EmigratingSwede

...adjusting for local taxes...

The foreign earned income exclusion was $97,600 for 2013, $99,200 for 2014 and $100,800 for 2015. If she qualifies for the exclusion and made less then that then she would owe no back taxes I believe.

https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Foreign-Earned-Income-Exclusion

My wife added me as an authorized user on her cards before I had even moved, probably a year before. Then when I arrived and got my SSN we added that information to the accounts. After about a year (after I had moved) I had a score of about 760 or so.

We bought a house and I was the only one on the mortgage application since I was the only one with an income. I had to pay 20% cash and since I had not worked in the U.S. for two years yet. (I did not have two yeas' of W2s) I could not get a loan from the big banks. They all insure their loans with Freddy Mac and Fanny Mae (Requireing two years' of W2s). I ended up getting a mortgage from the local credit union.

If you can get support from your partners family while you get on your feet that is a great way to not spend too much of your savings. I lived with my in-laws for four months while we were getting settled. I ended up getting the first job I applied for. However the hiring process took over three months from start to finish... (International background checks are tricky I guess)

At least in Florida you never go out in any real traffic during your test. I drove around a parking lot for a bit (stopped for a STOP sign, parked in a parking spot) and drove on to an adjoining surface street (with NO traffic on it). There I had to make a three-point-turn (more like a four-point-turn) and back up 20 yards without swerving. That was about it.

I found a job doing pretty much what I had been doing in Sweden but at a more senior level (Senior Programmer Analyst). I was very happy I found that job as I could make use of my IP-Telephony, Contact Center and Voice XML experience.

My wife and I both moved at the same time so we brought as much as we could in bags of different sizes. I Immigrated on a trans-Atlantic cruise, so we had no maximum baggage allowance. We ended up with somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 bags :-) (only 4 really big ones though)

It took me three months to start a new job. I had started the interview process for that job before I even left Sweden though. My American born wife on the other hand still does not have a job three years later despite a Masters degree. (She has an interview tomorrow though so with a bit of luck that might change.)

I feel like I adapted pretty fast. Once I started working I stopped feeling like I was just here on an extended vacation.

$20k poverty level?

cash on hand greater than that is ok?

No 3x that. Cash/assets count as 1/3. You will need $60000-ish for two people.

Some companies have VERY long hiring processes as well. I had my first interview by phone before I moved. I ended up starting the job three months later after two face to face interviews. I have a collegue who they kept waiting even longer.

co grats!!! ?how has the whole process been for you guys the past few years? We are a few people in here who all are gonna be in it for the next few years soon! If you have time someday I for one would love to hear how its been with case work etc! Would be cool if you got your citizenship on Independence day!!! ??? camilla copenhagen!

It has been really easy. Just don't lose your green card (I lost my wallet). It is really expensive to replace. The best advice I can give looking bak is this.

-Make sure you file as married even if you don't both live in the U.S. yet (If you are married). You will need to provide three years' worth of tax records later for citizenship.

-Keep an extra copy of everything you send USCIS. They tend to want the same documents over and over. (Proof of finacial co-mingeling, Copies of marriage certificates, birth certificates etc.)

-When you need your tax records later, you can request them for free from the IRS. http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript

You know, I met my husband while he lived in Berkeley. Then we moved to Monterey. We got married in 2001 in Santa Cruz, when he was 21 and a community college student. lol. Soon after I joined the same community college.

Well I really liked North Carolina, but we're glancing at Florida. No income tax, low corporation tax. Sunshine. warm air. Warm ocean. I'm in. At 40, I rather be poor in a warm place than a cold one. lol But we'll be landing in Chicago to stay with my in-laws 3 hours south west of there to get started.

I ended up in Florida too (Orlando). I love it here. At some point I would love to live on the coast though.

I just had my citizenship interview (recommended for approval, yay!), and the officer was quite confused as to the fact that I had taken my wife's name when we got married. I had to explain the "personbevis" to her to show her where my old last name was on it :-). To make things even more complicated I had switched the order of my first names when I changed my last name...

I asked if they had a ceremony on the 4th of July. She said she thought they were working on it and added a note to my file that I wanted that date if possible.

I had brought all kinds of documents that they had asked for in the interview letter, but the only document they asked for was a copy of my sons birth certificate (born two weeks ago).

Since a lot of people apply under the 5 year rule I believe that is why it is stated like that. I just crossed over 5 and replaced it with 3 on the form and just stated any days outside the U.S. after I had immigrated. I haven't had my interview yet, but it has been scheduled, so that appears to have worked fine.

I moved to the US, stayed for a few weeks. Got my SSN and driver's license and then went back to Sweden to wrap up my old life. I stayed outside of the U.S. a few days short of six months before returning. I had no problems at all. I have stayed in the US ever since though except for shorter trips (a week or two).

We just showed a U.S. Bank Account with 3x the amount ( about $55-60k). They were fine with that.

I settled in Orlando and like it just fine. It all depends on what neighborhood you live in. There are parts of the city that are really nice and there are poor run down areas as well. Traffic on i4 is not very nice though. Salaries in Florida are not high on average, but if you work in IT or some other high income profession it isn't that bad, especially considering you do not pay state income tax.

I did a walk in and had to wait five extra minutes because I was a walkin.

If you stay less than 6 moths you will be fine. More than six months but less than a year may affect hol long you have to wait for citizenship. If you stay more than a year you lose your green card.

We had about $50000 each when we moved. Half of that quickly disappeared as a downpayment on a house.

I'm pretty sure you don't need the Hep A as an adult, but if you're not sure there is no point in getting them ahead of time. You can just bring your vaccine records with you. From my recollection, it was just MMR, TD in the last 5 years, flu if in season, and confirmation of chicken pox.

I don't know why my husband only got the TD booster from his doctor (which he did before the medical appointment) because now he has to go back and get the one with pertussis here in order to protect the baby from getting it. Seems silly they didn't just do TDaP.

This exact thing happened to me as well. I just had to get the TDAP because we are having a baby.

Hey peeps! Long time no see! I hope all is well! Have anyone in here gotten a dual citizenship?

We are starting that process this summer and I feel really out of touch with everything! It's funny how fast your mind drops things, when we were all up in the immigration process I knew everything! Anyhow if anyone have any pointers yo what we vill need that be great!

I sent my things in in December and I have already forgotten what it all was :-)

You will need to provide the last three years' worth of tax records. You can order them for free from the IRS.

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript

You can find the N400 form, the instructions, and a document listing all the things you will need to send in here:

http://www.uscis.gov/n-400

It looks like the Alaska field office takes about 7 months to process an N400 right now.

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do

I saw someone on VJ arrive for their POE via an ocean port after taking a cruise here. So, no, definitely no plane needed.

That was probably me :-) Not many people immigrate on a transatlantic cruise.

It was kind of cool immigrating on a ship coming into New York harbor. Unlike a hundred years ago we passed by Ellis island instead of arriving there. POE is a lot easier now then it was back then :-)

In general you have three levels for a lot of positions (At least for software development).

Junior [Jobtitle here] - Fresh out of college or with a year or two of experiance.

[Jobtitle here] - usually 5-7 years' experiance

Senior [Jobtitle here] About 8+ years' experance.

It appears that it can take anywhere from a few days to three months between getting 'In line for Interview' and getting the letter with the interview date. I have waited two weeks so far and fully expect to wait another month or so.

Things can work out quite well too. I worked in IT before I moved and had 8 years' experiance. We lived with my in-laws for a few months before we found a place to live. After three months I got a job doing exactly what I had been doing before I moved. Great benefits and an 83k starting salary (two years later I am making 90k+).