Passports and Visas

Los Angeles is America’s second most populous city after New York.  Greater Los Angeles—which includes Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Ventura County, and Orange County—has a population of nearly 19 million people.  Known for its endless sprawl, Greater Los Angeles is the largest metropolitan region in the United States by land area and includes over 200 cities such as Santa Monica, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Burbank, Torrance, Long Beach, Irvine, Anaheim, and Inglewood.  Los Angeles is a place that attracts young people from all over the world, including Australians interested in making their mark on the world within the music, film, new media, and other creative industries.  There are many successful Australian actors, directors, writers, and musicians living in Los Angeles, and the city is home to Australians in Film, an organization promoting Australians in the entertainment industry.  There are an estimated 45,000 Australians living in Los Angeles, making the City of Angels the number one city for Aussies in the United States.  Los Angeles is also a transportation hub for Americans traveling to Australia; Qantas Airways, Delta, United, and American Airlines offer direct flights to Sydney from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). 

New York is America’s most-populous city, and its metropolitan area has over 20 million people.  New York City contains the five boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx.  The New York metropolitan area includes New York City, Long Island, and the Mid and Lower Hudson Valley.  It also includes several large cities in New Jersey such as Newark, Edison, Elizabeth, Paterson, Jersey City, and Hoboken, along with cities in Connecticut that include New Haven, Bridgeport, and Stamford.  New York is considered “Capital of the World”, not only due to its economic power, but also because it is a center of diplomacy and culture.  The city is home to the United Nations and there are over 800 languages spoken here, including Bangla, the national language of Bangladesh.  With nearly 100,000 Bangladeshi people living in New York, Bangla can be heard throughout the city and chances are good that the person serving your morning coffee at Dunkin’ or driving your taxi is from Bangladesh.  New York is the center of Bangladesh culture in the United States and home to two-thirds of Bangladeshi immigrants.  There are several dozen Bangladeshi restaurant and grocery stores in New York and the city is home to organizations like the Bangladesh Society.

The Greater Miami Area is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the United States and has a population of 6.2 million people.  The metropolitan area is composed of Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County.  Its main cities include Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Miramar, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, and Boca Raton.  This is a diverse community where 40% of the population was born in another country, and it is one of America’s most important cities for international trade.  Miami is a business hub for the Latin American region and is often thought of as the unofficial “Capital of Latin America”.  While Spanish is often heard on the streets of Miami, French is another language that can be heard around the city; there are an estimated 2 million Canadians that visit South Florida each year, a quarter of whom come from Quebec, Canada’s French-speaking province.  Miami is even home to a French-speaking newspaper, Le Soleil de la Floride.  Attracted to the warm weather and beautiful beaches of South Florida cities like Miami, Canadians are the top international visitors to the Sunshine State and inject over 6 billion dollars into the economy each year.  Canadians are also the top foreign real estate investors in the state of Florida.

Atlanta has a population of over 6 million people, making it the 9th most populous metropolitan area in the United States.  Atlanta is the capital of Georgia, which is the 8th most populous of the 50 states.  The city and surrounding area—known as the Atlanta metropolitan area— includes the municipalities of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Roswell, Alpharetta, Marietta, Duluth, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Decatur, Conyers and others.  Atlanta is the commercial capital of the Southeast United States and has the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country.  Atlanta and the state of Georgia have also become a popular destination for investment from overseas; there are even some companies from New Zealand with investments in the area.  Likewise, there are Atlanta area companies such as Americold that have multimillion dollar investments in New Zealand.  Although the population of New Zealanders in Atlanta is not huge, it is still large enough to form the New Zealand American Association in Atlanta, a social organization for New Zealanders (and locals interested in New Zealand) that celebrate events like Waitangi and ANZAC Day.  There is also an honorary consulate in Atlanta that represents the interests of New Zealand in the Southeast United States. 

Atlanta has a population of over 6 million people, making it the 9th most populous metropolitan area in the United States.  Atlanta is the capital of Georgia, which is the 8th most populous of the 50 states.  The city and surrounding area—known as Metro Atlanta—is also the commercial capital of the Southeast United States.  The metro area includes the municipalities of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Marietta, Duluth, John's Creek, Norcross, Tucker, Decatur, and others.  Atlanta is a diverse and international city that in recent years has attracted a growing number of immigrants from South Asia, including newcomers from Bangladesh.  Metro Atlanta is now home to nearly 10,000 Bangladeshi people and there are even a handful of Bangladesh restaurants and grocery stores selling halal foods.  There are also community organizations such as mosques and temples that uphold the country’s Islamic and Hindu traditions, along with social organizations like the Bangladesh Association of Georgia.  Bangladesh is not on the radar for most local Atlantans as a tourist destination, however, the country is a major manufacturer of textiles and exports billions of dollars of garments to the United States each year, so Metro Atlanta businesspeople will find opportunities here. 

UPDATED April 4, 2022

Charlotte is the 23rd-most populous city in the United States and is the most populous city in the state of North Carolina.  The Charlotte metropolitan area is a sixteen-county region that stretches into the state of South Carolina and includes the towns of Concord, Gastonia, Huntersville, Kannapolis, Indian Trail, Mooresville, Monroe, Salisbury, Matthews, Statesville, Rock Hill (SC), and Fort Mill (SC).  Known as the Queen City, this metropolis of 2.6 million people has been one of the country’s fastest-growing cities the past two decades.  Charlotte’s youthful population, low cost of living, and geographic location in America’s Sun Belt, have made it an attractive destination for business investment.  It’s also become a popular destination for relocation from other parts of the United States as well as for immigrants from other countries, including newcomers from India.  Indians make up one of the fastest growing groups in Charlotte and now have a population of over 20,000 residents.  Charlotte is home to several cultural organizations representing the various ethnic groups of India such as Gujarati, Tamil, Sindhi, Telugu, Marathi, and others.  The city hosts the annual Festival of India and is home to the Hindu Center of Charlotte, and has a growing number of Indian restaurants and grocery stores.

UPDATED March 25, 2022

Portland is the most populous city in the state of Oregon and the second-most populous city in the Pacific Northwest.  The Portland metropolitan area has a population of 2.5 million people and is the 25th most populous metropolis in the United States.  The city is located on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, which meet on the northern end of the Willamette Valley.  The valley stretches for 150 miles between forested mountains containing rich farmland and scenic views.  Over 250 agricultural items are produced here, including award winning wines like pinot noir and hops used in the production of craft beer.  There are at least 5,000 Cambodians living in the Portland area and the city is home to the Cambodian American Community of Oregon, a nonprofit organization focused on preserving the Khmer language and promoting the culture and history of Cambodia.  Portland is also home to the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Oregon, an organization that supports Wat Dhammarangsey, a Cambodian Buddhist temple that hosts traditional events such as Cambodian New Year.  Cambodia is an important destination for Portland area businesspeople working in the sportswear industry because many of the city’s famous brands manufacture their products in this Southeast Asian country.

Atlanta has a population of over 6 million people, making it the 9th most populous metropolitan area in the United States.  Atlanta is the capital of Georgia, which is the 8th most populous of the 50 states.  The city and surrounding area—known as the Atlanta metropolitan area— includes the municipalities of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Roswell, Alpharetta, Marietta, Duluth, Norcross, Tucker, Decatur, Mableton, Conyers and others.  Atlanta is the commercial capital of the Southeast United States and has the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country.  Atlanta has also become a popular destination for international firms seeking to establish a North American headquarters, which even includes a few companies from Australia.  Australians, eager to cash in on high returns in a growing US economy, have also made investments in Atlanta real estate.  Of course, there are also many Atlanta-based firms doing business in Australia such as Cox Enterprises, WestRock, Coca-Cola, Inspire Brands, AGCO, and so many others.  American tourists rank as the second biggest spenders in Australia and the country has always been a popular travel destination for Atlanta area college students from Georgia Tech, Emory University, and University of Georgia.

Atlanta has a population of over 6 million people, making it the 9th most populous metropolitan area in the United States.  Atlanta is the capital of Georgia, which is the 8th most populous of the 50 states.  The city and surrounding area—known as the Atlanta metropolitan area—is also the commercial capital of the Southeast United States.  The metropolitan area includes the municipalities of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Roswell, Alpharetta, Marietta, Duluth, Norcross, Tucker, Decatur, Mableton, Clarkston, Conyers, and others.  Atlanta has become a very diverse and international city.  The Atlanta metropolitan area has nearly 85,000 immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa and has one of the largest populations of West Africans in the country.  There are even some immigrants from Benin, however the numbers are small because there are only about 5,000 Beninese in the Untied States.  The city of Atlanta has a sister city agreement with Cotonou, the largest city in Benin.  As a former colony of France, this is a French speaking country and visitors from Atlanta might find it useful to prepare for their trip by enrolling in language courses at the Alliance Francaise d’Atlanta in Midtown.  Yoruba is also spoken in Benin, a language that has been taught by The University of Georgia since 1996.

The city of Dallas and the surrounding metropolitan area is the most populous metropolis in the southern United States and fourth-most populous in the country.  The Dallas metropolitan area—known as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, or DFW by local residents—has a population of 7.6 million people and includes the cities of Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Irving, Garland, Richardson, Frisco, Mesquite, Denton, Grand Prairie, and McKinney.  The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, located in North Texas, is one of the fastest growing regions in the country thanks to its low cost of living, low taxes, abundance of resources, and ease of doing business.  Dallas has the second-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States and there is a long list of companies that have been relocating to the area from other parts of the country.  Dallas has the sixth largest population of Hispanics in the country, numbering nearly 2 million residents.  The overwhelming majority of this population has Mexican heritage, so Mexican culture is not unfamiliar to most residents of Dallas.  Bolivians, on the other hand, only number about 1,500 in the Dallas area.  Although Bolivia and its culture is little known to most in Dallas, the country is an emerging travel destination for those seeking unique attractions.