dh010447

Hi Guys,

I got a simple query... I'll be getting my L1 visa soon and was wondering if we can apply for my wifes EAD before we actually get out to the US? I understand that there is a Biometrics part to it - can she get this done at the Embassy in London?

Cheers Guys!

Elvira

No.

Ray

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-765.pdf

Noorah101

Ditto....no.

Rene

dh010447

Bummer... Thought it was a long shot.

So - my wife has to give up her job in the UK, come out the the US with me, wait 3 months for them to process a 1 page application and take some finger prints while she sits and twiddles her thumbs, then spend however long it takes looking for a job until she get one. All so that she can get a card costing $380 to say that she can work - which as far as I can tell they can't NOT give her as she is ENTITLED to it on L2. In the meantime, I have to pay for the mortgage on our UK place (until it gets rented out) pay for rent on a US place and pay for food, utilities, car etc...

If this wasn't something that we REALLY wanted to do... Good job I am getting a lot of help from my company... Ok - I am calm... These things are sent to try us and I suppose that this will prepare us for the paperwork and beurocrasy (spelling!) that we should expect during our stay in the US.

Dont suppose we could apply as soon as I get out there, put her address down as where I will be living in th US. Then once they decide its time for the biometrics she could come over and have them done, then wait for the work permit to come, or perhaps return back to her job in the UK for the duration and apply for some jobs from the UK once the EAD has arrived at our US address. How long does it generally take from them receiving the application to you being called in for finger prints and would this be classed as some kind of fraud?

Elvira

Instead of ranting, perhaps you could spare a thought for all the thousands of H4s who spend YEARS for permission to work...

Deedee13

um basically YES!! u have to wait till u get here..

dh010447

Sorry about the rant... It just all came out. I guess 3 months isn't that long (although according to the Texas Service Centre - they are currently taking longer than the stated 30 days to issue them). I don't know much about any of the visa's other than the L, but - if it was going to take my wife years to get a work permit, then I wouldn't even bother thinking about coming to the US. For us its more the experience of working and living (and traveling) in a foreign country. I know that New Zealand is looking for IT people...

Ray

We haven't mentioned getting the SS number yet

Perhaps NZ would be better for you ...

Elvira

Should we mention the joys of the DMV...

Ray

Best not to bother him ...

Jozef

"Ray" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] m...
>
>>
>>
>> Should we mention the joys of the DMV...
>
> Best not to bother him ...

...he's off to NZ anyway...

disaster2k7

I'm on a similar boat (mortgage wise and all); I'm already in the US with an E3. My wife won't be here until a couple more months. It's been a ride. But golly, she's gonna have to sit on her a*s doing nothing? Hmmm.... stuuuupid. She'll probably end up frustrated about it all.

dh010447

Well - i got 30 days to get my UK license exchanged for a Georgia License - it says if i surrender my out of state license (hopefully also true for non US license), i don't have to do the written or road test, which is a bonus. I don't need a SSN for this as far as I can tell.

As for getting the SSN, should be fun - not sure what I am able to do and not able to to without one...

The biggest frustration is that my wive will be stuck at home getting bored for the duration. Is she able to do voluntary work while she waits for her EAD?

disaster2k7

Georgia allows that? In California, I had to do the entire written and road test. The written test was ugly, 36 questions and allowed up to 6 wrong (had 2 wrong), but you have to memorise the entire manual. The road test was another matter, a cinch - move your head around continuously like an idiot, stop at stop zones, slide your car to the side of the road and reverse 2 car lengths. No reverse or parallel parking, no high speed zones... was a boring 20 minutes (this was in Santa Clara anyways).

I didn't have to give up my Aussie license fortunately, but then in QLD they allow your license to expire for 5 years and you can renew anytime within.

The SSN is like pure luck. I sort of stupidly handed my form in immediately on the next day that I arrived. Luckily I got mine about 3 weeks after, but the fools keyed in my middle name wrongly and I haven't had the opportunity to fix that up.

The wife... voluntary work should be OK (or do what the horde of illegal immmiigants do :-) See if the lawyers in your company can process in getting her the ability to work. I'll try to do that with mine, and she's also a makeup artist so she'll probably want to build a business on that while she's here.

You need credit history to survive in this darn country, and you don't have any the first time you arrive. I recommend the following:

• ask your employer if you can access a relocation agency that will help you get a credit card and insurance - it is extremely useful. My employer gave me membership with AIG, who is a large insurance and financial service in the US. They had links to get me a credit card and I got car insurance through them. My credit card platinum HSBC reward with 25 days grace period. Membership is a few hundred dollars (think 400) a year and you only need it for the first year.
• if you want a bank account early, you can get one while you're still overseas through something like Citibank Global. The account is a basic chequing with no monthly fees for the first year. They promote their service like it's so great and all, but still charge you for any wire transfers that you make. Oh, the US banking system is ancient - it's all cheque based even electronically so that a lot of them can charge you for the wire transfers. There's no direct deposit service to anyone domestically, it's all wire transfer; very lame. To wire money back home, I use a service called OzForex.com, you lose very little on a transfer with them (flat AU$15, and about 0.6% on the exchange rate). They cater for NZ and UK countries too.
• you don't need an SSN to rent a property (they just charge you the full month's rent as a security deposit). You just need an employment confirmation letter detailing your address back home, passport number, employment details and salary. Get your employer to make extra copies for you just in case you need it.
• you need SSN to get your driver's license (unless you have a letter saying you have been rejected of an SSN). But federal US law says that you can drive for up to a year on your home license (even if state laws state otherwise), and federal laws overrule state laws.
• you can't buy a car (well get it registered anyway) without a state license (in CA anyways). I bought my car from VW and they had catered for foreigners (being an international company). After doing my written driving test (which gives me a temporary full license for 60 days, but still have to do the road test), I bought a car from VW and had it financed for 4 years. They're probably the rare few who take your financial history from overseas for credit history. Maybe BMW does the same too.
• I got the car insured via AIG, but VW also offered a similarly competitive pricing.
• you can get ADSL, landline and power services without an SSN. But you sort of need a credit card - so get one early. If you can't get a real credit card, get one of those debit cards - all banks will offer this to you if you don't have a credit history.
• I also have a bank account with Washington Mutual because they don't charge any commission for wire transfers, but you have to go to the service desk each time to send money (needed because I forward the money to OzForex to send money home).
• a lot of local banks will let you open up a bank account here without an SSN - you just need proof of employment, passport and VISA. When you get your SSN, you'll need to let all the services know that you've got one and they can give you an interest savings account and turn on interest accumulation on any savings/chequing account you have.