A US resume is a short summary of your work, usually 1 page (2 pages if you have more than about 10 years of experience). A CV in the US usually means a long academic document, used for research and university jobs.
US employers may not decide based on age, religion, national origin, marital status and similar things. So a US resume does not include:
Marital status, children, religion, nationality or passport number.
Your full home address. City and state are enough.
References. Have them ready on a separate page, and say nothing about them on the resume.
Name, phone, email, city and state, LinkedIn link.
Summary: two or three lines. "Mechanical engineer with 7 years in automotive design. Led teams of 5. Skilled in SolidWorks and Six Sigma."
Experience: newest job first. Company, city and country, your title, and dates (month and year).
Education: degree, school, country. Add "evaluated as equivalent to a US bachelor's degree" if you have an evaluation (see Getting your foreign degree evaluated).
Skills: software, languages, certificates.
Write results, not duties
Start each line with an action word and add a number when you can.
Weak: "Responsible for customer accounts."
Strong: "Managed 40 business accounts worth $2 million a year; kept 95% of them."
Many companies use software called an ATS (applicant tracking system) to scan resumes. Use the same key words as the job ad, a simple layout, and save as PDF or Word. Avoid tables, columns and pictures.
A cover letter is a short letter, about 3 paragraphs, that explains why you fit this job. Some jobs ask for it; many do not. Template:
Why you are writing: "I am applying for the Data Analyst role. I have 6 years of analytics experience in retail."
Proof: two examples that match the job ad.
Close: "I would welcome the chance to talk. I am authorized to work in the US." Only write the last sentence if it is true for you.
Work permission questions
Applications often ask: "Are you legally authorized to work in the US?" and "Will you now or in the future require sponsorship?" Answer honestly. Sponsorship means the employer files a visa petition for you, such as H-1B.
Spelling errors. Ask a friend or the job center to read it.
Using one resume for every job. Change the summary and key words each time.
A fancy design with a photo. It can be rejected by the software.