jjbandero

I think you should Google "best companies to work for" in the US and see what comes up in terms of benefits other than salary, I totally agree with the poster who stated that it really depends on the company and how much competition the company has for talented resources. I think my company (public company) for example, falls somewhere in the middle:

• Sick days: 10 (can be used for yourself, anyone you're caring for or pets)
• Floating days: 2
• Vacation days: start at 10 for new starters, increasing by 5 days every four years and tops out at 30 days; for executives, new starters get 15 days
• Public holidays: 10
• Paid parental leave: 3 weeks at 100% in addition to state requirements
• Flexible working arrangements (alternative hours, working from home): negotiated with supervisor

cheers

The Tillamook brand of yogurt and ice cream is great, very rich and creamy, just make sure you avoid their low fat line

I'll let the more experienced members comment on your immigration matters, I'll share some thoughts on the pregnancy.

- For travel later during pregnancy, you definitely should get a doctor's note clearing your wife to travel, I was told some airlines have concerns if you were past 32 weeks, others are not as strict, so if you do travel, you should find out the policy for the particular airline you will use

- you should have a back up plan in case your wife cannot come to the US on time, in my case, I unexpectedly had to be induced, it was both complicated (even though we pre-registered at the hospital) and stressful, make sure she is well-supported if it happens

- Check out the hospital in the US, while you can get great insurance, you may have a choice of hospitals and they are not equal, getting the best service for the lowest cost (in-network hospitals and doctors) will make things easier, especially considering the big move you're making

- Find out the paternity leave policies at your new employer, you will want to take some time off to be with your family

Best

Other members have given you great analysis on the two paths, I just want to mention that you should also look into the job market and whether your skills and experience will result in you being able to get a job easily once you receive your work authorization. Other members have had issues finding something suitable quickly, so you may have to plan for that as well. Good luck in your decision!

Don't try to send it back now unless it was asked for. Print pictures on plain paper in color and in my case, I put the location and who they were in relation to us in the pictures e.g. New York, with xxx's friends

Based on my personal experience, the interviewer did not care about our "story", he only wanted documentation, specifically, financial co-mingling documents, our interview lasted about 10 minutes.

If you do not plan to initiate AOS until about 2 years from now, you can take the suggestions offered here and implement them. You will find some of the pieces very easy to do, and are one-off annoyances e.g. adding each other to insurance is easy, and as long as you pay your premiums, there's nothing else to be done.

Just curious, have you considered that if you become a LPR, your tuition at uni could be reduced? My understanding is that international student tuition is generally much higher.

Cheers

If you have it, bring also evidence of health insurance if you are on each other'so plan; 401K beneficiary information;life insurance beneficiary information.

Good luck!

Go business casual, when we went for our interview, some people were really sloppily dressed and it just did not gel well with the seriousness of the office and the IOs. Wear a collared shirt and proper shoes, doesn't hurt to present a clean cut image.

No, they don't need your records unless it's an ongoing condition you're getting treatment for. Most doctors require you to complete a medical history anyway, so you can put down whatever is relevant to you.

I'm not an expert, here are some considerations I can think of before you sign-up for any contracting work:

• You are residing in the US and in all likelihood you are a US resident for tax purposes, this means that you would have to pay US income taxes on your worldwide income, depending on where your home country is, you may be able to claim foreign tax credits (you get this as you pay foreign taxes on the contracting work you do) on your US income tax return
• If you maintain a foreign bank account to receive the money you earn, then you have to disclose that each year in the US
• Depending on the work you do in the US, your employer may have specific rules about whether you are allowed to engage in additional income generating activity

No problems re-entering the US with your documents, but sometimes the overseas airlines are staffed with people who are not familiar with the extension letter. I encountered some questions about why my GC was expired when I tried to board a flight from Asia to the US, I simply explained what the letter was for and asked to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor was able to "sign-off" on me boarding the flight. It was not a big issue, but I would suggest checking in slightly earlier in case you have to do what I did which wasted about 15 mins.

Cheers

I used to work for one of the Big 4 and transferred to the US as part of the global mobility program, there was definitely a need from the US side and they initiated the resource search. I also know of a friend who used to work for one Big 4, but since they did not have the role/level he was looking for, he ended up going for another Big 4.

International experience is definitely useful, however, I have heard that people coming from non-English speaking countries tend to be vetted more rigorously when doing the internal transfers. Big 4 standards is well known in the accounting/auditing/tax field, you should not have much trouble converting your existing experience.

I wonder to what extent those of you with lots of professional experience tried reaching out to professional recruiters to have them help you with the job search? You don't have to pay them, they get paid by the potential employer once you successfully get the job. Also to what extent have you tailored your resume to the US market and the employer? I have seen resumes from Europe and Asia, they can look quite different and emphasize different aspects. Further, many recruiters use key word searches, if your resume doesn't contain such key words, you might be missing out. In general, it's also beneficial to customize your resume to the position/company you're applying for, you do the thinking for the recruiter by telling them why you are the best fit. Just having general facts about your experience is not as convincing as how such experience could benefit them in the long run.

In the interest of information sharing, I work for a large company and there are definitely a lot of labor laws that come into play when HR recruit candidates for open positions. One of the elements is that we're suppose to report statistics on who the candidates are e.g. race, gender etc. apparently, this is one way to monitor employers to make sure that people from different backgrounds are being considered for open positions. A few years ago, there was also this rule that if you open an application from an applicant, then the employer is obligated to consider that person (not necessarily interview), if you do not, then you're in violation of EEO rules, so if there are too many applicants for one position, some of the applications are not even reviewed.

Cheers

Depending on where you live, you might want to try places like Vallarta Supermarkets, Jons International Marketplace, 99 Ranch - they all have websites and weekly discounts that you can check out. It's going to be difficult to find a single store that is cheaper for all your needs, but you might be able to get good deals by going to 2 or more places.

Congrats on landing your first job! For background checks, it depends on the number of checks they're doing as well, in my case, as I work in what's considered a "sensitive finance role", I had to pass through criminal background check, credit check and educational checks. The job offer is usually contingent on you passing the background check as stated by the prospective employer.

I think it's always a good idea to look broadly across different industries, as many of the skills/experiences people have can be adapted, this is especially true of soft skills such as good communication, ability to work effectively as part of a team.

I had my degrees evaluated after I had received my contingent job offer, there's no rush to do it before as other posters have said that not all employers will require it, and those that do may want to choose a specific one, so no need to waste your money.

What I have done is tried to provide some explanations on my resume about my qualifications, e.g. I am a Chartered Accountant, so I noted that it was similar to the CPA, in case the person looking at my resume is not familiar with it. In general, avoid the use of a lot of abbreviations and acronyms to reduce any potential confusion.

Cheers

Maternity leave will vary significantly from company-to-company and each state has specific rules about what portion of your pay would be covered by the state disability and family leave laws, you should look up what it is for Pennsylvania (assuming that is where you wish to live). In terms of whether you would get fired, that also varies from state-to-state, for example, it may be that you can be on leave without pay for a number of months and the different scenarios include:

• Your original position is held open for you to return to
• Your original position is not guaranteed, but you will get a comparable position
• Your original position is not guaranteed, but you will get another position

You need to understand the exact policies of the company in conjunction with your state.

In terms of flexibility within different jobs, it is possible, some companies will offer flexible work arrangements, it also depends on what sort of degree and work experience you've had. For example, if your profession requires to have constant interaction with clients, colleagues, then having flexible work arrangements may be more difficult. Even for companies with flexible programs, you might be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Unless you are in a highly specialized field with high demand/low supply of candidates, 2 years of work experience may limit your ability to get a high paying job. For example, I am in the finance field, and you will generally start to earn higher income at the manager level, which requires at least 5+ years of experience.

Good luck

I agree with the other posters who said that experience AND education are important in the US for professional positions. While you may have had lots of great, relevant internships, the amount of time you spent at them are generally not considered equivalent to the same amount of time as full employment. 1 year is fairly limited, and for social work, many people here have both experience and post graduate degrees. You should map out a realistic timeline in which to build the career you want, including potentially "stepping-stone" positions initially. Working or volunteering for related non-profit organizations is a great idea (make sure you build a network and get good references), or consider working with perhaps special after-school programs with children, joining community organizations that have a social focus... Be creative, you may not get a 100% match to what you want in the beginning, but you can always learn new skills, build strong relationships and sometimes other jobs will be referred to you.

Wonderful! Time to celebrate!

Just remember to keep collecting the documents for removal of conditions in 2 years...

Best

That's great, congratulations! I wouldn't worry about the online updates, we never really got proper updates throughout the process, it was always delayed. If you don't get your card within the expected time, then call for information, otherwise just relax and wait.

We were asked if we had other documents that supported our application, he wanted to see more financial documents, so I handed in more banking, mortgage and insurance copies (these were collected between when we filed the application and the interview date).

Try not to be nervous, not everyone is in the same situation, so you may not have a lot of paperwork. Just make sure you come across as confident, organized and truthful when answering questions about what you do have.

Good luck

If the photos are the only concern,but your other documents are in order, there's nothing to worry about. Photos are not the best evidence in any case, IOs don't give them that much weight in the context of other evidence.

Best

P.S. Your lawyer is a bit strange in that if they felt you should not have included such photos, why did he not mention it earlier and ask you to send something different?

Also consider things like proof that you're each other's beneficiary for 401K plans, large purchases e.g. car where you both have your names on the title. Make copies of all the original documents, we had to hand in documents that the interviewer requested on the spot.

Good luck

JJbandero, I did stay at a hotel last year with him, but on my confirmation email it only has my name on it. Should I include this too, or are they only looking for things that have both our names on it?

Happy Chic, I will definitely look into making a will, thank you for pointing me in that direction.

Gilda, I'm unsure if I am able to do that for my insurance because what I have is government funded, not a private company and I'm not sure if that is available?

It's better if it has both of your names on it or you can easily trace back to the fact that you were both there. For example, you have a jointed bank account, you paid for a trip using the joint account, you have hotel and airline receipts with your names and same destination, and you add pictures on top of that to tell a story of the two of you together and sharing finances. This is more of an indirect way, since you don't have some of the other direct examples of financial co-mingling.

You don't have to answer this question, I understand that the IOs look for red flags in the relationship, and it can be things like coming from vastly different religions, large age differences, not speaking the same language at all etc. If you have these flags, you need to prepared for a lot of scrutiny, if you don't, then the standard doesn't seem to be as high. There are examples of other members on this board who got approved without a ton of evidence.

Good luck

hello

after a successful interview ive been thinking a lot about how my life will be in the US.

i know itll be hard to be away from my family, friends, country, language etc... but theres nothing i want more than to start my life with the person i love.

so i was wondering about different things,

is it hard to find a job in the US when you get your work permit? i speak english very well but i do have a noticeable accent, has your accent ever been an issue? Yes, only because sometimes people have preconceptions about you and while not being trying to be malicious, will end up saying something that makes you think, "what?" In my case, I am Chinese-Australian, so I have an Australian accent, I use different words for certain things e.g. biscuit for cookie, spanner for wrench. I had people say to my face, "how come you don't have an Asian accent?, Oh, you are from Australia, you must speak German (Australia, not Austria)". You will be surprised by the general lack of international geography knowledge, if I have time, I will try and educate, if I don't, I just laugh and move on. Using different words sometimes does cause confusion.

i was thinking about learning spanish since the US has many spanish speakers and it will be a plus when trying to find a job, would that be a good idea? Never hurts to have other language skills, especially if you are working in a customer service time of role. I would consider other courses that are also going to give you desirable skills. You should check out the job market in the city you're moving to, see what qualifications people are asking for in the job description.

is it hard to make new friends? did you search for people from your ethnicity/country that live nearby? or did you try to befriend anyone from the start? Yes, harder to make friends as adults, in my case, I came to the US for work, and a lot of my colleagues were very supportive and took me out after work, we got to know each other better and ended up being friends even after we stopped working together. My friends also met people with similar interests by joining gyms, hiking clubs and other hobby groups. If you do decide to attend courses in the US, community college might be a good option, not expensive, lots of classes and you can meet other people doing the same.

what was the first thing you wanted to do when you moved to the US (besides things that have to do with the immigration process)? I didn't want to try it, but realized that I had to get a car in order to get around in Southern California.

how did your partners family react to you and to the marriage? were they interested in hearing about your country and culture? I met my husband after I'd been in the US for a few years, everyone was very welcoming and always asked about what we'd been up to. I've shared stories about Australia in the context of our discussions.

and to those whove been in the US for a while - did you "bring your culture with you"? do you celebrate your countries holidays? cook the food you ate in your country? Not especially, since it is not always easy to align my time off.

do you feel different or like an outsider? do you feel like people treat you differently because youre not american? or do americans not care about that? Sometimes, but it does not bother me very much. My policy is, I will not go out of my way to offend you, and if I'm polite and respectful, I expect the same in return.

ill be happy to hear about your experiences especially from people who immigrated from non-english speaking countries

Best of luck!