AllYouCanEat

Hi everybody,

With all the Covid-19 craziness going on and a questionable economic outlook, I'd like to be prepared for a situation my family could find myself in.

We've been living in the U.S. since 2005 on my wife's work visa (E2). Both of our kids (5 and 11) were born in the U.S. and are U.S. citizens.  In the case that my wife would lose her job, we would also lose our visa status.  As far as I know, we would have to leave the country within 60 days after loss of a visa status.  

Does anyone know, if having children who are U.S. citizens, would allow the parents to remain in the U.S. even without a visa?  Is there another document we could obtain, that would allow us to keep living in the U.S. for the kids' sake, that is not tied to an employer? 

Thanks in advance for all your replies and ideas.

Hi everybody,

I'm the spouse of a E2 visa holder and my EAD is about to expire in 3 months. It's always tied to the expiration date of my I-94, which expires in 3 months.

Fortunately we're traveling in December, which will extend my I-94 for another 2 years. Unfortunately, it doesn't make sense to submit the EAD renewal now, because it'll just be valid until my current I-94 expires, which is in 3 months.

On the other hand, if I wait until after I return from my travels and send my EAD application with the new I-94, I'll be without a work permit until I receive my renewed EAD. It can take up to 90 days to get the EAD, so I wouldn't be able to work and lose my day job.

Has anybody been in the same situation than me and what did you do?

I'm here on an E2 visa and I bought a house as well. Green card is not needed for that.

The bank is more interested in your credit history as well as proof of income.

OMG, what an awesome episode last Sunday!! It was one of my favorites throughout the whole show. So much going on.

It could also have been the end of the show, so I'm really curious what will happen in the last few episodes.

rhirhi, this article gives some good ideas if you're starting to build a credit history from scratch:

http://liveworktravelusa.com/build-an-outstanding-credit-history-from_scratch/

According to this article it can take up to 4 weeks to get your Social Security card.

However, you won't need the actual card to apply for a job, just the number. And they'll tell you your SSN right in the office when you apply for it.

Great petition! I'm going to sign it.

I'm still mad that customs took out my Kinder Egg Xmas Calendar 2 years ago with 24 (!) eggs.

SSN and then driver's license would be the next steps.

I used to use Jajah, but now only Skype or FaceTime. Heard Google Voice is pretty good too.

2) No, you won't have to break down what clothing it is. For electronics I would break it up and mention the kind of electronics. Can't hurt to guesstimate a price for each item, just to show that you're not trying to smuggle thousands of dollars worth of equipment across the border with the intention to sell it for profit.

4) I would leave the cleaning supplies or any kind of chemical. Why jeopardize your immigration over that stuff. You can buy all that in the States. Hair products is fine, as long as it's not a truck load full of the same item

5) There should be a website from the border control that mentions certain plants that shouldn't be imported. Just google it.

Just make sure you have your complete visa documentation and valid passports when you cross the border, just in case they want to see stuff, and they will.

Good luck!

Probably too late for you, Ariel & Claus, but one of the blogs I'm reading just posted an article about this topic.

http://liveworktravelusa.com/how-to-buy-a-car-without-the-hassle/

Thanks Mariana

We have the Melting Pot here – a pretty good fondu restaurant. Not sure how widespread they are though throughout the nation

Because the EAD is a very short term work permit and employers don't like to train an employee, that might have to leave the company if the EAD won't get extended for whatever reason. It also indicates that it's tied to a visa that may or may not be renewed. Too much risk and obviously not worth pursuing for some companies.

GC also has an expiration date. Why don't they have a problem with that?

Thanks indiana_sweetie. But you're right. It's not quite what I was looking for.

I appreciate you trying to help though.

I'm trying to find a list of all international companies, that have branches in the USA.

It's part of a study that I'm doing about finding companies that potentially transfer people from their headquarters to their US subsidiaries.

Please share any lists that might help my research. I appreciate it.

The other day I stumbled over a site, that lists a lot of German restaurants for each state. Although it's in German, it's pretty easy to find a restaurant and its website.

http://www.deutscheindenusa.com/deutsche-restaurants-usa/

Now, I was wondering, if you guys can add similar directory-like links to U.S. located restaurants of your homeland in this thread?

Doesn't matter if it's in your native tongue, as long as there are links to click on to find these restaurants' websites.

Looking forward to what you got.

AllYouCanEat

David, you should sign this petition. Hopefully they'll include something for long time E2 visa holders in the DREAM Act.

http://www.change.org/petitions/senator-marco-rubio-allow-legal-immigrants-to-qualify-for-the-dream-act

I don't think the DMV needs to see your EAD, so it doesn't matter if there's your new name on it.

All you need to show them is your passport and tell them your SSN. No need to show the actual Social Security Card.

If there should be any issues it can't hurt to bring your marriage license to prove the name change.

Here's one to go along with that one.

"Your kid might be an honor student, but you're still an idiot"

LOL!! Love it

LOL, I've noticed this fairly wide gap, too. Thought it's for better ventilation...

How hard is it going to be to get a mortage, without having to wait 2+ years to establish a good US credit rating, or 'qualify' the 2/2/2 general requirement that I've heard many banks work off? We'll have 20% downpayment (from the sale of our home in Australia prior to moving). I've heard some US financial institutions (such as Advancial Credit Union) have special provisions for new immigrants.

On a related note, would we qualify as a "First Home Owners" in the US (in regards to FHA Loans), or would the fact that we've owned property in Australia disqualify us?

We had to make a down payment of at least 25% to get our loan as a non U.S. citizen, but that was back in 2007. Financial crisis came shortly after, so this might look different now.

Anyways, with no credit history you will probably get a pretty high interest rate, but still get a loan if the down payment is high enough. The bank won't be taking a huge risk with such a big down payment, because the house will be worth way more than the loan amount right from the start.

If would try it and then refinance your mortgage aften you build a decent credit history.

Here's a good guide how to approach building a good credit history for people new to the U.S.:

http://liveworktravelusa.com/build-an-outstanding-credit-history-from-scratch/

And yes, I'm pretty sure you will qualify as a "First Home Owner" in the US, since this will be your first home here. Doesn't matter what you owned abroad.

I live in Charlotte and it's never been a problem. Just standard questions and every now and then your luggage gets checked again from customs before you leave. Random choice.

Here's another pretty new immigrant blog:

http://www.LiveWorkTravelUSA.com

I was lucky, my wife moved with her parents right across the street back in Germany