PRINCE Harry will have to go through a series of processes to be fully settled in the US, including taking his test for a California driver’s license.
The Duke of Sussex will have to set up a bank account, but most offices have been closed since March 17 due to the coronavirus lockdown. He will have to attend in person to request a social security number at a Social Security Administration office.
Some office in Los Angeles have separate rooms for famous people, so Prince Harry will have to wait in one of such facilities.
He will then receive a social security card sent to his address.
Philip Moeller, an expert on Social Security, wrote of its offices: “The agency invites people to make in-person appointments but this word doesn’t always make it out to the actual field offices where such meetings are supposed to take place.
“People tell us some offices refuse to even schedule meetings, while the waiting list at others can be several weeks long.”
Prince Harry is currently believed to be on a B1/B2 tourist visa or possibly an A1 diplomatic visa.
However, neither would allow him to work, except for diplomatic work under the diplomatic visa.
An “extraordinary alien visa” or O-1, is often granted to top athletes and movie stars who have a different set of skills that would normally be found in most application.
Sources told The Times last month that he has no immediate intention to become a permanent resident on a Green Card.
But being married to American citizen Meghan and the father of their dual national American-British son Archie he could have access to one.
The move would include Meghan as a sponsor and could take up to two years to finalise.
When it comes to taxes, he would have to file a return even without earning an income.
He would even have to provide information about his bank account holdings, which means the IRS could potentially have inside information of the Royals’ finances.
Tax lawyer Henry Bubel told Town & Country last month: “That wouldn’t tell you anything else about the rest of the royals’ finances except by implication.
“However, if he were the beneficiary of trusts, where he received distributions from that trust while he was a resident, there’d be some complicated reporting and some complicated tax analysis that would have to be done.”
Another aspect of moving countries would involve their pets, Guy the Beagle and Oz the black Labrador.
The US Public Health Service warns that dogs who enter the country must undergo a check up to look for potential diseases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states on its website: “All dogs must appear healthy to enter the United States.”
Dogs who enter the country from areas considered to be at high risk for dog rabies require a vaccine certificate.
Neither the United Kingdom nor Canada are at high risk of the disease, but people coming from those countries must still present written or oral evidence that their dogs stayed in a country with low or no risk for at least six months or from birth.
As a member of the Royal Family, the Duke was cared for by the Medical Household.
Now that he has moved countries, health insurance for himself also needs to be arranged, with California’s top plans reaching the $100,000 mark.