Get a US phone number

Banks and credit-card issuers send two-factor authentication (2FA) codes by text message to US mobile numbers. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), state Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs), US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) portals, and the Social Security Administration's my.ssa.gov all verify identity the same way. Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, pharmacies, and most job-application sites ask for a US number too.

Text messages are not the only option everywhere. Login.gov, which fronts many federal services, supports six sign-in methods, including authenticator apps and security keys, and USCIS accepts a text, an email, or an authentication app. Plenty of private services still offer text only.

Many US web forms reject a foreign number at the field itself: the box will not take a +44 or +91 prefix. Using your home-country number while you settle in means filling the same forms again after you switch, so setting up a US number early saves that work.

The US mobile market has three tiers.

The Big 3 networks

Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile own the towers. Verizon publishes its myPlan tiers at $40, $55, and $70 a month for one line, plus a flat Simplicity plan at $45 a line with Auto Pay and paper-free billing. T-Mobile lists Essentials 2.0 at $55, Experience More 2.0 at $90, and Experience Beyond 2.0 at $105 for one line. AT&T publishes its rates per line at four lines: $30, $40, and $55 with AutoPay and paperless billing. These plans run a credit check, and the signup form asks for a Social Security Number (SSN).

MVNOs

A Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) resells the same towers for less. Mint Mobile runs on T-Mobile. Visible is owned by Verizon and runs on Verizon. Google Fi runs on T-Mobile. US Mobile sells three networks, called Warp, Dark Star, and Light Speed, and lets you switch between them. Metro by T-Mobile and Cricket, which AT&T owns, round out the main lineup. MVNO plans start at $15 a month and run no credit check.

Prepaid brands

Prepaid brands charge before the month starts, either month by month or as a multi-month bundle. There is no contract and no credit check. This is where most newcomers start.

An eSIM is a digital SIM profile you install by scanning a QR code, over the internet, in a few minutes. Most iPhones from the XS onward, most Pixels, and recent Samsung Galaxy models support eSIM. US-market iPhone 14 and newer have no physical SIM tray at all.

Physical SIMs still ship worldwide and work in older phones and many Android models. They take a few days to arrive and need a US shipping address, unless the carrier ships to your country.

The difference that matters for a newcomer is timing. You can activate an eSIM before you fly. A physical SIM has to reach you first, and most US carriers ship only inside the US.

A locked phone is tied to the carrier that sold it and will not accept another carrier's SIM or eSIM. An unlocked phone works with any compatible carrier. Unlock rules are set country by country: the UK has required free unlocking since December 2021, Germany unlocks postpaid handsets, and France unlocks after three months.

There is no US rule that unlocks every phone after 60 days of paid service. The wireless industry's voluntary code lets a carrier keep a prepaid phone locked for up to a year, and a prepaid phone is exactly what most newcomers buy. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also granted Verizon a waiver of its own 60-day unlocking condition on January 12, 2026. Only the carrier that sold the phone can unlock it, and the unlock itself takes up to 10 days to go through.

Unlocking is half the question. Your phone also has to support the US LTE and 5G bands. Phones built for other markets sometimes leave out Band 12, 13, or 71, which US carriers use for rural and in-building coverage. A phone that is unlocked but missing those bands will have dead zones that no SIM or setting can fix.

Prepaid plans from Mint Mobile, Visible, US Mobile, and Metro by T-Mobile ask for the least. You need a passport or government ID, a US shipping address (optional if you take an eSIM), and a payment method. PayPal is the easiest way to pay when your card carries a foreign billing address, because the carrier's checkout reads the PayPal account rather than the card.

Postpaid plans on Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile run a credit check, and the form asks for a Social Security Number (SSN). T-Mobile publishes a path for people who do not have one. It runs its service eligibility check on a Consular ID or Matricula Consular card, a US passport, a state ID, a Permanent Resident Card, an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), a US Military ID, or a passport carrying an M, J, or F visa annotation.

Without US credit history, a carrier can hold a refundable deposit before it opens the line. Carriers set that amount account by account and publish no figure, so you learn yours at signup.

Prepaid fits you if you are new to the US, have no Social Security Number (SSN) yet, have no US credit history, or want to stay flexible. You pay before the month starts, or buy a 3, 6, or 12-month bundle. There is no contract, and you can move to another carrier whenever you want. Prepaid plans start at $15 a month, and prepaid unlimited data runs $25 to $45 a month.

Postpaid makes sense once you hold an SSN, some US credit history, and a carrier you plan to stay with. The bill arrives at the end of each month. Postpaid also carries multi-line discounts, device financing, and perks that prepaid plans skip, such as bundled streaming services and included international roaming. On the Big 3, one postpaid line costs $40 to $105 a month depending on the tier, and the same tiers cost $30 to $70 a line once four lines share the account.

In month one, prepaid is the answer for nearly every newcomer. You can move the number to a postpaid plan later and keep it.

A Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) uses the Big 3 towers, so in most places the coverage is the same signal from the same equipment. What differs is priority. When a tower is congested, at a full stadium or during a commute, Big 3 postpaid traffic is served first and MVNO traffic can slow for a few minutes. Most people never notice it. A heavy streamer in a crowded city will.

The carriers split along clear lines. Mint Mobile runs on T-Mobile and suits someone who mostly uses data in cities. Visible is owned by Verizon and sells unlimited data on Verizon at $25, $35, or $45 a month, with the two higher tiers carrying premium data that is not slowed for priority. Google Fi runs on T-Mobile and suits frequent travelers, though its free high-speed data abroad applies only to the Flexible and Unlimited Premium plans. US Mobile sells three networks, Warp, Dark Star, and Light Speed, and lets you switch between them, with annual plans quoted at $16.58 to $24.92 a month including taxes and fees.

None of them is best in the abstract. The trade is between price, data priority when a tower is busy, international coverage, and which phones each one supports.

Run two checks before you buy a plan.

1. Is the phone carrier-locked? Find your International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number under Settings, About Phone, or by dialing *#06#. Only the carrier that sold you the phone can unlock it, so send that carrier the IMEI and ask. The UK, Germany, France, and Australia all set consumer-friendly unlock rules, and the unlock itself takes up to 10 days to go through.
2. Does it support the US bands? CDMA and GSM are legacy terms now, because every major US carrier runs LTE and 5G. What matters is whether your hardware includes the bands US carriers depend on: Band 2, 4, 12, 13, 25, 66, and 71. Phones sold in India, the EU, and East Asia sometimes leave one or two of these out, and SettleKit checks your exact sub-model against each US carrier.

Pre-arrival activation works with a narrow set of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) that accept a foreign credit card and let you activate an eSIM over WiFi, with no US tower involved. The usual options are Lycamobile, Mint Mobile through the Mint app, US Mobile, and immigrant-focused providers such as Zolve and Abroad Cube. Zolve and Abroad Cube also ship physical SIMs to addresses in India and other countries before you fly.

The flow runs like this. Sign up online, pay by credit card or PayPal, receive an eSIM QR code by email, scan it on your phone, then turn on WiFi Calling. WiFi Calling is the step everything else rests on: it makes the phone register over the internet instead of searching for US towers it cannot reach from abroad. After that, the US number is live.

Not every carrier allows this. Some block activation by GPS or IP address when the request comes from outside the US. SettleKit tracks which carriers activate from your country, so you buy from one that will.

In the US, every carrier is open to you. Big 3 postpaid signups happen in-store so staff can run the credit check and set up the device. Bring your passport, your Social Security Number (SSN) if you have one, a US address, and a US bank card. Allow 30 to 60 minutes.

Prepaid signups with a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) happen online. Pick a plan on the carrier's website and either receive an eSIM QR code within minutes or have a physical SIM shipped to your US address in 2 to 5 days. If you arrived without a US address, an eSIM removes the shipping step entirely.

Google Fi and a few others run the whole signup inside an app. Install it, enter your details, and scan the eSIM QR code it shows on screen.

In nearly every case, no. US carriers accept number ports only from other US carriers. A +44, +91, +49, or +33 number cannot be moved onto a US plan, so you will be issued a new US (+1) number at signup.

There are ways to keep the old number reachable. Google Voice and NumberBarn can hold a number and forward calls and texts over the internet, but the port has to start while the original line is still active. Arrange that before you cancel your home-country SIM.

Moving a US number between US carriers is straightforward. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says a simple wireless port completes in about one business day. If the new carrier asks for the last four digits of a Social Security Number (SSN) during a port, that belongs to the person named on the old account. It is used to match you to that account, not to check your credit.

For an eSIM, the carrier emails you a QR code or shows it inside its app. On iPhone, open Settings, then Cellular. On Android, open Settings, then Connections, then SIM manager. Tap Add eSIM and scan the code. Name the plan, choose whether it carries data, calls, or both, and the line is active. If the activation fails from abroad, turn on WiFi Calling and try again over WiFi.

For a physical SIM, put the card in and restart the phone. The carrier's network provisions the line within a few minutes. Some carriers still ask you to dial a toll-free activation number or type an activation code printed on the SIM packaging. If you bought the SIM in a retail store, staff will activate it at the counter.

Most prepaid unlimited plans are soft-capped. Past a monthly threshold, the carrier deprioritizes your traffic, which means you are served after other customers when a tower is busy rather than held to a fixed slow speed. Mint Mobile sets that threshold at 50GB and Metro by T-Mobile at 35GB. Visible+ and Cricket Supreme publish no threshold for regular data. Postpaid plans that are not unlimited charge per gigabyte once you pass the allowance.

To keep the bill predictable, stay on WiFi at home and at work, turn off auto-play video on mobile data, and open the carrier's app mid-month to read your usage total. Video streaming, video calls, and large app updates account for most of what you use.

Moving a US number to another US carrier is fast and free. Sign up with the new carrier and give it your account number and transfer PIN from the old carrier. Both appear in the old carrier's app. The new carrier runs the port, and it completes in about one business day.

Several lines on one postpaid account cut the per-line price. Verizon charges $40, $55, or $70 for one line and $30, $45, or $60 a line at four lines. T-Mobile charges $90 for one Experience More line and $220 for four. AT&T publishes $30, $40, and $55 a line at four lines. MVNOs discount less, and Mint Mobile runs no multi-line discount at all: on a Mint family account, every line pays its own plan price.

WiFi Calling

WiFi Calling routes calls and text messages over the internet instead of the cellular network. It is free on almost every US carrier once you switch it on, and it works anywhere with WiFi. Your US number keeps receiving two-factor authentication (2FA) codes while you are visiting family back home. Turn it on under Settings, Cellular, WiFi Calling on iPhone, or Settings, Connections, Networks, WiFi Calling on Android.

International roaming

T-Mobile includes 15GB of high-speed data in 215+ countries and destinations on Experience Beyond and 5GB on Experience More, then drops to 256 Kbps for the rest of the month. Calls made abroad cost $0.50 a minute. Google Fi includes free high-speed data abroad on the Flexible and Unlimited Premium plans only. Its Standard and Essentials plans cover Canada and Mexico, and calls made abroad cost 20 cents a minute. Visible and US Mobile sell travel passes for short trips. Most other MVNOs charge per use or do not roam internationally at all.

SIM-swap fraud is when someone convinces your carrier to move your number onto a SIM they control, often by impersonating you at a retail store. Once they hold the number, any text-based two-factor authentication (2FA) code for banking, crypto, or email recovery arrives on their phone.

Every Big 3 carrier offers a free lock that blocks SIM changes and port-outs. T-Mobile calls it SIM Protection and Account Takeover Protection. Verizon calls it Number Lock, paired with a Number Transfer PIN. AT&T calls it Wireless Account Lock, and you switch it on in the myAT&T app. Do not rely on a wireless passcode for this: that is the account PIN, and on its own it does not stop a SIM swap.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules on November 15, 2023 requiring carriers to offer a free account lock against SIM changes and port-outs. The FCC declined to specify how carriers must authenticate customers, so no PIN is mandated, and the compliance date is still unsettled. Switch the locks on yourself the day the line goes live.

For banking, crypto, and email, replace text-message 2FA with an authenticator app wherever the service supports one. Authy, Google Authenticator, and 1Password all work. Text-message 2FA stays exposed to SIM swapping however well your carrier's locks are set.