# Getting Settled

## Graduate Students

### New Students Moving from Another State/Country

{% hint style="warning" %}
**It's important that you establish California residency in your first semester.** If you don't complete the necessary tasks on time, you will be classified as a out-of-state student for the following academic year which results in higher tuition costs.
{% endhint %}

Although the deadline for filing your Statement of Legal Residence (SLR) is in June, you must complete all necessary conditions for residency (getting your CA drivers license, registering your car in CA, etc) **before the end of your first semester.**

> [**Read the available resources and take note of the relevant deadlines for establishing California State Residency**](https://registrar.berkeley.edu/tuition-fees-residency/residency-tuition-purposes/in-state-tuition-graduate-students)

## Postdocs

[LBL Resources for Postdocs](http://postdocresources.lbl.gov)

[UC Berkeley Resources for Postdocs](https://postdoc.berkeley.edu/)

[Postdoc Union](http://uaw5810.org): Postdocs have the option to join the union which aims to improve wages, hours, benefits, and other employment aspects for its members. You are welcome to ask other postdocs for their opinions based on their experiences with the union as well.

[Berkeley Lab Postdoc Association Slack ](https://lbnlpostdocs.slack.com)Join the postdoc Slack for general discussions for postdoc life at LBL 

## For Affiliates

LBL sends out daily emails and offers other notification options through [Elements](https://elements.lbl.gov/). In the past, some affiliates were not automatically signed-up for Elements announcements and missed important time sensitive information contained in these updates.