Google sync like a normal person)
15. Cellophane tape - 1 roll
Medicines
These are very important since for getting any specialized medicine in the US/canada, you need a prescription. And very costly
Quote:1. Cold, Fever - Crocin
2. Body Pain - Crocin, Combiflam
3. Indigestion, Gastric Problems - Gelucil, Zinetac
4. Throat Infection - Erythromycin
5. Allergies - Avil .25
6. Vomiting - Avomine
7. Tooth Ache - Combiflam
8. Cold, Head Ache - Amurtanjan
9. Stomach Pain - Cyclopam
10. Diarrhea - Lopomide
11. Dizziness - Diziron
12. Sprain - Esgypyrin
13. Common Cold - Coldact, Vicks Vaporub
Document list
Passport Xerox(5 copies)
(2) VISA Xerox (5 copies)
(4) I-20(5 copies)
(5) Air Ticket(2 copies)
(6) Original marksheets + Degree Certificate
(7) Attested marksheets + Degree Certificate (3 copies)
(8 Original transcripts + Degree Certificate (3 copies)
(9) Immunization form(specific to university)
(10) University specific letters like admit, aid, forms.
(11) SEVIS fee reciept(3 copies)
(12) GRE Original + Xerox copies(5 copies)
(13) TOEFL Original + Xerox copies(5 copies)
(14) Final Year Project Report
(15) Syllabus Copies
(16) Reco Letters.
Packing
Don't procrastinate packing till the last moment as you won't find time later, and in the tension you may miss out on some important things. Start packing early. Make sure you make a list of all stuff you are carrying. Label all the suitcases both inside and outside with both your home address in India and your university address. Include the phone numbers also. Make sure you are within the luggage allowance (you can do this by carrying the suitcase to the nearest scrap metal shop/rice mundi), though it can exceed upto 1-2 kgs
AFTER REACHING US/CANADA
Utensils
1.Pressure cooker
2. Pressure pan - 1. As far as possible, get both the cooker and the pan from the same brand so that you can interchange the gaskets and the weights.
3. Medium size kadai for cooking vegetables - 1
4. Serving spoons (of various sizes) - 3-4
5. SS Plate - 1
6. Kadai for boiling milk/water - 1
7. Knives - 3-4
8. Vegetable chopping board - 1
9. SS glasses/tumblers - 3
10. SS spoons - 3-4
11. Extra weights and gaskets for the cookers - 3
12. Chapati roller - 1
13. Butter knives - 2
14. SS forks - 2
15. Kadai for making sambar/dal - 1
16. Tea strainer - 1
17. Water bottle (preferably Tupperware) – 1
Food items
1. Ready-to-eat paste - 5-6 bottles minimum.
2. Rice - 3-4 kg for initial use
3. Maggi - 10-12 (minimum). You won't get Maggi in the US except in Indian stores. So carry as much as you can. In Canada not easily availble
4. Some home-made sweets for yourself as well as for seniors you need favors from.
5. Pickles - 3-4 bottles
6. Some snacks - how much ever you want, for the initial days
7. All powders - chilli, garam masala, rasam, sambar, asafetida, other powders you use - 0.5 to 1 kg each
8. All dals that you use in cooking - 2 kg each
9. Salt and sugar - 0.5 kg each
10. Papads - 2-3 packs
11. Tamarind - 1 kg
12. Ginger-garlic paste - 2 bottles
