If I want to take cash from Portugal to the USA, should I exchange my money before leaving or after arriving?
in my experience no-cash transactions are the best deal. Take your Portuguese credit card, get some cash ($60) for emergencies. Only pay with your credit card. It's much cheaper because it's all virtual.  The best would be to set up an American bank account and transfer the money there. You can also get Paypal account, they offer credit cards too. The virtual banks, credit unions are the best option because they don't charge you for transactions. They don't have expenses with keeping actual money. Find some credit Union that accepts foreigners and take it from there. You can exchange your money on the airport because it's in tax free zone. I recommend the country of the currency since they sell you their 'valuts' and you are buying dollars. Not selling Euros... Make sure to find out what is the best deal. "You can find lots of answers to this question by googling.  I found at least five pages about this in 30 seconds. Most of these pages seem to say that if you must convert cash, converting it in the destination country is probably better, because you are essentially buying a product (in this case, dollars), and it will cheaper where the supply is greater.  There are more dollars in the USA than there are in Portugal, so you may be able to get them cheaper there.  (Some of those pages mention caveats if you're trying to exchange some little-known currency, which people might not accept, but this isn't an issue if you're converting euros.) Some of those pages specifically recommend against airport currency exchanges; since they have a ""captive audience"" of people who want to convert money right away, they face less competition and may offer worse rates.  Of course, the downside of doing the exchange in the USA is that you'll be less familiar with where to do it.  I did find some people saying that, for this reason, it's better to do it in your own country where you can shop around at leisure to find the best rate.  That said, if you take your time shopping around, shifts in the underlying exchange rate in the interim could erase any savings you find. It's worth noting, though, that the main message from all these pages is the same: don't exchange cash at all if you can possibly avoid it.  Use a credit card or ATM card to do the exchange.  The exchange rate is usually better, and you also avoid the risks associated with carrying cash." My experience (from European countries, but not Portugal specifically) is that it's better to change in the European country, as many banks will give you US $ as a matter of course, while in the US (insular place that it is), it can be rather difficult to find a place to exchange money outside an international airport.  In fact, I have a few hundred Euros left from my last trip, several years ago.  Expected to make another trip which didn't come off, and haven't found a place to exchange them. PS: Just for information's sake, at the time I was working in Europe, and found that by far the easiest way to transfer part of my salary back home was to get $100 bills from my European bank.  Another way was to withdraw money from an ATM, as the US & European banks were on the same network.  Unfortunately the IRS put a stop to that, though I don't know if it was all banks, or just the particular one I was using.  Might be worth checking, though. I would just rely on the salary from my job in the US. If you don't have a job in the US, you're very unlikely to get a visa to move there and look for work, and so the question of how to take money there (except for a holiday) doesn't arise. (Unless you have dual Portuguese/American citizenship.)
I think you are asking quite a few questions here;   If you have Rs 10000, its better you get it converted in India before you leave. Most Banks and Exchange houses like Western Union would take Rupees and Give you USD. What do they do with USD, there are other who give them USD and need Rupees. They make a spread in this process.   If you are getting a salary in USD in US, whenever you want to transfer money to India, the Banks or Remittance services like Western Union would take USD from your US Account and Transfter equivalent Money into your Bank Account in India in Rupees. They will tell the exchange rate applicable. Depending on why visa type & the duration you are going, your company should be able to tell you your tax liabilities in the US. Read similar questions here to get a general idea. You seem to think that stock exchanges are much more than they actually are. But it's right there in the name: stock exchange. It's a place where people exchange (i.e. trade) stocks, no more and no less. All it does is enable the trading (and thereby price finding). Supposedly they went into mysterious bankruptcy then what will happen to the listed companies  Absolutely nothing. They may have to use a different exchange if they're planning an IPO or stock buyback, that's all. and to the shareholder's stock who invested in companies that were listed in these markets ?  Absolutley nothing. It still belongs to them. Trades that were in progress at the moment the exchange went down might be problematic, but usually the shutdown would happen in a manner that takes care of it, and ultimately the trade either went through or it didn't (and you still have the money). It might take some time to establish this. Let's suppose I am an investor and I bought stocks from a listed company in NYSE and NYSE went into bankruptcy, even though NYSE is a unique business, meaning it doesn't have to do anything with that firm which I invested in. How would I know the stock price of that firm  Look at a different stock exchange. There are dozens even within the USA, hundreds internationally. and will I lose my purchased stocks ?  Of course not, they will still be listed as yours at your broker. In general, what will happen after that ?  People will use different stock exchanges, and some of them migth get overloaded from the additional volume. Expect some inconveniences but no huge problems. Lets look at possible use cases: If you ever converted your cryptocurrency to cash on a foreign exchange, then **YES** you had to report. That means if you ever daytraded and the US dollar (or other fiat) amount was $10,000 or greater when you went out of crypto, then you need to report. Because the regulations stipulate you need to report over $10,000 at any point in the year. If you DID NOT convert your cryptocurrency to cash, and only had them on an exchange's servers, perhaps traded for other cryptocurrency pairs, then NO this did not fall under the regulations. Example, In 2013 I wanted to cash out of a cryptocurrency that didn't have a USD market in the United States, but I didn't want to go to cash on a foreign exchange specifically for this reason (amongst others). So I sold my Litecoin on BTC-E (Slovakia) for Bitcoin, and then I sold the Bitcoin on Coinbase (USA).  (even though BTC-E had a Litecoin/USD market, and then I could day trade the swings easily to make more capital gains, but I wanted cash in my bank account AND didn't want the reporting overhead). Read the regulations yourself. Financial instruments that are reportable: Cash (fiat), securities, futures and options. Also, http://www.bna.com/irs-no-bitcoin-n17179891056/ whether it is just in the blockchain or on a server, IRS and FINCEN said bitcoin is not reportable on FBAR. When they update their guidance, it'll be in the news. The director of FinCEN is very active in cryptocurrency developments and guidance. Bitcoin has been around for six years, it isn't that esoteric and the government isn't that confused on what it is (IRS and FinCEN's hands are tied by Congress in how to more realistically categorize cryptocurrency) Although at this point in time, there are several very liquid exchanges within the United States, such as the one NYSE/ICE hosts (Coinbase). "&gt; First, you give this gray topic of Medicare Part-D where Trump promised to act upon, but has yet do anything. Am I right?  If you think the topic is ""gray"" and the issue is Trump ""has yet do anything"" then you haven't put in the time to understand why I think this is an issue.  &gt; Global Warming? It's Trump fault?  It appears you didn't put in the time to understand my issue with President Trump and global warming either.  &gt; Because the Paris Accords, like the TPP, and like NAFTA, and the Iran Deal, etc, etc, etc, are scams to hurt the USA and make the USA pay more. Nothing else.  Oh wow, you have drunk deeply from the Republican cool-aid.  For what it is worth, you are being lied to and manipulated.  There is a lot more (or less in a few cases) to these deals than you have been told.  FYI, when you think the only reason people would be championing a policy you disagree with is that those people are evil, you might want to dig a little deeper.  &gt; Since you are an expert with Global Warming...  All right.  &gt; Who has bigger air pollution, coal power plants, cutting trees, environmental disasters, etc? The USA or China?  Currently?  China, China, USA, USA  Historically?  USA, USA, USA, USA  &gt; ...is it true that deserts are now becoming green?  No, [deserts are growing](http://www.dw.com/en/holding-back-the-growing-desert/a-18620447).  A few spots where plants are now growing in the desert does not change the global trend.  &gt; Most trees in the world, which are in Russia and not the Amazon, are green longer?  It is thought that the warmer temperatures will delay them losing their leaves in fall.  [The warmer temperatures will also kill many of them](http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-fate-of-trees-how-climate-change-may-alter-forests-worldwide-20150312).  &gt; Global warming happened before, many times in earth history before the industrial revolution?  Yes, due to [Milankovitch cycles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milankovitch_cycles) and the Earth releasing methane and CO2.  &gt; Also ice ages?  Yes, again caused by [Milankovitch cycles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milankovitch_cycles).  We don't expect another ice age for about 40,000 years.  &gt; Oceans did not rise?  Oceans and continents have risen and fallen a lot in the history of the world.  Usually these kinds of changes come with huge extinction events.  &gt; I am not worried about Global Warming. It has negative things, and positive things.  That is too bad because it will will come with about a hundred negative things for every positive.  &gt; Do you have any idea what will happen in the world, 20-30 years from now, when we stop raising cows, pigs, goats and sheep?  That would be great but that won't be enough to stop global warming.  It is also may never come to pass so it is a bad idea to do nothing today expecting technology to fix our problem tomorrow.  &gt; You should be more worried about China and what this country and all its people do the earth.  Maybe so, but then President Trump should be implementing a plan and taking steps to minimize the damage in the future.  Instead he is ignoring the problem and rolling back what few preparations Obama made." You should definitely be able to keep the US bank account and credit cards. I'm a UK citizen and resident who worked in the US for a few months (on a temporary visa) many years back and I still have the US bank account from that time. Unless you are planning on moving to the UK permanently, you also should keep your US bank account and cards to make the process of moving back there eventually easier. I would also suggest keeping/moving at least a portion of your savings to the US at regular intervals to insure you against the risk that exchange rates will be against you when you move back. It'll also make things easier when you visit the US as you presumably will every so often - if you use your US account and cards you won't get hit so badly by charges for making each individual payment. "I have heard that I can give 10k as a gift in cash for my aunt to take   on the plane. Please don't, for her own safety. Don't know when was the last you've been to Russia, but that's not a place to walk around with $10K in cash in your pocket. For the rest, the 20k, I am not sure what is the best course of   action. Would something like Western Union, Paypal or Bank Wire Transfer be the best course of action?  Wire transfer would be the safest option. Would there be tax implications for me as well? Depends on where you are tax resident and where you are a citizen. Some countries have ""gift tax"", but most don't. If you're a US tax resident, then you're subject to US gift tax rules. Your gifts are taxable if they exceed $14K per year per person. So your $30K to your mom is taxable. But your $10K to your mom, $10K to your dad and $10K to your aunt is not. You cannot however control what they do with it." I want to transfer around $2000 to another bank account (which is under my name ) in India. As much as I know you cannot instruct to transfer money from your travel card to a Bank Account. You can withdraw cash at ATM or swipe it. On return you can encash the balance. Will this have any tax implications? The money provided to you by the company is meant as an allowance for your expense in US. As per law any money you save and not spend has to be declared as additional income and taxes paid accordingly. Is there any difference if I send it to my parents account? There is no difference if you transfer the funds to your account or to your parents accounts or keep the cash. If you haven't spent the allowance, its additional benefit and taxable. There are some brokers in the US who would be happy to open an account for non-US residents, allowing you to trade stocks at NYSE and other US Exchanges. Some of them, along with some facts: DriveWealth Has support in Portuguese Website TD Ameritrade Has support in Portuguese Website Interactive Brokers Account opening is not that straightforward Website