What did you get up to whilst waiting for GC/work permit?

[PearlyLemons 13]

Hi everyone

Just wondering what everyone did once they moved over to the U.S and waited for their GC/work permit.

I am hoping to move over mid-August (if all goes to plan) and dreading the thought of not being able to do much for around 6 months! We will be living in a 'walker friendly' city, so hopefully I will be able to get out and about whilst I am learning to drive, but I guess I'm concerned with being lonely and not meeting anyone. My fiance worjks 10-12 hours days during the week, so I need some stuff to do to keep me occupied!

Any tips or advice would be appreaciated

[Inky 1,110]

Check out the area, go to places you haven't been to yet. Look for local groups such as gardening groups or book groups etc. Work on the home to make it more both of yours, paint, put things up / unpack etc. Have him invite some of his friends over for dinner / BBQ one of the days so you can meet them / their wives maybe make a connection with some of them.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Volunteer at an animal shelter or soup kitchen. It's good to have purpose.

[Calypso 464]

My first US address was in Santa Monica so I spent most of my time in the library and on the beach. I agree with Harpa on doing some volunteer work in places that you find interesting, such as a botanical garden, a hospital, or a museum.

[agnesb 47]

I am planning on getting to know the city, take driving lessons, go to yoga classes, do volunteering and be a dometic goddess :-)

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Don't worry you won't be bored.

You'll spend inordinate amounts of time trying to sort out the money, the traffic patterns, postage. You'll stand in the grocery store and stare at all the different products. You'll get annoyed with the electric sockets and light switches.........

At least that's the kind of stuff my husband did.......................

[rjm_cmyk 75]

I'm hoping to have a three month holiday while my partner and her kids attend to my every need.

I may be disappointed

BSF - I'm going to get my business plans sorted, probably do some work on the house and gardens and make life as easy as possible for my partner. I've been visiting the US and the area for 17 years so while I find Safeways product lines still a bit of a novelty , it won't be anywhere near as "new" as for some. I guess I'll also be waiting for signs of missing "home" to hit so all the more reason to keep busy and moving forward.

Edited May 2, 2013 by rjm_cmyk

[Susi&Charlie 9]

Hey there!

I'm sure you'll find plenty to do in Champaign. I went there once for a college party lol.

I'm moving to Chicago next month. I'm thinking about volunteering somewhere until I get my EAD (or even after that if I have trouble finding a job). I'm also planning on taking yoga classes with my sister-in-law. And then there's all the wedding stuff and I still have to finish up my degree during the first 3 months after I get there (one online class and I still have to write my thesis).

But yeah, volunteering is probably the best way to meet people and to do something useful with your time without having to spend copious amounts of money.

Edited May 21, 2013 by Susi&Charlie

[JensJrny2Ray 367]

My new husband and I are in the process of getting our own place. Currently we live in his grandma's basement. We live in a very urban area, but in the country part of it on a gravel road. If I wanted to walk into town, there are parts of the busy roads with no shoulders and busy intersections with no crosswalks. So our goal right now is to find an apartment in a walkable area for me that I won't feel so trapped as I have no vehicle right now either. So right now, I look forward to when my husband comes home from work so he can take me out into town. Over half of my stuff is being stored at his aunt's house too, so some of the projects I wanted to work on I don't have the stuff I need for that. I admit I'm being a bit of a poopy-pants lately 'cause I miss home so much.

[VeeNDee 44]

While waiting, spent a lot of time unpacking boxes and working on AOS paperwork for immigration, including EAD/AP etc. Tried to get used to the neighbourhood, started getting into a routine with the household for dinners. Then we got pregnant in the first month (yay honeymoon!) and are really excited to have the baby. It however left me sick as a dog for many weeks so I spent days on end in bed being ill and losing weight. I'm starting to come around now and eat normally again. I got my EAD/AP but am now focusing attention on paperwork for my teacher certification down here as well as NEXUS for Canadian/US border crossings. Seems like the paperwork never ends. We are also looking into buying a house and whatnot. It's kind of weird being a homemaker without kids yet, but as my husband says I need to take care of myself and rest and try to eat so the baby will be well.

My original plan was to do volunteering until EAD/AP but haven't been well consistently for that yet. Dog walking at a local dog shelter, tutoring kids, something along that line.

[CaroSL 68]

Don't worry you won't be bored.

You'll spend inordinate amounts of time trying to sort out the money, the traffic patterns, postage. You'll stand in the grocery store and stare at all the different products. You'll get annoyed with the electric sockets and light switches.........

At least that's the kind of stuff my husband did.......................

ha ha! sounds like me!

I am currently in those months so here is what I did: (in addition to all the stuff rebecca's husband did)

Went furniture shopping,

Planed a wedding (with some DIY involved, so it also took a lot of time)

got married in courthouse (this takes five minutes) then applied for AOS, EAD, AP (this takes hours!!)

Took care of unfinished business in France (subscription I couldn't close before having my name on the lease in the US)

Worked on my resume and linkedIn profile

got married for real (hourra!)

Met people from VJ face to face

Went to some meet-up events

Working on my driving licence written test

Start to network for job searching

volunteered for an event for an hospital.

Your first months will be busy, don't worry! It is not all super exiting but at least you are not sitting at home doing nothing all day