chingkoi

I was born and educated in the US, but work as an electrical engineer for a large company that employs thousands of engineers (including many who have immigrated from Asia), so perhaps I can provide some helpful information. In my department at work (~80 engineers), a majority of my colleagues immigrated from Asia. Nearly all of them earned their degrees in electrical or mechanical engineering in their home countries and then earned a master's degree (or occasionally, a doctorate) in the US. This is a common model, and one that employers are familiar with. Having at least one engineering degree earned in the US (commonly a master's degree) documents for employers the quality of your undergraduate degree earned in another country. Most of my fellow engineering graduates with master's degrees were able to obtain jobs in engineering either before graduation, or else shortly after - this applied to both US citizens, and to non-citizens. Since I earned my graduate degree in 2011, I would anticipate that the situation hasn't changed much since I graduated. I would strongly encourage you to pursue further studies.
A master's degree in engineering typically only takes 1.5-2 years, and is much more fun than a bachelor's degree, in my opinion. Besides, education is an investment in yourself - one of the best kinds of investments. In addition, significant funding is available for graduate assistants in engineering, so earning a master's degree in engineering can be far less costly than it appears to be on paper. I can probably provide you with some other ideas/suggestions, but some things are discipline-specific. What is your engineering background (civil, mechanical, electrical, or something else)? What kind of job are you hoping to obtain (what specialty/any preference on industry/are you able to move to other places for a job)? Are you open to possibly pursuing a modest amount of further education?

Is perfectly fine to come through a POE without paying that fee in advance.
The passport gets a stamp at the POE, that endorses the visa to be used as a temporary I-551 document, a temporary green card, for a year.
It's also perfectly fine to pay the fee after the POE date. IMO, it's easier, as the two humans are there shoulder to shoulder in front of a computer.
HINT: there's some papers attached to the OUTSIDE of the 'do not open' envelope. One of them is the 'Immigrant Data Summary' Page. COPY THIS PAGE, scan it, email it to yerself before going through the POE. The POE takes this page, and it's got all the info you need, to sucessfully file for a greencard and pay for it, at the ELIS website.

The DO NOT OPEN envelope contains your complete file. At POE they will take the envelope and open. Keep the envelope in the plastic bag to protect it, keep it in your carry on as you will need it upon disembarking at POE.

My parents had their IR-5 interview yesterday & USEM didn't ask for I-864 AOS & supporting documents. No other civil documents were asked either.
http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwh3217.html
The I-864 AOS is NOW VALID INDEFINITELY ONCE IT HAS BEEN SIGNED (this is a change from the previous requirement of being valid for one year). In other words, applicants will no longer need to submit a new I-864 AOS or new tax forms due to long processing delays between the date of the signature of the I-864 AOS and the date of the interview.

Hi! We are not in the same field, but perhaps my experience might help. I worked for 12 years in the PH in the field of market research, it took me 4 months until I got a job offer. My field is such a niche one, while most job openings are in the east coast (I am in the west coast).
1. It would help if you would start looking for job postings and study the requirements and qualifications needed, even as early as now. If you can still take a certification course or a short course which you haven't taken but is a common requirement, you might wanna do that while still there.
2. Review and edit your resume according to American standards. Take note of common keywords you saw in the job postings you studied, it is important that you include these keywords because there is a higher chance that your resume will be picked out from the database. I think recruiters use a search engine to go through their database of resumes. Prepare cover letters as well.
3, Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date. Lots of job posting in this professional networking site. I also used Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com for my job search. I preferred using these sites vs. the others. More streamlined.
Other things to consider:
1. Have your TOR, Diploma and License certified.
2. If you plan on studying or taking board exams, you might need to get a World Education Services (WES) evaluation. Do this while still there because you need to get in touch with your university. I wish I did this then, now I have to ask someone to take care of it for me. http://www.wes.org/immigrants/index.asp
I actually thought also of applying for a job while still in the PH, but when filling out online applications, there is always this question if you are authorized to work in the US. Hence, I just decided to apply for jobs once I get the GC. It's not easy, but you have to prepare yourself for the waiting. Patience is a must. Being open as well to all possible positions and options will also help. While job hunting, doing interviews and waiting, I enrolled for free online courses at www.coursera.org, it's a great resource, it offers courses in all fields. I was planning on just studying first, but it's quite impractical. So now that I got a job, I can now work on my certificate courses later on.
Good luck!

Congratulations. No you don't have to call NVC again. They will send your casefile to embassy no problem.

so i just got a letter in the mail saying my file was trasfered june 5 to north carolina due to backlog in atlanta, so basically that means im screwed

Hi everyone!
I'm still waiting for my NOA2 but as early as now I want to prepare everything I need for my new life and career there in USA.
I work as a chemical engineer in a pharmaceutical company here in the Philippines. I am aware that it is required to take the state board to be able to practice as an engineer there but it will take time and I am quite worried on what will be my starting career when I get there hopefully mid of this year.
My husband lives in Maryland. Of course I aready have googled things about these but I think first hand info and experience really matters.
Hoping to meet fellow ChEs here.