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The "been there done that" thread: life in the US after DV

SusieQQQ said:
There are so many factors involved, of which insured value is obviously one, but also state, town auto crime statistics, gender, age, education....etc etc.
That sounds quite a lot compared to what we paid at first (one new German mid range car and one second hand German suv at that stage, maybe $75k total insured at the time) we were paying around $650 per 6 months. Yet, I know I was paying less than a local person with the exact same car as me with only a US driving history (clean) but he was in his late 20s, much younger.
Warning for when/if you have a teen driver on the horizon, your insurance premiums will rocket!

@Ricardo7 , if you are a young male especially under 26 (this is my impression but I don’t have time now to check post history) your premiums will be loaded and the best way to keep them down will be to buy a pretty cheap car.
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Yeah ur right, I'm a teen driver. Do u think a used toyota camry thats around $5000 would be considered cheap enough to ensure low premiums for a teen driver?
 
Is there a line for permanent residents at LAX. Do I just lineup with the other visitors or do I get in the citizens line even though I’m not a citizen
 
Mijoro said:
Is there a line for permanent residents at LAX. Do I just lineup with the other visitors or do I get in the citizens line even though I’m not a citizen
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There will either be a separate line for LPRs, or a USC and LPR line, at any airport you enter. Usually the latter.
 
This has probably been discussed at some point in one of these 33 pages but to those who have jobs, how long did it take you to find a job? Did you find that many employers still prefer local candidates even though you are legally allowed to work in the US? Did you start job searching before or after you arrived in the US? IF this has already been discussed, can someone please share the page numbers in this thread so I can have a read? :)
 
Dolphintail said:
This has probably been discussed at some point in one of these 33 pages but to those who have jobs, how long did it take you to find a job? Did you find that many employers still prefer local candidates even though you are legally allowed to work in the US? Did you start job searching before or after you arrived in the US? IF this has already been discussed, can someone please share the page numbers in this thread so I can have a read? :)
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Took me about 6 weeks to get a job. I arrived at the end of April, waited for my SSN to arrive (about 10 days I think) then started applying. I started my job early June.
I updated my resume to clearly state that I was a Legal Permanent Resident and did not require sponsorship - I also made this one of the first things I discussed during my interviews. I never had any issues with my overseas experience vs local, that said I work in IT in Seattle and there is a large amount of international workers (Indian, Chinese etc)
 
Aidyn said:
Took me about 6 weeks to get a job. I arrived at the end of April, waited for my SSN to arrive (about 10 days I think) then started applying. I started my job early June.
I updated my resume to clearly state that I was a Legal Permanent Resident and did not require sponsorship - I also made this one of the first things I discussed during my interviews. I never had any issues with my overseas experience vs local, that said I work in IT in Seattle and there is a large amount of international workers (Indian, Chinese etc)
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What did u do for 6 weeks before u got ur first job? Seems like a pretty long time to just chill at home xD
 
Ricardo7 said:
What did u do for 6 weeks before u got ur first job? Seems like a pretty long time to just chill at home xD
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For the first couple of weeks I pretty much took a break, the stress of going from Visa interview to packing up my things and moving to the US in 3 weeks was exhausting, both physically and emotionally!
Then I spent most mornings looking for jobs (indeed.com glassdooor.com monster.com), writing cover letters, tailoring my resume for the positions I was applying for. I had quite a few phone calls with recruiters and then follow up face to face interviews. I'd say my focused effort of job hunting was about 3 weeks before I got my current job.
 
Ricardo7 said:
What did u do for 6 weeks before u got ur first job? Seems like a pretty long time to just chill at home xD
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“Homes” don’t just get set up by themselves to chill out in, either! Setting up home (just looking for one too) and getting to know wherever you’ve moved too can easily swallow up 6 weeks.
 
Dolphintail said:
This has probably been discussed at some point in one of these 33 pages but to those who have jobs, how long did it take you to find a job? Did you find that many employers still prefer local candidates even though you are legally allowed to work in the US? Did you start job searching before or after you arrived in the US? IF this has already been discussed, can someone please share the page numbers in this thread so I can have a read? :)
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I arrived in mid-June and was working by late July. Probably not my ideal job, but hey, it's US experience. I'll probably look for something else after xmas. My wife has got a great job, she started last month.

My experience is to wait until you get stateside. And clearly state you are a resident. Applying from overseas seems like a waste of time, but perhaps it is not the case in all fields.
 
Aidyn said:
Took me about 6 weeks to get a job. I arrived at the end of April, waited for my SSN to arrive (about 10 days I think) then started applying. I started my job early June.
I updated my resume to clearly state that I was a Legal Permanent Resident and did not require sponsorship - I also made this one of the first things I discussed during my interviews. I never had any issues with my overseas experience vs local, that said I work in IT in Seattle and there is a large amount of international workers (Indian, Chinese etc)
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The 10 days you waited for for the social security number , did it include weekends?
 
Wow Aidyn! That was quick! It's been 4 weeks today and I've yet to receive my SSC though my green card was mailed out yesterday.
 
HurricaneTU said:
Wow Aidyn! That was quick! It's been 4 weeks today and I've yet to receive my SSC though my green card was mailed out yesterday.
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Aidyn said:
I'd suggest contacting them about your SSN, you should have received it by now
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Agree with Aidyn
Bob22 said:
The ssn in the post system seems broken. Most of us had to go to the local office to do it.
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I doubt it’s “most” of you, it’s just that the ones who have the issue are the ones who talk about it.
 
I never received my SSN either, will have to wait til I make the big move there in January. Taking my dog with me too so it’s a bit stressful! Anyone else taken pets with them?
 
robbo1 said:
I never received my SSN either, will have to wait til I make the big move there in January. Taking my dog with me too so it’s a bit stressful! Anyone else taken pets with them?
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Yup. A lot easier to the US than many other places because there’s no quarantine.

The US is very dog-friendly - a lot of hotels allow dogs, for example.
 
SusieQQQ said:
Yup. A lot easier to the US than many other places because there’s no quarantine.

The US is very dog-friendly - a lot of hotels allow dogs, for example.
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I’m taking a fully grown German shepherd so his ticket isn’t cheap but there’s no way I could leave him behind. I’ve been getting him crate trained to prepare for his flight but he’s definitely going to hate the long trip in a box!
 
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