Hubby getting a job in USA

[sailormoon01 41]

After your significant other got their green card, how difficult was it to find a job? I live in Chicago and I am a student currently. Working is not really an option for me at the moment. I am hoping my husband can find a job soon because money can not last forever. I am lucky his family will continue to help him from abroad, but he can not always ask them for help. Also, I have my family here and they help us, but they are not always welcoming and understanding of my husband. For those of us who have our husbands home, how do we cope with this? The job market is hard enough in the USA even if somebody was professionally employed back in their country, it is not so easy when they arrive here. My husband has a business degree, his English is alright, but not perfect. Also, he is a bit shy and he gets nervous to speak English in front of strangers. Either way, I notice there are jobs looking for Arabic speaking people, but they many times they also require different types of degrees than what he has or types of specializations. Anybody who was in a similar situation or who currently is in this situation, please share. If your husband or wife is currently working, what are they doing now and was it easy for them to find work. Thanks all and hope everybody has a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!! <3

[zahrasalem 114]

After your significant other got their green card, how difficult was it to find a job? I live in Chicago and I am a student currently. Working is not really an option for me at the moment. I am hoping my husband can find a job soon because money can not last forever. I am lucky his family will continue to help him from abroad, but he can not always ask them for help. Also, I have my family here and they help us, but they are not always welcoming and understanding of my husband. For those of us who have our husbands home, how do we cope with this? The job market is hard enough in the USA even if somebody was professionally employed back in their country, it is not so easy when they arrive here. My husband has a business degree, his English is alright, but not perfect. Also, he is a bit shy and he gets nervous to speak English in front of strangers. Either way, I notice there are jobs looking for Arabic speaking people, but they many times they also require different types of degrees than what he has or types of specializations. Anybody who was in a similar situation or who currently is in this situation, please share. If your husband or wife is currently working, what are they doing now and was it easy for them to find work. Thanks all and hope everybody has a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!! <3

Hi, my husband was lucky and found his first job after 9 weeks. We live in a big city with alot of suburbs so maybe that helps. He found a job in his field (executive chef) by going into restaurants in person talking with the owners or managers. He was hired on the spot at a Turkish restaurant the first job, and then after 1 year he went looking around again for a better paying one, by going into a Persian restaurant speaking with the owner. They called him back 1 week later to hire him and he's still there 7 months later.

I know it's hard finding a job these days, and my husband gets interviews easier than I do!! I'm actually the one looking for a job and I can't get an interview to save my life!! I had to quit my last job with the Gap because they forced me to go from mornings to late nights and I can't work until midnight because I have a 7 year old daughter, my husband already works until 9pm.

I hope your husband finds a job soon....I believe it will happen when it's the right job for the right person. Usually, we have found that we get our prayers answered about stuff at the very last minute before our options run out, so keep that hope in mind

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

My husband came in Jan of 2008. We filed for his AOS in March, he got his EAD(work permit) shortly thereafter and got his first job in June. Our 2nd yr anniversary was the next month and 2 weeks after our 2yr anniversary was the greencard interview where he was approved for his 10yr card in Aug of 2008. Adam has been with Walmart ever since and is working for their international import DC. He works his butt off constantly getting raises and letters of commendation from his bosses. Im proud of my hubby!

[And_Sam 44]

Technically my husband got his first job after being here about 2 months but it was at an Mediterranian restaurant and the man who owned it was a real rat. It made my husband realize he did not want to work for another Arabic person. Talking about being taken advantage of! He did finally find a job that he really loved about 6 months after getting here.

The one thing that I tell people right from the beginning, just because you had your own business or got a college degree in another country does not mean that you can do/have the same thing in the US! So many people become discouraged when they had a great career in their home country to come here and find out all they can get a job is doing things that other people don't want to do!

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

Which reminds me of when Adam first got his EAD & was waiting on Walmart for a job. He went to talk to the manager @ IHOP bcz it was owned by an Egyptian man & the manager & another mgr were Egyptians as well. They had him start working on a Saturday night. He was there for about 6hrs before calling me and this is what happened. He said the whole time the 2 managers there were speaking in arabic and talking about the mexican workers & the female waitresses calling them names. They kept saying other things referring to Adam being a muslim bcz his name is but he's not. At some point he sliced his finger with a knife pretty badly & instead of sending him home they sent him to the back to wash dishes in scalding hot water! By the time he called me it was 11pm & had told me what had happened... I was livid! I told him to come home immediately & let me see his hand. His hand looked like a prune so bad & his cut was so deep I was sick to my stomach. He refused to go to the hospital to get stitches so we cleaned it & bandaged it up. Never again did we go back to that IHOP for anything!

Edited February 17, 2012 by ~PalmTreeGurl~

[Muh and me 18]

Mine's been home almost a year and still no job

[Meriem_DZ 37]

The week after Hachemi got his work authorization he went to a local boat manufacturing plant and applied for a job. The boss came to the lobby and took him for a tour of the plant. He was gone about 20 minutes and he came back smiling cause they had hired him. He worked there for a year until he decided to go back to college. So he put his notice in and started classes. At night while studying, he would go down to the convenience store near the house and get coffee. They asked him if he needed a job and he told them that he could work around his classes, so they hired him. This was the only convenience store in town not owned by Arabs. LOL. He worked there for 3 yrs. He was asked hundreds of times if he was the owner and he would say no and nobody believed him. A Toyota manufacturing plant was built close to us so he applied along with 43,000 other people for 1200 jobs. It was a very rigorous application process. The did 2 computer assessment test, a physical assessment test, Background check, drug check, Interview and medical evaluation. One day I was outside grilling and I heard the phone ring and he started yelling. I ran in and he said it was Toyota and that he had been hired. He has been there 3 months and he loves it. He comes in everyday talking about what a good day he had. Thank God we finally have wonderful insurance that is no cost to him and my insurance is about 18 dollars a month.

Meriem

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Our area was a little more remote so finding work even for the locals was tough. It took me 9 months after college just to find a part-time job and I was lucky it was in my field. Eventually we had to move out of state for better opportunities for full-time work. My husband came here with the intention to continue practicing medicine. In the meantime we've picked up odd jobs such as house sitting, baby sitting, ect. His first formal job came two weeks after or out of state move and it was in his field as well. It took over a year and a half for him to find this work. He's not working there anymore and has realized that while making full-time money feels good because he can be a provider it interfered with studying for his medical exams. He's since made the exams his full-time job again and is taking the Steps one-by-one on his way to obtaining a residency in the States.

[sandinista! 1,816]

I know the irony of going to work at walmart of all places and being completely gung ho about it after this experience

is completely lost on you, but surely there are others here who see it...

!! يا عمال العالم اتحدوا

Which reminds me of when Adam first got his EAD & was waiting on Walmart for a job. He went to talk to the manager @ IHOP bcz it was owned by an Egyptian man & the manager & another mgr were Egyptians as well. They had him start working on a Saturday night. He was there for about 6hrs before calling me and this is what happened. He said the whole time the 2 managers there were speaking in arabic and talking about the mexican workers & the female waitresses calling them names. They kept saying other things referring to Adam being a muslim bcz his name is but he's not. At some point he sliced his finger with a knife pretty badly & instead of sending him home they sent him to the back to wash dishes in scalding hot water! By the time he called me it was 11pm & had told me what had happened... I was livid! I told him to come home immediately & let me see his hand. His hand looked like a prune so bad & his cut was so deep I was sick to my stomach. He refused to go to the hospital to get stitches so we cleaned it & bandaged it up. Never again did we go back to that IHOP for anything!

[sailormoon01 41]

Thanks a lot everybody for all the replies. Still looking and trying to be positive

[msheesha 548]

This has been suggested in other places before - it's often good for the newly arrived person to volunteer services while they're looking for a job. It helps in multiple ways - obviously helping others is a great thing and boosts the spirit and morale. It helps people feel useful and purposeful. It gets the new arrival out of the house and interacting with others, and it builds the US resume and references.

Also, what about English classes? My husband enrolled at the local immigration assistance program when he first got here. It got him out of the house and he met other people who were or had been in the same situation as he was.

We were very blessed though that he got a job in his field within the first six weeks of him being here. Good Luck.

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

This has been suggested in other places before - it's often good for the newly arrived person to volunteer services while they're looking for a job. It helps in multiple ways - obviously helping others is a great thing and boosts the spirit and morale. It helps people feel useful and purposeful. It gets the new arrival out of the house and interacting with others, and it builds the US resume and references.

Also, what about English classes? My husband enrolled at the local immigration assistance program when he first got here. It got him out of the house and he met other people who were or had been in the same situation as he was.

We were very blessed though that he got a job in his field within the first six weeks of him being here. Good Luck.

I agree msheesha! Volunteering and interacting with people is an excellent thing to do! I remember when Adam came he & another Egyptian guy went to help paint an elderly persons home & did some yard work that was needed. We spent time with the people that we went to church with with get togethers/dinners at each others homes. We visited an Iraqi familys home that had just come to the USA and brought them dinner, christmas gifts, and even a couple of trips to the grocery store. Also it helped out when we had gotten a 2nd vehical that way when I was at work he wasnt stuck at home. I remember when he got my kia sportage & he bought his first GPS and picked up his friend. They got "lost" on the interstate about 4times it was scary & hilarious at the same time but he needed that freedom to do that though!