Immigration laws in USA

[castanza]

Hello everyone, I've tried a number of online sources but have yet to get the information I seek. I just want to know if I were to marry a woman from overseas (Ukraine) when would she be able to work here. Also, does anyone have experience in helping a Russian woman/wife find a job here? If so, what are the obstacles and what type of employment does a Russian woman find suitable considering she may not be able to resume, at least not immediately, her former career. My lady teaches English, but certainly she couldn't teach English here, at least not to typical American students. I just wonder what type of work she would find challenging here in the USA. Thank you for your time, Mark

[Bruce]

My girl was an English teacher in Russia.  She came here on a K-1 through Kennedy airport.  If my memory is correct, upon entry the K-1 is stamped (I-94) giving her a 90 day temporary work visa and ability to apply for a social security card / number.  When you marry you apply for a I-751 ie. work permit.  The cost is nominal for you and provides her the ability to legally work long term during your adjustment of status period - achieves permanent resident status due to your marriage.  Your girl will in any event have to pass the TOEFL exam (test for English as a foreign language) prior to her continuing her education.  There is not much of a demand here for "English teachers" whose native language is not English unless they are certified educators (ie. have continuing education here / masters degree in education etc).  However, since your girl has a higher education degree (college degree equivalent from Ukraine) and speaks fluent English, she should be able to apply for a job in a library, get a sales job or any college graduate entry job out there, which opens up alot of possibilites.  In our case, we decided it was best for my wife not to work at this time.  She will be taking the TOEFL in the near future.  I / she wants to always have that under her belt in the event she wants to go back to get a masters in education or pursue more study here some day.  Your girl could easily also go back to nursing school, and probably get a degree and certification in a little more than two years - better paying than teachers with a bit more flexibility when it comes to scheduling.  See the INS website for specific adjustment of status questions etc.

[castanza]

Bruce, thank you very much for your input. It looks like we have a lot in common, as far as our romantic interests go. Has your wife met any Russian women? Does she want to meet Russian women for friends? I'm just trying to envision problems we may face if she were to come and live here. I worry about her becoming bored while I'm away at work. Thanks again Bruce, I'll probably have more questions in the near future, Mark

[Bruce]

It has been hard for my wife to find friends in the five months plus change she has been here.  However, she is friends with the Ukrainian lady next door on one side and the Belorussian lady on the other side.  They have a large age difference - so it is not the same as a friend her own age.  The Belorussian lady has a daughter six months older than my wife so she is friendly with her though they have little in common.  My wife likes her because she is next door, has no other friends, speaks Russian having FSU parents and most importantly has no designs on me.  In yoga class (taught in Russian) she met alot of mostly Ukrainian girls - but is not friendly with them because she found they quickly are looking to use her / me.  My wife is a high character girl and is very distrustful of most of the women she meets in the Brighton / Manhattan Beach / Sheepshed Bay region of Brooklyn.  In fact, by nature she is fairly distrustful of FSU people in the USA.  She is much more trusting of the Americans.  So many of the FSU women are somehow here illegally etc. and are looking to use people.  Right now my wife is not bored.  She is busy walking to buy all the groceries, was swimming every day in Brighton until the middle of November and I suppose will be swimming in the end of April / May, cleaning the house, watching Argentinian soap operas translated into Russian and preparing daily soups for me etc.  until I get home.  Right now she is thinking about resurfacing our kitchen cabinets while I am away and is looking into getting new curtains to spruce things up.  She is conscious of costs and works to save as much money as she can - but she is still a woman and likes a comfortable home, so I accomodate her wishes as much as I can.  She also got a library card and is reading Russian books as well as studying her TOFEL preparation book.

[jb]

castanza, Mark

Trying to be a bit more specific in answering your question.

If your lady arrives on a K-1 visa she will get a 90 day EAD, (Employment Authorization Document) actually this I believe, is just a stamp on the back of her I-94 POE entry card.  It will take BCIS about 2-3 weeks to get her in the computer system, but you can apply for her SSN any time after she's in the system.  After the wedding you will have to file for her AOS (Adjustment of Status), at the same time you send that in, concurrently you may file for her 2 year EAD and her Advance Parole Travel documents.  With the EAD and a SSN she can begin seeking employment.

If your lady has a teaching degree she can probably teach other subjects besides English, math and science teachers are usually in short supply, always a good bet for getting a foot in the door quickly.

One thing you must do very quickly after she gets settled, is have her diploma evaluated by one of the companies which specialize in figuring out foreign academic credentials.  This usually takes a month to six weeks, depending on the company which is accepted by your state's education system.  In order for that to happen she will have to bring her diploma and a complete set of her college transcripts, (certified and translated), or if the company is a stickler for honesty, she may have to wait for her college to mail transcripts directly to the evaluator.  This will draw out the process a bit depending on how fast her college responds.

Once she has the diploma evaluation in hand she can then put together her resume.  I know it sounds like a lot to do, but my wife landed an adjunct professorship at a local college here within about 3 months, so it is doable.

Good luck, and let me know if you need any further info.

[Jet]

 I just want to know if I were to marry a woman from overseas (Ukraine) when would she be able to work here. Also, does anyone have experience in helping a Russian woman/wife find a job here?

If you were to marry in Ukraine, it's my understanding that you could do a DCF (direct consular filing) and she would arrive as a green-card holder. This is highly advantagous as it circumvents a TON of BCIS bullsh*t. She would be able to travel back home and work immediately vs having to file AoS + advance parole + employment authorization. Advance parole can take up to 5 months to recieve unless there is a death in the immediate family (which is the ONLY thing they consider an "emergency") and employment authorization is supposed to take no more than 90 days BUT in our case, it took 160 days by the time she actually got her card. Obtaining these extra authorizations after our K-1 proved to be a highly stressful time in our house, but since my wife is from Russia, DCF was not available to us.

Similar to JB's wife, my wife was also able to find teaching work in about 4 months after getting her transcipts evaluated and employment authorization. We sent out hundreds of resume`s and CVs and got very few responses. In Russia she taught physics, for which there are very few openings in South FL, but what we found out, was that her physics degree also qualified her to teach HS math, so she is now employed teaching Algebra, Calculus, and Trig. full time. She started work exactly 12 months after our wedding (nice anniversary present) and is currently bringing home a very respectable salary.

While your fiancee may have taught english before and may not be able to do the same here, the mere fact that she taught ANYTHING may be enough to get her foot in the door.

 

OFF TOPIC:

Hey JB glad to see we haven't lost touch, and it's kinda nice to be able to post without one hand tied behind my back for a change

[castanza]

Thank you Bruce, JB and Jet for the information. TOEFL, EAD, BCIS are terms that are new to me, but you've opened my eyes to them and I appreciate it. Her teaching here is something I didn't think was all that possible, but I now see the outlook for this is quite good.

Jet, I have no intention of getting married in Ukraine but let me ask you this. You live in FL, as I will be by the end of the month, what does your wife think about the climate and it's surroundings? Being from the north (NJ) I know it's a different way of life in FL as I've spent almost six years there (Melbourne/Fort Meyers). The contrasts between FL and Russia must be incredible at first for her to absorb.

Also, how much cash did you guys bring with you on your trip(s) overseas? A friend said I should bring $5000, but I think that's too much considering I'll only be there less than two weeks and plus I don't plan on spending that much. I will be staying in hotels throughout my trip, however.

Thanks again guys, Mark

[Goombah]

Cash:  Depends on where you are staying (Kiev, Moscow, St. Pete vs. Nikolaev or other small towns), but Hotel + $200/day should cover you about anywhere I would think.  Recognize that in the larger cities, you can use your ATM card, and in some of the more upscale restraunts, you can charge the meal.

Kevin

[Bruno]

[line]

Cash: Depends on where you are staying (Kiev, Moscow, St. Pete vs. Nikolaev or other small towns)

[line]

It is not the only parameter... the more important is how you spend your time in your trip... for myself, i take around the half of money i go use for my holliday in Belgium... it enough for a lot...

Eight year ago, i have use 500 euro for the stay in Lipetsk : stay of one month, appartment, food, marriage, administration, ...

For Nikolaev, i have use 1000 euro for the stay : stay of 3 week, appartment ( 100$ week ), food, visit to odessa, ...

If you use in US, for your holliday, 1000$ week, take for FSU around 500$ week... but if you use 5000$ week ( chic hotel, high class restaurant, ... ) in US, take 2500$ week for FSU...

In Big city like Kiev, Moscow, St-Petersbourg, take the same that in US...

[castanza]

Thank you Kevin and Bruno. Most likely I will be staying in Kiev or Odessa hotels sometime in the late spring or early summer. Bruno, if I read you correctly, you are saying, typically, a holiday/vacation should cost half of what it would here in the US unless when in popular cities such as Kiev, I got it. Kevin, I was under the impression that ATM's are hard to find and credit card use is not recommended due to unscrupulous restaurant/shop/hotel workers. Also, when you say $200 a day plus hotel, this $200 estimate would be for dining and entertainment I suppose.

Thanks for the advice, Mark

[Vaughn]

Castanza,

With your lady's command of English,
don't overlook the possibility of her
 teaching Russian, if it's offered
at local schools and/or colleges. Most
Russian language teachers in our area
are native speakers. She's probably
a good candidate for this.

Vaughn

[Jet]

[line]


Cash: Depends on where you are staying (Kiev, Moscow, St. Pete vs. Nikolaev or other small towns)

[line]


If you use in US, for your holliday, 1000$ week, take for FSU around 500$ week... but if you use 5000$ week ( chic hotel, high class restaurant, ... ) in US, take 2500$ week for FSU...

In Big city like Kiev, Moscow, St-Petersbourg, take the same that in US...

 

Wow! you guys must do some SERIOUS partying while "in country"

My first trip to N. Novgorod (Russia's 3rd largest city) I spent $59.00 for a 2 week stay - eating at nice places, museums, the ballet, gifts for family back home, etc............It was November 2002 and Hotel was prepaid.

My trip in summer of 2003, for my wife's visa interview, I spent about $350.00 for a month long stay including a week in Moscow and $60.00 in train tix back to N.N. (again this does not include airfare hotel or visa fees)

The wife layed out about the same $350.00 for a 6 week stay last summer.

 

[ConnerVT]

Jet, it all depends if you are living Russian or Western.

I have similiar experiences as you.  Once you have a future wife as a guide, daily costs drop signifigantly.  But when you rely on others for help, the "Western Tax" begins to come to play.  Even your newly found Russian 'friends' seem to have some of your money stick to their hands, be it for locating apartments, kick backs from taxi drivers, inflated resturaunt checks, etc.

Personally, it is more fun to shop in the open air market with your woman and buy some food, pick up a bottle of wine, and sit on the beach in the evening than sit in a cafe.  This is what my wife and I did several of the days we vacationed in Sochi.  You can learn much more about a person this way.  And it avoids you throwing money around and setting up expectations that will not be met, if by chance you marry and they come to your country to live.

[jb]

yeppers, during most of my trips, (other than things I bought to round out the decorations for the house here), I always lived "on the economy", even having caviar for breakfast, and a decent local wine with dinner, it was quite cheap.  Usually less than $50.00 week.  

Granted, I lived in my wife's flat in Moscow, and we shopped for food daily in the open market 3 blocks away.  The hardest job was lugging all those jugs of drinking water home, with a family of 4, we seemed to go through at least 10-15 liters of water per day. But we ate fresh meat/fish, veggies, fruit, and other good stuff everyday without busting the budget.

Once the man finds the woman of choice, life in Russia is very good on very little money.  YMMV on this, depending on how "greedy" your woman is with money.

And I used the word "greedy" in the Russian sense, not the American.