How soon did you find your first job?

[MissSarah 22]

I had no luck after I received my EAD, no calls, emails, nothing. Once I received my GC that changed. I had a couple of job offers within the first month, and started working about 6 weeks after I had GC in hand. I started off in an administrative position and quickly moved to the software development side of the business.

[moosy 139]

So far, I have read 4 different people noticing a huge difference between having an EAD and a greencard?

Anyone else?

 

I did get a lot of questions about my work permit during calls, so now I am wondering if they decided not to go for it so far because of this difference, as I do not yet have my greencard.

 

I hope  it is true for me as well ... (and that my greencard comes soon; future timelines here and on the new uscis site suggest somewhere between August andDecember for me).

[evapaula 230]

1 hour ago, moosy said:

I did get a lot of questions about my work permit during calls, so now I am wondering if they decided not to go for it so far because of this difference, as I do not yet have my greencard.

I know my employer doesn't want to be in a position to hire what could be a temporary worker. Retail jobs probably don't care, but certain employers definitely have a policy against it. I wish I knew this difference at the time, I was pretty discouraged by the lack of interest in my applications. 

[Orangesapples 1,954]

1 hour ago, moosy said:

So far, I have read 4 different people noticing a huge difference between having an EAD and a greencard?

Anyone else?

 

I did get a lot of questions about my work permit during calls, so now I am wondering if they decided not to go for it so far because of this difference, as I do not yet have my greencard.

 

I hope  it is true for me as well ... (and that my greencard comes soon; future timelines here and on the new uscis site suggest somewhere between August andDecember for me).

I don't understand why, to be honest. How would employers know which one you have based on your resume? The only question that job applications ask is whether you're authorized to work in the US and whether you'll need sponsorship. Showing your EAD or green card doesn't happen before you reach the I-9 stage and by that time they have already decided to hire you. 

[Orangesapples 1,954]

4 minutes ago, evapaula said:

I know my employer doesn't want to be in a position to hire what could be a temporary worker. Retail jobs probably don't care, but certain employers definitely have a policy against it. I wish I knew this difference at the time, I was pretty discouraged by the lack of interest in my applications. 

It's illegal to not hire someone because their employment authorization document has an expiration date FYI. 

[evapaula 230]

2 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

I don't understand why, to be honest. How would employers know which one you have based on your resume? The only question that job applications ask is whether you're authorized to work in the US and whether you'll need sponsorship. Showing your EAD or green card doesn't happen before you reach the I-9 stage and by that time they have already decided to hire you. 

My employer has a form you need to fill out to apply, and one of the questions is about legal status. The drop down includes non-resident with work permit. 

It's hard to prove that's the reason why you didn't get called for an interview though. 

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

7 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

It's illegal to not hire someone because their employment authorization document has an expiration date FYI. 

 

What is legal and what happens in the real world are two different things. 

[Manc73 34]

I have a IR1 Greenland and found work in the US within 3 weeks of arriving here. I was a certified logistics supply chain manager in the UK with A Bsc Hons Degree.

Firstly, I had to get used to the transportation in some parts of the United States are not as advanced as in some parts of Europe and they do not recognize qualifications from other countries in every state.

Any, the job offers have steadily pouring in with a decent salary.

I refuse to pay an institution in Arizona up to a $100 dollars per certification for them to tell me what I already know, and this for me is just a money spinner.

All the very best to every foreign citizens, time and patience is required as there is a lot to get used to.

[moosy 139]

I checked with a befriended immigration attorney; she said it's extremely common and even normal not to get a higher end job without a greencard. You are likely to get a different excuse as of course, they know they are not allowed to discriminate. Someone in my case (just EAD, long time to go until greencard, no immediate money issues) is better off volunteering in the meantime. Just to fill up the void of unemployment. And of course, while still applying to jobs "just in case".

 

So that's exactly what I did an hour after she let me know and applied for a volunteering job nearby that interests me. I was still hopeful before that haha.

 

If you are in a similar situation as mine, volunteering is a good option.

If you need the money badly, then taking any job is a better option for now.

No need to put it on your resume, and you could do volunteering in between to fill that void.

 

Someone above mentioned that your employer cannot know, and that is true only if you do not get a call. A first call is very common in an interview process, and they use it to weed the good candidates from the promising heap.

I have gotten calls and they asked me quite fast if I had a greencard. I don't lie about this, so I said no, but I did have a work permit and I am expecting a greencard soon. They kept up appearances for a few more minutes, and then it died down and did the vague "we might contact you if you continue to the next round". So far, every time. I have only gotten one real call with people who did not care much and got decent follow-up interviews (and then I did not get chosen and they gave me a decent reason).

Of course, there is no way to prove this, as they could easily note something down such as "not enough experience", "did not sound X or Y", and you have no way of knowing what the actual reason is. If I were them, I would not be admitting a crime either.

[Orangesapples 1,954]

4 hours ago, moosy said:

I checked with a befriended immigration attorney; she said it's extremely common and even normal not to get a higher end job without a greencard. You are likely to get a different excuse as of course, they know they are not allowed to discriminate. Someone in my case (just EAD, long time to go until greencard, no immediate money issues) is better off volunteering in the meantime. Just to fill up the void of unemployment. And of course, while still applying to jobs "just in case".

 

So that's exactly what I did an hour after she let me know and applied for a volunteering job nearby that interests me. I was still hopeful before that haha.

 

If you are in a similar situation as mine, volunteering is a good option.

If you need the money badly, then taking any job is a better option for now.

No need to put it on your resume, and you could do volunteering in between to fill that void.

 

Someone above mentioned that your employer cannot know, and that is true only if you do not get a call. A first call is very common in an interview process, and they use it to weed the good candidates from the promising heap.

I have gotten calls and they asked me quite fast if I had a greencard. I don't lie about this, so I said no, but I did have a work permit and I am expecting a greencard soon. They kept up appearances for a few more minutes, and then it died down and did the vague "we might contact you if you continue to the next round". So far, every time. I have only gotten one real call with people who did not care much and got decent follow-up interviews (and then I did not get chosen and they gave me a decent reason).

Of course, there is no way to prove this, as they could easily note something down such as "not enough experience", "did not sound X or Y", and you have no way of knowing what the actual reason is. If I were them, I would not be admitting a crime either.

Why would you work for free? Temp agencies don't care if you have a green card or not and unlike volunteering, they pay you. Contract jobs are similar. 

[Marieke H 2,314]

4 hours ago, moosy said:

I checked with a befriended immigration attorney; she said it's extremely common and even normal not to get a higher end job without a greencard. You are likely to get a different excuse as of course, they know they are not allowed to discriminate. Someone in my case (just EAD, long time to go until greencard, no immediate money issues) is better off volunteering in the meantime. Just to fill up the void of unemployment. And of course, while still applying to jobs "just in case".

 

So that's exactly what I did an hour after she let me know and applied for a volunteering job nearby that interests me. I was still hopeful before that haha.

 

If you are in a similar situation as mine, volunteering is a good option.

If you need the money badly, then taking any job is a better option for now.

No need to put it on your resume, and you could do volunteering in between to fill that void.

 

Someone above mentioned that your employer cannot know, and that is true only if you do not get a call. A first call is very common in an interview process, and they use it to weed the good candidates from the promising heap.

I have gotten calls and they asked me quite fast if I had a greencard. I don't lie about this, so I said no, but I did have a work permit and I am expecting a greencard soon. They kept up appearances for a few more minutes, and then it died down and did the vague "we might contact you if you continue to the next round". So far, every time. I have only gotten one real call with people who did not care much and got decent follow-up interviews (and then I did not get chosen and they gave me a decent reason).

Of course, there is no way to prove this, as they could easily note something down such as "not enough experience", "did not sound X or Y", and you have no way of knowing what the actual reason is. If I were them, I would not be admitting a crime either.

Moosy, I just realized who you are, we are in the same Facebook group, haha!

 

Our educational background is a bit similar; I'm a social scientist still trying to complete my PhD. Have you looked into research positions with the state government? For example, the Department of Health and Welfare in my state has a research group, and I am now working as a research analyst for a small state agency. The advantage of government job opportunities is that they are very aware that discrimination based on not having a green card is illegal. I hope you'll find a job where you can put all your skills to work again!

[moosy 139]

15 hours ago, Orangesapples said:

Why would you work for free? Temp agencies don't care if you have a green card or not and unlike volunteering, they pay you. Contract jobs are similar. 

Like I said, we don't need the money right now that desperately, and temp jobs are often not in the domain I want to go in (and thus useless for my resume), while volunteering jobs are much more broad-ranging as a help for your resume.

I thought I explained that, but maybe it was not clear enough.

[moosy 139]

15 hours ago, MariekeH said:

Moosy, I just realized who you are, we are in the same Facebook group, haha!

 

Our educational background is a bit similar; I'm a social scientist still trying to complete my PhD. Have you looked into research positions with the state government? For example, the Department of Health and Welfare in my state has a research group, and I am now working as a research analyst for a small state agency. The advantage of government job opportunities is that they are very aware that discrimination based on not having a green card is illegal. I hope you'll find a job where you can put all your skills to work again!

(I left that group.)

Yes, that is indeed very similar! And no, I have not yet looked into that directly. I look on Glassdoor and Linkedin (indeed does not give me great fitting results) and some broader academic networks, but have not come across anything from the government. The few I did look on, said that you needed to be a US citizen (but that was only one department). I did apply for a few jobs at the DOJJ, but looking directly on the sites of all the separate departments might indeed yield me better results without the discrimination! Thank you for the tip!!

[Marieke H 2,314]

9 minutes ago, moosy said:

(I left that group.)

Yes, that is indeed very similar! And no, I have not yet looked into that directly. I look on Glassdoor and Linkedin (indeed does not give me great fitting results) and some broader academic networks, but have not come across anything from the government. The few I did look on, said that you needed to be a US citizen (but that was only one department). I did apply for a few jobs at the DOJJ, but looking directly on the sites of all the separate departments might indeed yield me better results without the discrimination! Thank you for the tip!!

I didn't realize that you'd left, that's too bad. I enjoyed reading posts from someone with a similar background. 

 

I hope it'll work out for you! And I think volunteering is a great idea, to build a resume with US experience, and also to have something to do!

 

My state has a standard application form, and the first question was whether you're a citizen or an alien allowed to work. I was none when I applied, and I still got invited for an interview, where I got the chance to explain my status.

 

Good luck!

[Pee&Eee 70]

On 4/16/2018 at 9:51 PM, POA said:

It is hard to find a job here! I was offered a job little over a month after I started applying. The initial offer was $10.30 BUT I was denied with the background check because of the incorrect format of my name in my SSN. After 3 weeks, I was offered another job starting pay was over $40k a year.

 

What I can advised, apply as many as you can and not focus on one application. Eventually, you'll get an offer.

 

Also, for you to not be limited, driving will be very essential unless you live in a city where public transpo is very accessible.

In which industry did you get a job in?