August 2008 fillers, .........and we're back :) Add to Watch List Options

[Badgerella]

Even though I am still jobless (no EAD as of yet), I have so little time and so much to do... wtf.

My file was transfered to USCIS a couple days ago so I assume there will be no interview. Biometrics appointment is scheduled for November 24th and, overall, I'm waiting for things. Hopefully EAD arrives soon.

Mara, congrats on the wedding (belated, though)!

Everyone else, congrats on AOS related stuff and everything else that's happened in the past...... forever. I'll try to be here again. Life's been hectic.

You need biometrics for your EAD, so expect a longer waiting time.

I'm doing the biometrics thing on the 24th (so basically a week from now), which is why I hope EAD shows up soon after that, too. How long does it normally take?

[Leo and Lioness]

For the Ead and AP takes no more than 40 days i believe

This post has been edited by Leo and Lioness: Nov 18 2009, 10:36 AM

[Leo and Lioness]

Well i'm still not working

[maliciant]

She is currently working in in a production line type job, hanging laundry, it's union work though on the low end pay wise (ie like 8.25 an hour, there are fairly regular evaluation/raises but they don't really add up to much it seems, I am unaware of anyone making more than 8.XX an hour in her position. Of course that ain't all bad and it's a full time position, and the benefits are pretty good, will have medical once she's been there three months, the benefits program is much better in terms of affordability than my own is, I pay $560 a month for the two of us for just medical, after her's kicks in it'll cost $200 a month for medical, dental, and vision for for us, there is a higher co-pay but overall the medical was pretty comparable as far as I could tell, just an example of a larger company being able to get much better rates. There are a few other (some optional) insurance thingies in there, but the three I care about are medical, dental, vision... the other stuff I don't particularly care about (or is fully paid by the company) so no biggy. Before this job she was working at a steak house, the hours sucked for a lot of reasons, the pay sucked, no benefits, only the cooks and servers can make much there, she didn't like the people (I think that's customers as well as co-workers) and the longer she worked there, the less she liked most of them.

She hadn't had a lot of luck finding a job traditionally (sending applications etc), and all things considered, I guess that shouldn't be a surprise, a typical american business is going to look at contacting previous employers and crap themselves cause they don't know how to make international phone calls or they don't want to spend the money on them. She did ok as far as places that you could walk into and apply at but her english while good, isn't quite there yet and might have caused her to fail at interviews, it's a pretty different atmosphere applying for a job here and all kinds of little things add up to make it more difficult/hard to be confident. She very quickly landed two jobs once she met a few local filipino's (they knew where others were working/knew the people in charge so that got her a foot in the door even before applying). I don't expect it to be hard for her to get another job in the future, that first job is probably the hardest, though if all goes well the next time she's applying for a job it'll be a career type position and she'll have the education to show she's qualified (and of course her english improves the longer she's here).

I think how hard it is to find a job depends mostly on where you are at in the country, what skills you have, etc. I think where I'm at things aren't too bad, I don't think people are likely to get raises right now, but at the same time I think most people who want a job will get one if they really try. I also figure it depends on what country you are from, I don't think australian or british citizens would have much trouble, other than a strange accent they are "one of us", or at least, don't have a langauge barrier to deal with. People who speak english well and spanish fluently probably have a lot of opportunities in some parts of the country if they don't mind working on a phone all day as well.

[Gemmie]

I'm doing the biometrics thing on the 24th (so basically a week from now), which is why I hope EAD shows up soon after that, too. How long does it normally take?

Mine came less than 2 weeks after the biometrics and only 44 days from filing. You shouldn't have too long to wait.

Maliciant, as long as your wife is happy there, that's all that matters.

I've applied for some jobs at Boston University at a research assistant, and I'm also applying to Meditech as I know someone who works there and she tells me they love the British..

[Leo and Lioness]

Yeah, language can be a problem, it happened to me to need medical once and oh my its so expensive here they told me something i already knew but i had to go anyway, chris has me covered with his insurance from work but they only pay small amount for the medical help you need...well i need to go back to bulgaria january so after i come back i'll search for work....i dont know if there are any bulgarians here but they dont like other bulgarians so i better not look for them... whatever job is as long as they pay decently and treat you well its still experience and of course language practice and improvement

[Badgerella]

Oh, good news, then. I'm hoping to receive the permit before Christmas season (as in... before.. actual Christmas, I guess), so I can at least apply for one of the million jobs that are out and about at any and all stores. I have no idea what I will, eventually, end up doing here. Our city is pretty small (45000-ish people, not counting 16000 or so college students) and I can't really see many things I'd be interested in, even if there were job openings. Most people work in retail, which is something I really hope I won't ever be doing. I just can't see myself as a sales person at... Old Navy, or anything of the sort. Phone operator, even less (been there, tried that, while finishing school back in Croatia). With a college degree in journalism (public relations, specifically), I have no idea what I'll accomplish. Maybe we'll just have to move. Haha. At least there is no language barrier, I mostly sound like I am from here and, besides English and Croatian, I speak a few other languages and can get by when it comes to some more. None of those is Spanish, however. It's just my name that is a tiny bit misleading.