Los Angeles at a Glance

Moving to Los Angeles

People moving to Los Angeles are often amazed by the city's vastness and diversity.

When you knew that you were moving to Los Angeles, what did you think of first? Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Sunset Boulevard inevitably come to mind, but are they likely to play a big part in your move to Los Angeles? InterNations tells you what you really need to know before moving to Los Angeles.

First of all: Los Angeles is vast. The city of Los Angeles is divided into over 80 districts and neighborhoods and covers an area of 470 square miles. With a population of around 3.8 million, LA is the most populous city in California and second only to New York on a national level. The higher your awareness of its size and diversity before moving to Los Angeles, the higher is the likelihood of your making the right choices.

Moving to Los Angeles: The City and Its People

People moving to Los Angeles are often amazed by the ethnic and cultural diversity of the city. Expats moving to Los Angeles can be sure that they will not be the only foreigners in the city, and even among the native “Angelenos”, the ethnic and racial diversity is immense. According to predictions from the State Department of Finance, Latinos (of any race) will make up the majority of the population in only a few years, followed by people of white American, Asian and African-American backgrounds.

LA’s topography is no less diverse than its population: It is both flat and hilly in places and includes seaside resort-style areas as well as highly urbanized or quasi-rural neighborhoods. The following division into the city’s main areas serves as a general orientation for people moving to Los Angeles: Downtown LA, East LA, Northeast LA, South LA, Harbor Area, Greater Hollywood, Wilshire, the Westside, San Fernando Valley, Crescenta Valley.

Move to Los Angeles: Visa Matters

You should take care of all visa matters well in advance of moving to Los Angeles. Do not attempt to enter the US without a valid visa and/or passport. Most expats moving to Los Angeles, unless they are planning to live in the US permanently, need a non-immigrant, temporary worker visa based on the sort of work they will be doing. For more information on relevant visa categories, please refer to the Temporary Workers section of the Bureau of Consular Affairs.

If you plan on moving to Los Angeles to take up employment, your prospective employer or agent is required to file a petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before you can apply for your visa. Once your petition has been approved, you need to arrange a personal interview at your nearest US Embassy or Consulate, for which you’ll need the receipt number of your petition. Always check the average waiting times at the Embassy and Consulate dealing with your application, as this may affect your plans for moving to Los Angeles.

Consular officers will provide detailed advice on the documents you need to present at the interview. Usually, these are:

a valid passport
one 2x2 photograph
a completed Online Non-Immigrant Visa Application (form DS-160).

Most visa categories have parallel categories for family members. If you consider moving to Los Angeles with your spouse and children, you must apply for a separate visa for all family members.

All this may sound quite simple and straight-forward. However, if you are seriously thinking about moving to Los Angeles, you are probably aware of the expensive and long-winded process your employer has to go through in order to get approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Please also consult our article series on moving to the USA for more information.

Moving to Los Angeles: VWP and ESTA

Should you be moving to Los Angeles for short-term business, i.e. for a period of 90 days or less, you may be entitled to enter the country without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program. However, please note that this rule does not apply to foreign journalists who want to carry out their work in the US. Foreign media representatives moving to Los Angeles must always obtain a nonimmigrant media (1) visa in order to be able to engage in their journalistic work there.

Currently, nationals of 36 countries qualify for the program: For a detailed list, please consult the VWP page of the Bureau of Consular Affairs. If your country takes part in the Visa Waiver Program, you still need to fulfill certain requirements before you can move to Los Angeles. First of all, you need to be in possession of a machine-readable or electronic passport valid for at least 6 months past your expected stay in the US. Second, you must have obtained an authorization to travel under the VWP through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to moving to Los Angeles.