elle13

Whoops got cut off.

CONTINUED: I'm not even asking to live in Beverly Hills. All we are looking for is a reasonable home in a reasonably safe and pleasant neighborhood with good schools and a commute to work of less than an hour each way.

How much does a household need to earn per annum in LA to live reasonably comfortably?

As an example: condos in okay neighborhoods like pasadena are going for $500,000. 2 bedrooms 1 bathroom, no yard.

Having moved here last summer, I am ASTOUNDED by the house prices in LA! I'm n

Malaysia is not a high risk country. I had my interview without my husband present, and all the applicants I met on that day didn't have their spouses/fiancés present except for one family.

Just answer all questions truthfully and you'll be fine. The interviewing officer I had was firm, and asked a lot of questions, but that's their job. He was really friendly once he issued the approval.

For what it's worth, I am sharing an anecdotal example of what happened to my husband.

He travelled legally into the US when he was 6. His birth mother was already a green card holder, and eventually became a US citizen. My husband grew up in the US, went to school etc, graduated and then joined the military. He didn't join the military to get a US citizenship, it was a career he truly wanted. He was always under the impression that he was an LPR, and he had a green card. A few years into his military career, he received advice that he should sort out his citizenship. He was in his 20s by then. He filled out his details, social security etc and they issued him with a certificate of citizenship, but the date on which he became a citizen was backdated to when he was in middle school! He worked out that this date was when his birth mother became a US citizen. So he was a citizen that whole time, but didn't know it.

The OP, like my husband, is on a K-1, and K-1's cannot get drivers' licenses in OR state IDs in California until the EAD is approved, about 3 months after filing for AOS. That means, realistically, about 5 months after POE, since there's still things to do before filing AOS. It's a pretty major drawback to the K-1 process.

Therefore, many of us don't have the option of just getting a state ID, which is why I'm anxiously waiting for my husband's EAD approval, as having a state ID really will make a lot of things smoother.

I didn't realize OP was a K-1. In the meantime you could keep your credit healthy in preparation for your spouse being added as authorized user / joint user. Not all authorized users are reported by banks to credit reporting agencies, but some are. There are several factors that affect a credit score and the age of the credit line is one factor. What helped in my case was that although I had two new credit lines solely in my name (with very low credit limits of $500 each), my husband added me to his super old capital one card as authorized user. He talked to Capital One to make sure they set it up so that my name and SSN is reported. This led to 3 credit lines appearing on my credit report - two of them are less than 2 months old, and the 3rd is 12 years old!! This led to me having an average credit line age of 5 years, even though I've only been in the country about 5 months. It bumped me up to a score of 750. If I only had the 2 month old credit cards in my name, the score might have hovered around 500. The other factors are within our control: paying off on time, utilization under 20% that sort of thing. The age of the credit line is the hardest to build, so I hope this tip helps you guys out.

When they say "Cali ID" they mean your driver's licence.

They don't technically need your California driver's license if you can produce your SSN but in light the high levels of SSN fraud in the US, individual banks might get more comfort from something that looks more official than a printout.

Have you considered getting your California driving licence? It's one of the first things I did when I moved here from the UK. It really is the best form of ID for day to day matters like banking, buying cars, getting mortgages and even flying domestically. No one bats an eyelid when you present your California ID so it makes life so much easier than using green cards/passports.

Is this with Wells Fargo?

the woman there was adiment she couldn't put my social security number down without a valid card. To be honest she wasn't very good at explaining herself. Maybe she meant the social security card (i only have the print out from the social security number not the card yet) but she kept saying your Cali ID. I'm going to try another wells Fargo.

Darnell - wouldn't taking out a loan mean you are paying interest monthly? I'll ask the bank about it next time I go in. I've just spent so much time in banks I'm getting tired of sitting there and getting denied for stuff!!

You'll be fine. I moved from the UK to Los Angeles in May 2013 without informing my bank or HMRC. I completed a P85 and sent it by post to HMRC a few months after I arrived. Got a surprise cheque in the post last month, a small tax refund! Unfortunately, I have no idea how to cash the cheque as it's in ££! A friend told me I can just present it at my US bank branch and they will convert it to USD.

California's great, I can't get over how wonderful the weather is. I felt incredibly homesick after the novelty died down, and especially over Christmas. On the whole though, I'm loving my new life here with my newly wedded husband No more long distance!

Thank you for your input. Yes we do want to be parents.

I feel emotionally ready, but am worried about financial and career repercussions. We have a little bit saved up, but are right now still renting (the savings are being set aside for a down payment for a home purchase). I don't want to bring my baby up in hardship and want the very best for any potential child. I've looked through the legal protections and am pretty clear on that. However, thought of losing my job or being overlooked for a promotion because I got pregnant so soon after joining the company concerns me. Yes, there are minimum federal and state protections but they are simply that - minimal. Right now, I am the sole breadwinner as my husband is still in college (he switched careers) and doesn't graduate for another 1.5 years. I am also pretty serious about my career although if we do end up pregnant right now, I wouldn't prioritise my job above my child. My husband thinks I am overthinking this and that we should take a leap of faith.

It's encouraging to hear your feedback. Yes jobs are impermanent, and I could lose it tomorrow.

Thanks. I guess I'm trying to find out what the norm is in corporate America. I was with my previous firm for 4 years (in England) and don't remember anyone having babies so soon after they started a job.

So I'm the new immigrant, arrived in summer this year and started a job. It's a career I really love and I've been working for 3 months. I see myself working here in the long term.

My husband and I really want to start trying to conceive but I feel like it's too soon from a career standpoint. How long should I wait before it's appropriate to start trying? I'm 28 and think many would advise that I still have time.

Wow, I haven't logged on to this post for a while and am surprised with the new responses. Congratulations elle13! I've had a friend take the July Cali Bar too and she made it as well. We graduated from law school together in 2005 and she's been here for over 2 years so she's had time to prepare for the bar. I've just finished AOS and have started my review using Barbri materials. I will be taking the Colorado bar in July 2014. I didn't make the Dec 1 deadline for the February 2014 schedule and didn't want to pay the late filing fee just to be able to take the test in Feb.

Taking the bar in July is actually perfect for what I have lined up at the moment. I've just interviewed for a Court Clerk post in my local municipal courthouse. The job starts in early January, the hours are flexible and the Judge I interviewed with understood that I was going to take the bar. He was actually very supportive of the idea and told me the job would be perfect for me while I study.

What jobs are you planning to apply for now that you passed the bar? My friend in Cali has been looking for law firm posts but have had no luck getting offers. She says Cali is saturated with not only local lawyers but foreign ones as well and the job market is super cutthroat.

Hi Holly, I'm staying with my current company and will be promoted to corporate counsel once I am sworn in (I'm still waiting for my moral character determination to complete - only submitted it after I passed the bar exam because it costs $500 and I thought it would be a waste of money because didn't think I was going to pass the bar!). Perhaps your friend could do the same, start working for a law firm or legal department of a corporate while waiting to pass the bar exam, then seek to be promoted to attorney level.

Hi elle13! I wish you good luck on the bar exam result.

Did you take the NY Bar? I am still having my foreign law degree evaluated by the NY BOLE. But in the meantime, I am looking for work here and honestly, I am having a rough time looking for one. May I know where are you situated? Is it in a metro city? I am thinking my location plays a major factor why I couldn't get a job in the legal industry.

Thanks

Hi Ladylex. I took the California Bar and just found out I passed! Results were released last week. It's a complete miracle considering my circumstances and that on average only 40% of applicants pass the exams. My boss is open to promoting me to a full counsel position once I am sworn in.

I live in Southern California - the job market is not great in the US overall but don't let that get you down. Have confidence in your work experience and work hard on making sure your resume is US-friendly. Be persistent and prepared!

I'm pretty sure she is approved. I had my interview in May this year and went through the same thing (instructions to pick up passport in 3 days). The lady right before me didn't get approved and got a different slip with different instructions.

Congrats!

Did she get instructions to pickup the passport and visa from Menara MCA? That's where I collected my passport with the visa, not the embassy.

We opened a joint-account together and both of our signatures are required but I am not sure if my husband is added to my name or not...

We might ask for two seperate credit cards if that is the case...

I just noticed you're moving from the UK to Los Angeles too! I made the same move and miss England very much sometimes. Overall, I love my new life in LA though. Hope you and your husband transition smoothly!

I am in the process of building up my credit as a new immigrant. I built up a solid credit score in the UK before moving to the US in May 2013. I got my social security card in June and applied for my first credit card. I opened a checking account at Wells Fargo and asked the personal banker if I could apply for a credit card in my own name. I got approved for credit card with a tiny $600 limit, and I think it was successful because I did it in-branch rather than online.

Since then I've tried unsuccessfully to apply for 2 credit cards online. Reasons given were that I did not have a credit history. As a result, I stopped applying for credit lines and just kept using and paying off the one credit card I did have. In 4 months, I got my first "pre-approved" Visa credit card offer in the mail in my name, something which my husband gets (and throws away!) almost every day. I applied online for that advertised credit card and was approved.

So going from my personal experience, as a newly arrived immigrant, it took 4 months of responsible credit card usage before I gained a credit score that is healthy enough for companies to start making me offers.

I plan to wait a few more months before trying to see if I can lease a car under my name. It can easily go under my husband's name as his score is great but I want a third credit line to build up credit history in preparation for any joint mortgage applications in the future.

Baby steps! Hope this help you both.

@markonline I too was earning in the £60K range as a junior corporate lawyer. It's a very straight and narrow profession. The legal profession in the US is quite rigid, as is everywhere else. Unlike engineering or finance, my UK quals mean very little in a totally different jurisdiction. I accepted a job as a legal exec on less pay but think it's time to figure out where my career is heading- stick to trying to become a US attorney (which is expensive, more studying required) or go commercial and try to pitch myself as a corporate analyst type person.

TBoneTX: I'm a very hard worker but I'm still trying to find my way around my new company to try to get more challenging projects. I like the company but the work is easy compared to what I used to do, and I want to be challenged and prove I can do more.

Dylan's wife, I would love to be a SAHM when the time is right!

Amy, I can relate to your husband in terms of the work not being very challenging. It'll be interesting to hear how people make the most of their jobs and progress to a position that reflects their actual experience.

Hi all, I would like to find out if most new immigrants in the US have a difficult time trying to secure a job with equal or better pay than the job you left behind in your home country?

I arrived in the US in May this year and after a couple of months of "honeymooning" with my husband, I started job hunting in July. After more than a month of job hunting, I finally decided to accept a job within my field but (frankly) for which I am overqualified. My non-US degree and foreign job history was very confusing for most employers, and I was probably disadvantaged by the fact that I don't have any US experience.

Whilst I am still in my 20s and appreciate there's always room to grow in a company once you get your foot in the door, I miss the challenge and salary of my old job. If you've successfully negotiated a higher salary (and position) in the US as a new immigrant after accepting a job, please can you share your experience?

I used UPS.

There's no shame indeed!

There's no shame indeed!

I got mine working a month but I do agree, it varies greatly. Don't stress to much about it as it's early days yet. I didn't have problems finding a job without the green card as employers are more concerned about your SSN. That's what they used to run background and authorization checks on me.

The desk I am sitting at, and chair I'm sitting in came from IKEA (Orange County) I also have bookshelves I bought there, no complaints!

Another IKEA fan yay!! I almost went to the one in OC too.

http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_JP/customer_service/faq/help/about_store/about_stores.html#11

we bought our tv stand from there. We like it and it looks well built..

I like their TV stands

I get some of the kitchen accessories and hanging accessories and use them in my workshop for non-intended purposes.

I dislike shopping there, that stuff is made in China.

I go more for the food, really.

I'm interested to know what these items and non-intended purposes are!

And gravlax and meatballs mmmmmm

Ok so I just bought myself a KLIPPAN sofa because I absolutely love the clean lines. I hate the oversized or squashy sofa look. I think it looks tired and old. My new family and friends in land-rich California think IKEA is rubbish but I can't help myself! Having lived in congested cities like London and Singapore, I've always lived in small, modern apartments and can't seem to move away from that type of disposable IKEA-esque home decor. It's affordable, fresh and I'm addicted!

Do Americans generally think IKEA is #######?

Hi. I'm worried about a potential problem with how we printed my wife's name on the I-130 and G-325.

My wife is Malaysian Chinese. On both her passport and birth certificate, her name is printed in pinyin, not Chinese characters, as TAN YEE WEI. When we submitted the I-130 we printed her name as family name = TAN, first name = YEE, and middle name = WEI.

We have since received the NOA1 and are waiting for the NOA2. But now I'm worried that we didn't fill out her name correctly on the application, since Chinese names aren't considered to include a middle name. I tried calling USCIS, but they won't allow me to change the name over the phone nor could they tell me the proper way to handle her name. I was told that if I wanted to make any corrections to the form I would have to mail a letter to the National Benefits Center.

At this point I don't know whether I should send a letter requesting her first name to be YEEWEI and omitting a middle name, or just let it be since her name actually is split into 3 words on her passport. If this is not an issue, I'd rather not complicate or slow down the application.

Any suggestions for how to handle this?

I really wouldn't worry. I had the exact same issue as your wife does and the application went through without a hitch. They don't really care as along as they see all three words on the form and on the supporting documents. It will not complicate or slow down your application. It might however drive your wife crazy whenever she sees YEE TAN on her green card.

However, if money is not an issue, rather than throwing further documentation/corrections at them, I would wait until your CR1/IR1/green card is issued, then try to amend it once she is actually in the US as a permanent resident. I would be interested to know how you resolve this though!