Can't you just buy a phone outright and subscrbe to a SIM/virtual SIM carrier deal?
You can but you'll have to get the international version. Which means it will be more expensive up front, have chancy carrier compatibility and every so often will fail to be recognised by the network as having a SIM at all.
https://bestxiaomiproducts.com/do-xiaomi-phones-work-in-usa/
I went through this with OnePlus before T-mob picked them up as an in-store brand. One of the nice things about getting the international version is that the carrier doesn't load their bloatware crap onto the phone. BUT each OS update was a *fingers crossed* experience and while the phones worked great in TX and CO and Canada, the phones didn't work at all in New England ski country, basically turning into WiFi tablets.
Regardless just checked the Xiaomi US site and while they'll sell you everything from a e scooter to an air purifer to earbuds to precision screwdrivers they don't seem to have phones on there.
Oh, they're very much an IoT brand.
So maybe a legacy from Trump's war on Huawei?
Nah. Legacy from US mobile phone adoption and business patterns.
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