britinusa777777755

What did you sacrifice in your endeavor to obtain a green card? Was it worth it in the end?

I paid a hefty price so far and I have one year left to wait:
3 years of career stagnation
5 years of living near NYC for work, I am not a city person
1 year of not being able to travel outside of the country, even for a vacation

I could have lived anywhere in Europe, Australia or New Zealand without restrictions or sacrifices. I came to the USA because of the perception of improved career opportunities in the technology sector, I really hope it is worth it in the end...... What if I wasted my time?

fbf2006

Mine is not really a sacrifice per se as I moved here for college. I would have longed moved to the South for the weather and lower cost of living if my husband and I were not on work visas. Since getting our green cards this summer, my job search down South has intensified. I would also have changed jobs for a higher salary.


If we were not on visas though, I'm pretty sure we (my husband) would not have requested a transfer to their UK office and we loved living in London for 2 years. He requested the transfer because I had been laid off from my H1 position and was on H4. Working in London on an intra-company visa gave me the right to work too and I was able to find something easily. I miss London, not the weather though!

petitefrancaise

I refuse to play the "what if" game. Until someone hands me a working crystal ball, that is.

As a family we had to make a lot of CHANGES to move to the USA and get our GCs. On a bad day, I'm sure we might think that we made sacrifices, the kids certainly give me a hard time every now and then when they tell me what they gave up.

We can all say "I could've" whatever... but you didn't. You made a decision and you are amongst one of the most fortunate people on this planet to have been able to make the decision you did.

fbf2006

I do completely agree with this!

mrken30

I sacrificed cold wet dreary days in the UK. Road rage, long check out lines and congestion. I don't really feel I sacrificed anything. I have made a fair amount of money on paper in terms of GBP thanks to the weak pound and rising house prices. Who would have known house prices here are as crazy as in the UK. They have only gained 10% this year.

I did give up good cake and Sunday carvery, that's about it.

britinusa777777755

Road rage in the UK?

Nutmegger

If you want so badly to live in the US, why is it a “sacrifice”? Sounds more like a means to an end.

Rete

After one year of stagnation, why did you choose to hold on?

Again, your decision. Why move to a country to live in an area that you knew you wouldn't like.

Beats me why you couldn't travel outside of the US for a vacation. Anyone waiting for adjustment of status is entitled to, and has paid the price in the fee, for an advance parole document which allows to you to travel outside of the US without abandoning your pending status.

Only you know why you thought this was a good idea instead of living and working elsewhere in the world.

Seems like you got the bad end of the stick.

Octang Frye

I sacrificed a chicken in a Santeria ceremony to ensure I didn't get an RFE.

mrken30

You obviously have not driven much around the North Circular.

scrubbedexpat099

My dignity

britinusa777777755

1.
The promise of a green card, great prospects in tech and the ability to live and work for Apple, Microsoft or anybody else anywhere in the country. Things started out well, got worse over time.

2.
Was the only place I could get a visa/job at the time, had fun for a while.

3
More complicated than that, I have a paper visa right now (renewal I-129). Even that is not approved yet. Even if it was approved, I'd have to get a whole new photographic visa at the embassy as well as pay for advance parole. Cost prohibitive and also risky and stressful, not worth it unless absolutely necessary.

4.
Sometimes you don't realize until it's too late. At this stage it doesn't make sense to leave, since things will be so much better here soon. Had I known how things were going to pan out though:

- how long the GC process would take
- the downward trajectory of my company

I would never have come to the USA.

petitefrancaise

It does sound like it's been a long hard slog for you. It also sounds like you are nearing the end of it though and often that's when we all feel like chucking it in. Whatever that "it" might be for us.
Keep your chin up, persevere til the green card is in your hands. From what I've seen of tech lately, you really might well have a golden ticket in terms of choice and salary.

dc koop

My brother sponsored me. Didn't wait very long either back in 1974.
I was excused registering for the draft because I had already served in the British army.
Left cold, damp and overcrowded for warm dry and spacious

Twinkle0927

Nothing at all. I only gained. I have everything I had before plus I gained a wonderful husband and a few pounds on my hips, a few inches around my waist.

But I never had the goal of getting a green card. I didn't look for an American husband and when I met my husband (who was wearing a Union Jack t shirt) I thought he was British until he spoke. It was our intention to settle on the U.K. but that chance was denied so here we are. Like someone else said, it was a change of address, nothing else. I'm still me. I refuse to sacrifice anything anyway, if it can be at all helped. Financially we may have sacrificed a nice holiday due to the visa fees and shipping costs to get my stuff here but we can go another time.

You don't know if your life would have been better or worse if you'd stayed in the U.K. You might have been run over by a bus the next day. You might have won the lottery. Who knows? All you can do is play with the cards that life has dealt you.