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

Absolutely You can. I got mine via eBay with at&t but you can also get T-Mobile ones too. You can set it up and have a number but you won’t get any texts till you’re there.
quick tip to get an area code for the city you’re in look up the zip code for your city and use a hotel address.
I wanted a 702 area code because I’m in Vegas so initially I used the Bellagio hotel address.
with tmobile you can also keep refreshing till you get a phone number you like.
 
robbo1 said:
Will they send the Simcard to my Aussie address or only within US?
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You can always just set up a skype account if you want to add a contact number to your resume ... that said, I'd seriously think before applying for jobs while not in the US, many places will just ignore your submission and when you finally get over here you may have trouble getting your name out of the "don't bother looking at" pile.
 
Aidyn said:
You can always just set up a skype account if you want to add a contact number to your resume ... that said, I'd seriously think before applying for jobs while not in the US, many places will just ignore your submission and when you finally get over here you may have trouble getting your name out of the "don't bother looking at" pile.
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Plus, time difference for calls.
 
Mijoro said:
As for banks I found BOA the best US bank wouldn’t even consider giving me an account till I had my ss number and proof of residency for 30 days minimum
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30 days minimum? So what do they expect for those who arrive during their first 30 days? Those people would just go to other banks and BOA would lose a lot of potential customers...
 
Also, how did everyone go about getting their drivers licence? Can you easily just exchange your out of country licence? Or do you have to retake the whole driving test again?
 
Dolphintail said:
Also, how did everyone go about getting their drivers licence? Can you easily just exchange your out of country licence? Or do you have to retake the whole driving test again?
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that all depends on where you move to - check with the Dept of Licensing in your new US State
 
Dolphintail said:
Also, how did everyone go about getting their drivers licence? Can you easily just exchange your out of country licence? Or do you have to retake the whole driving test again?
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In many States (if not all, TBD) you might have to retake the whole driving test again. Most States’s driving tests are pretty straight forward and easier for many people who learned to drive in other countries and have been driving for many years, the only one that stands out in terms of difficulty IMO would be Maryland, but still, you’d pass.
 
I'd heavily recommend AT&T over t-mobile, unless you travel a lot, in which case t mobile wins, and is why I have it.

Domestically, t-mobile is terrible.
 
damo1089 said:
I'd heavily recommend AT&T over t-mobile, unless you travel a lot, in which case t mobile wins, and is why I have it.

Domestically, t-mobile is terrible.
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Yet another thing that may vary widely with where you are. Different areas have different coverage. I know a lot of people in New York are very happy with t-mobile, not so many in CA. Similarly a lot of people I know in CA have switched from AT&T due to poor coverage and especially more recently total loss of service during the power outages, whereas Verizon is very reliable here... but I wouldn’t be surprised to find other regions where Verizon is not so loved. We like Verizon’s flexible international roaming plan too. As with many other things including insurance, it’s always best to try get some opinions from locals - easy these days with social media groups, Nextdoor, citydata forums etc - before signing up.
 
Yeah I just ordered a sim from amazon. I did that so I could get running as soon as I got off the plane.

What I also did was pay I think $7 a month for a Skype US number as that is dirt cheap for international calling. I call my father in NZ on it and it costs almost nothing for the call.

Also in Texas you have to take the entire test again, but it's very easy. Way too easy in fact. Probably explains why people in TX can't drive for crap. They need to teach defensive driving here, people drive like selfish loons.
 
Bob22 said:
Also in Texas you have to take the entire test again, but it's very easy. Way too easy in fact. Probably explains why people in TX can't drive for crap. They need to teach defensive driving here, people drive like selfish loons.
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Ummm....so they drive like everyone everywhere else? ;-)
 
Hi guys . I need some advice here . My green card was returned to to USCIS office because of wrong mailing address. I contacted them to return it and it taking almost a month . Can I really begin applying for jobs and with with my stamped visa or the rule is green card first ?
 
Mickey21 said:
Hi guys . I need some advice here . My green card was returned to to USCIS office because of wrong mailing address. I contacted them to return it and it taking almost a month . Can I really begin applying for jobs and with with my stamped visa or the rule is green card first ?
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You don't have to physically have your green card to apply for work - the stamp in your passport is your temporary I-551
In fact I dont think I was every asked to produce my green card until I successfully obtained employment - and even then the stamp in the passport is sufficient
 
Aidyn said:
You don't have to physically have your green card to apply for work - the stamp in your passport is your temporary I-551
In fact I dont think I was every asked to produce my green card until I successfully obtained employment - and even then the stamp in the passport is sufficient
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Thank you
 
webster said:
I am moving to Chicago next week, already started applying for jobs from overseas, but except for one phone interview, not much luck. I am a software engineer with 6-7 years of experience, focused on backend development.
Any tips/advices where to look for a job and how to get started? How is Chicago's software scene?
I know NY and SF are probably the places to go for software engineers, but I have family in Chicago, so that's the reason I am moving there.
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Hi,
Did you get job now?
 
damo1089 said:
Does anyone have any suggestions of how to get 'over the hump' with English?

My wife can talk to anyone, express herself and her ideas well. She is also very good at pretending to understand what she is hearing, when someone is talking fast or just generally assuming that she is a native speaker.

Now that we're probably staying here, she really wants to work on that last 20% so she can feel more confident and integrated.

For anyone who has gone from, say, 70% comprehension ability to 95%, how did you do it?
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@damo1089 Sorry for the late comment on this. Speaking from personal experience, and being in an academic environment, I think immersion helps a lot (surrounding oneself with situations which include listening to faster-than-average American English speech: some TV shows, comedy shows(some comedians like Seth Meyers speak a little faster than others), book clubs, etc.) may be helpful. Daily listening to NPR news (a wide array of news anchors) for example is one thing that helped me a lot with fine-tuning my listening ability with faster speakers. Audiobooks in particular have also been extremely helpful for me, and there are so many out there that it’s a struggle to find time to listen to everything one is interested in. I don’t know if you’re a religious family, but church services, catholic masses, etc. or similar regular gatherings (conferences, etc.) where you can listen to many speakers from the safety of your seat are also very helpful (a weekly exercise in listening to different people who read in English at different paces). In these gatherings, raising your hand and speaking when given the floor is also a great confidence booster (from a 1-on-1 small-talk in a close-knit neighborhood church to a panel in a big conference) these settings also taught me a lot about myself (listening style, detecting cultural undertones while listening to others, picking up on what people said and asking follow-up questions, etc.) things that are very important in American English, both private and public speech. These are just a few things I thought of from the top of my head, I’ll circle back if I think of any other tip to get over the hump with English. Let me know if any questions on these.
 
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