Here’s the continuation of my epistle.

Here’s the part 1, incase you missed it

https://www.nairaland.com/6981296/travails-exodus-life-u.s

So after my marriage, my wife filed for me to join her in the U.S, that was in 2017. I was excited, even as I started dreaming of the snow and the sane environment. It was kind of a long, frustrating. heart-breaking process. Abeg, people wey their relatives in U.S dey file for, dey try, really. Especially for those who are not yet US citizens, that is , the permanent resident ones. Some have to wait 4yrs, up to 12 years depending on the visa category. All thanks to the process, I’m now an expert in immigration matters, advising people what to do and what not. Trump made matters worse when he added Nigeria to list of countries banned to obtain certain visa types and this impacted me. It really a heart-wrenching and emotional draining process. So while most people were praying for trump’s re-election, though I like him, I wished his opponent wins. Whilst still on the matter, I got interview appointment date from the embassy until Covid-19 came and shattered my rising hope. Just a few days to my interview, Buhari announced lockdown and as such, the embassy canceled all activities and was also on lockdown. Nna, my dada scatter. Gradually, I began to lose interest in the process until Biden came on board. He did upturn some of trump’s immigration policies, by this time, the lockdown has been lifted. So I rescheduled and went for the interview. What I concluded was a successful interview, suddenly took a left turn. I just called my wife and told her to forget about me coming , that she should try and visit regularly ( even if it means for me to be paying for the tickets) . That was my conclusion. I decided to flex a lil bit, I can’t come and kill myself because of one visa. I changed my car and focused more on my business. As God will have it, just a little above one month of my interview, the embassy requested I re-do medicals and submit alongside my passport (they returned my passport after the interview). About a week later, my visa was out!!!! I screamed, laughed like I was high on something.
Sharp sharp, I suspended everything else and codedly planned my movement. Covid-19 negative test results, yellow fever card and the rest were with me cuz I no wan hear demsay demsay at the airport. I checked in and in about an hour, I’m already flying. It was a mixed feeling cuz I don’t know what awaits me in the new land compared to my small enjoyment life in Naija. As I landed at the POE, Omo see levels. Airport make sense die. The best part was reuniting with my family.
At first, the area was so so boring to me, no place to go, no friends to roll with and worst of all no single person on the whole street. They say jobs are everywhere,true, but mostly warehouse jobs, home care jobs and other menial jobs. For starters, I worked in a warehouse but I quit after 2months cuz I have to stand, and walk throughout a shift of ten hours. My brother, I can’t. I brushed up my IT skills and wrote a certification exam with which I got an IT job and I’m still studying more courses till now. I pray for God’s grace and help, Amen.
I hope this story motivates someone. There’s always hope so never give up!!!!

Nice, please do let us know the category of visa you eventually flew out on.

Fiancé or marriage visa?

How much were u paid in the Warehouse and now that you're working as IT?

Nayturalistic:
Nice, please do let us know the category of visa you eventually flew out on.

Fiancé or marriage visa?

Marriage visa

If your intention is to motivate people, I think you need to go into more specifics. Let’s start with the emboldened part: You said,

At first, the area was so so boring to me, no place to go, no friends to roll with and worst of all no single person on the whole street.

Has any of this changed now? If so, how did it change? What were your socialization strategies that stopped it from being boring? Are people on the streets now? Why weren’t they on the streets initially, the snow? How did you make friends if you couldn’t in the beginning?

They say jobs are everywhere,true, but mostly warehouse jobs, home care jobs and other menial jobs. For starters, I worked in a warehouse but I quit after 2months cuz I have to stand, and walk throughout a shift of ten hours.

Well, the warehouse jobs are for people without specialized skills. What skills did you go with? How did you transition into IT - did you have any prior knowledge? What aspects of IT and how did you find opportunities in this “boring” area?

I see some snow in your pictures and since you said boring, my guess is that this is some Midwest. Do you care sharing what state this is?

I will share a similar story too very soon

Thanks for sharing your story.

Can you or anybody here give advice on how a new immigrant can quickly settle in the USA?

I'm sure from your experience, you would have wished you did some things earlier (either in Nigeria or US) that would have helped you to hit the ground running when you got to the US?

I'm at the tail end of my F4 application and my PD will fall due anytime soon.

(1) I have a fiancee that I'll want to join me after I get there (I cannot apply for her right now because of some cogent reasons/limitations).

(2) I don't want to be a burden to my host & the earlier I can find my way around, the better.

Expecting your reply. Any other experienced person can help with advice too.

I'm very open to learning. I'll also appreciate any reference to a thread where such had been previously discussed.

Nice one

I'm Bozeman Montana
If you wanna make new friends

Congrats

bfn1:
Thanks for sharing your story.

Can you or anybody here give advice on how a new immigrant can quickly settle in the USA?

I'm sure from your experience, you would have wished you did some things earlier (either in Nigeria or US) that would have helped you to hit the ground running when you got to the US?

I'm at the tail end of my F4 application and my PD will fall due anytime soon.

(1) I have a fiancee that I'll want to join me after I get there (I cannot apply for her right now because of some cogent reasons/limitations).

(2) I don't want to be a burden to my host & the earlier I can find my way around, the better.

Expecting your reply. Any other experienced person can help with advice too.

I'm very open to learning. I'll also appreciate any reference to a thread where such had been previously discussed.

It's not that difficult if you're open-minded. The first thing you want to do is get a Social Security Number... you can't do very much without it. While doing that, start searching for a job. Your job is usually one of the places to meet people and make friends... the church is also a good place too. Best advice, don't attend a Nigerian church, branch out, meet other Americans. If you're in a fairly big city, look for rec leagues, there's probably one around you for soccer. You might even meet some Nigerians there! Or try meetup.com. They have a ton of groups/activities there that you can join. Try to get a job that comes with benefits; medical insurance is #1. You don't want to have to use the hospital or urgent care with no insurance. Fastest way to get yourself into a debt hole in the US. If your job does not offer health insurance, go online and find an ObamaCare plan. You may end up finding one very cheap that covers the basics you need.

If you land yourself a good job, you should be able to get your own apartment within 6 months. Rule of thumb:

1. Have your host help you with a bank account where you can get your paycheck by direct deposit (always better as businesses charge you a small amount to cash your check for you).
2. Get a credit card (your bank is always a good place to start). The credit limit is likely to be small ($500-$1500) but that doesn't matter. What you really need it for is to build credit.
3. Put most of your purchases on the card, but PAY IT OFF every month BEFORE the due date - if not you get charged a late fee. Get creditkarma.com. Easy and free website to monitor your credit history. It's cool watching your credit score grow and it helps you figure out what you need to do to make it grow or not.
4. When you need to get an apartment, make sure rent is no more than 30% of your paycheck. As a newbie, try to get an apartment that comes with all utilities included in the rent (at least for the first 1-2 years). Easier for you and you never have to worry about missing a gas or electric bill. After that, if you do move to another apartment, get one that does not include utilities so you have some experience dealing with home bills - phone, gas, electric, water/PUD, etc.
5. Get a phone plan - start small, you don't need all they try to sell you. One day, you'll be stable enough to afford more.
6. If you're in a big city with good public transport, use it. Take about a year before getting a car. My brother lives in NYC and sold his car. It cost more to park it than was worth. The subway there can get you anywhere within the city. For everything else, you've got uber.
7. Cook your own food lol... super easy to spend a lot of money eating out.
8. Be nice to people, say hello, smile. Enjoy America.

...and oh, even if you don't get a driver's license early enough, get a state ID, it works the same as a driver's license except you can't drive with it.

TWoods:


It's not that difficult if you're open-minded. The first thing you want to do is get a Social Security Number... you can't do very much without it. While doing that, start searching for a job. Your job is usually one of the places to meet people and make friends... the church is also a good place too. Best advice, don't attend a Nigerian church, branch out, meet other Americans. If you're in a fairly big city, look for rec leagues, there's probably one around you for soccer. You might even meet some Nigerians there! Or try meetup.com. They have a ton of groups/activities there that you can join. Try to get a job that comes with benefits; medical insurance is #1. You don't want to have to use the hospital or urgent care with no insurance. Fastest way to get yourself into a debt hole in the US. If your job does not offer health insurance, go online and find an ObamaCare plan. You may end up finding one very cheap that covers the basics you need.

If you land yourself a good job, you should be able to get your own apartment within 6 months. Rule of thumb:

1. Have your host help you with a bank account where you can get your paycheck by direct deposit (always better as businesses charge you a small amount to cash your check for you).
2. Get a credit card (your bank is always a good place to start). The credit limit is likely to be small ($500/$1500) but that doesn't matter. What you really need it for is to build credit.
3. Put most of your purchases on the card, but PAY IT OFF every month BEFORE the due date - if not you get charged a late fee. Get creditkarma.com. Easy and free website to monitor your credit history. It's cool watching your credit score grow and it helps you figure out what you need to do to make it grow or ruin it.
4. When you need to get an apartment, make sure rent is no more than 30% of your paycheck. As a newbie, try to get an apartment that comes with all utilities included in the rent. Easier for you and you never have to worry about missing a gas or electric bill.
5. Get a phone plan - start small, you don't need all they try to sell you. One day, you'll be stable enough to afford more.
6. If you're in a big city with good public transport, use it. Take about a year before getting a car. My brother lives in NYC and sold his car. It cost more to park it than was worth it. The subway there can get you anywhere within the city. For everything else, you've got uber.
7. Cook your own food lol... super easy to spend a lot of money eating out.
8. Be nice to people, say hello, smile. Enjoy America.

...and oh, even if you don't get a driver's license early enough, get a state ID, it works the same as a driver's license except you can't drive with it.

This is very good advice for anyone migrating here. Good job.

TWoods:


It's not that difficult if you're open-minded. The first thing you want to do is get a Social Security Number... you can't do very much without it. While doing that, start searching for a job. Your job is usually one of the places to meet people and make friends... the church is also a good place too. Best advice, don't attend a Nigerian church, branch out, meet other Americans. If you're in a fairly big city, look for rec leagues, there's probably one around you for soccer. You might even meet some Nigerians there! Or try meetup.com. They have a ton of groups/activities there that you can join. Try to get a job that comes with benefits; medical insurance is #1. You don't want to have to use the hospital or urgent care with no insurance. Fastest way to get yourself into a debt hole in the US. If your job does not offer health insurance, go online and find an ObamaCare plan. You may end up finding one very cheap that covers the basics you need.

If you land yourself a good job, you should be able to get your own apartment within 6 months. Rule of thumb:

1. Have your host help you with a bank account where you can get your paycheck by direct deposit (always better as businesses charge you a small amount to cash your check for you).
2. Get a credit card (your bank is always a good place to start). The credit limit is likely to be small ($500/$1500) but that doesn't matter. What you really need it for is to build credit.
3. Put most of your purchases on the card, but PAY IT OFF every month BEFORE the due date - if not you get charged a late fee. Get creditkarma.com. Easy and free website to monitor your credit history. It's cool watching your credit score grow and it helps you figure out what you need to do to make it grow or ruin it.
4. When you need to get an apartment, make sure rent is no more than 30% of your paycheck. As a newbie, try to get an apartment that comes with all utilities included in the rent. Easier for you and you never have to worry about missing a gas or electric bill.
5. Get a phone plan - start small, you don't need all they try to sell you. One day, you'll be stable enough to afford more.
6. If you're in a big city with good public transport, use it. Take about a year before getting a car. My brother lives in NYC and sold his car. It cost more to park it than was worth it. The subway there can get you anywhere within the city. For everything else, you've got uber.
7. Cook your own food lol... super easy to spend a lot of money eating out.
8. Be nice to people, say hello, smile. Enjoy America.

...and oh, even if you don't get a driver's license early enough, get a state ID, it works the same as a driver's license except you can't drive with it.

This is an awesome advice.....it will help not only USA immigrants but other countries immigrants too like Canada

I am most grateful for your advice!

All points have been duly noted.

To 1stGenAmerican & adesbaba, thank you for validating the post.

TWoods:
It's not that difficult if you're open-minded. The first thing you want to do is get a Social Security Number... ..

TWoods:


It's not that difficult if you're open-minded. The first thing you want to do is get a Social Security Number... you can't do very much without it. While doing that, start searching for a job. Your job is usually one of the places to meet people and make friends... the church is also a good place too. Best advice, don't attend a Nigerian church, branch out, meet other Americans. If you're in a fairly big city, look for rec leagues, there's probably one around you for soccer. You might even meet some Nigerians there! Or try meetup.com. They have a ton of groups/activities there that you can join. Try to get a job that comes with benefits; medical insurance is #1. You don't want to have to use the hospital or urgent care with no insurance. Fastest way to get yourself into a debt hole in the US. If your job does not offer health insurance, go online and find an ObamaCare plan. You may end up finding one very cheap that covers the basics you need.

If you land yourself a good job, you should be able to get your own apartment within 6 months. Rule of thumb:

1. Have your host help you with a bank account where you can get your paycheck by direct deposit (always better as businesses charge you a small amount to cash your check for you).
2. Get a credit card (your bank is always a good place to start). The credit limit is likely to be small ($500-$1500) but that doesn't matter. What you really need it for is to build credit.
3. Put most of your purchases on the card, but PAY IT OFF every month BEFORE the due date - if not you get charged a late fee. Get creditkarma.com. Easy and free website to monitor your credit history. It's cool watching your credit score grow and it helps you figure out what you need to do to make it grow or not.
4. When you need to get an apartment, make sure rent is no more than 30% of your paycheck. As a newbie, try to get an apartment that comes with all utilities included in the rent (at least for the first 1-2 years). Easier for you and you never have to worry about missing a gas or electric bill. After that, if you do move to another apartment, get one that does not include utilities so you have some experience dealing with home bills - phone, gas, electric, water/PUD, etc.
5. Get a phone plan - start small, you don't need all they try to sell you. One day, you'll be stable enough to afford more.
6. If you're in a big city with good public transport, use it. Take about a year before getting a car. My brother lives in NYC and sold his car. It cost more to park it than was worth. The subway there can get you anywhere within the city. For everything else, you've got uber.
7. Cook your own food lol... super easy to spend a lot of money eating out.
8. Be nice to people, say hello, smile. Enjoy America.

...and oh, even if you don't get a driver's license early enough, get a state ID, it works the same as a driver's license except you can't drive with it.

Absolutely correct.

Interesting thread! I'm really interested in how your social life is going! The US can be a verrrrry lonely place..... especially in a middle of nowhere state like ehmmmmm....... Indiana! How are you coping? .... especially coming from an urban environment? The quietness of such places makes me uneasy! How's your neighbourhood? ... mixed?

Originalsly:
Interesting thread! I'm really interested in how your social life is going! The US can be a verrrrry lonely place..... especially in a middle of nowhere state like ehmmmmm....... Indiana! How are you coping? .... especially coming from an urban environment? The quietness of such places makes me uneasy! How's your neighbourhood? ... mixed?

If he lives in Indianapolis, Oh Jesus! He can't be lonely. The city is full of Nigerians

bfn1:
Thanks for sharing your story.

Can you or anybody here give advice on how a new immigrant can quickly settle in the USA?

I'm sure from your experience, you would have wished you did some things earlier (either in Nigeria or US) that would have helped you to hit the ground running when you got to the US?

I'm at the tail end of my F4 application and my PD will fall due anytime soon.

(1) I have a fiancee that I'll want to join me after I get there (I cannot apply for her right now because of some cogent reasons/limitations).

(2) I don't want to be a burden to my host & the earlier I can find my way around, the better.

Expecting your reply. Any other experienced person can help with advice too.

I'm very open to learning. I'll also appreciate any reference to a thread where such had been previously discussed.

We are in the same boat.

I don't even have a host yet except God.

I'm stalling on purchasing my ticket for this reason.

I need help.

Originalsly:
Interesting thread! I'm really interested in how your social life is going! The US can be a verrrrry lonely place..... especially in a middle of nowhere state like ehmmmmm....... Indiana! How are you coping? .... especially coming from an urban environment? The quietness of such places makes me uneasy! How's your neighbourhood? ... mixed?

So what we that we're living at Montana

What kind of visa do you have (if you don't have a host)?
Perhaps, a knowledge of that will give us a good perspective on how to give the best advice.
I believe kaykith05 and all the gurus in the house will respond once you can table your case properly.

Artiiclebeast:

We are in the same boat.
I don't even have a host yet except God.
I'm stalling on purchasing my ticket for this reason.
I need help.

bfn1:
What kind of visa do you have (if you don't have a host)?
Perhaps, a knowledge of that will give any potential adviser a good perspective on how to give the best advice.
I believe kaykith05 and all the gurus in the house will respond once you can table your case properly.

B1/B2

Different strokes...
I love a quiet environment.

Originalsly:
Interesting thread! I'm really interested in how your social life is going! The US can be a verrrrry lonely place..... especially in a middle of nowhere state like ehmmmmm....... Indiana! How are you coping? .... especially coming from an urban environment? The quietness of such places makes me uneasy! How's your neighbourhood? ... mixed?

bfn1:


Different strokes...
I love a quiet environment.

No doubt... then there's perfect for you!

horlahsunbo225:


So what we that we're living at Montana

... some people love to avoid other people as much as possible!

lionlee216:


If he lives in Indianapolis, Oh Jesus! He can't be lonely. The city is full of Nigerians

Ok..... never knew that! .... thought New York and Texas were the hives and the rest sprinkle everywhere else .... as in Montana!

Good

kaykith05:
Here’s the continuation of my epistle.

Here’s the part 1, incase you missed it

https://www.nairaland.com/6981296/travails-exodus-life-u.s

So after my marriage, my wife filed for me to join her in the U.S, that was in 2017. I was excited, even as I started dreaming of the snow and the sane environment. It was kind of a long, frustrating. heart-breaking process. Abeg, people wey their relatives in U.S dey file for, dey try, really. Especially for those who are not yet US citizens, that is , the permanent resident ones. Some have to wait 4yrs, up to 12 years depending on the visa category. All thanks to the process, I’m now an expert in immigration matters, advising people what to do and what not. Trump made matters worse when he added Nigeria to list of countries banned to obtain certain visa types and this impacted me. It really a heart-wrenching and emotional draining process. So while most people were praying for trump’s re-election, though I like him, I wished his opponent wins. Whilst still on the matter, I got interview appointment date from the embassy until Covid-19 came and shattered my rising hope. Just a few days to my interview, Buhari announced lockdown and as such, the embassy canceled all activities and was also on lockdown. Nna, my dada scatter. Gradually, I began to lose interest in the process until Biden came on board. He did upturn some of trump’s immigration policies, by this time, the lockdown has been lifted. So I rescheduled and went for the interview. What I concluded was a successful interview, suddenly took a left turn. I just called my wife and told her to forget about me coming , that she should try and visit regularly ( even if it means for me to be paying for the tickets) . That was my conclusion. I decided to flex a lil bit, I can’t come and kill myself because of one visa. I changed my car and focused more on my business. As God will have it, just a little above one month of my interview, the embassy requested I re-do medicals and submit alongside my passport (they returned my passport after the interview). About a week later, my visa was out!!!! I screamed, laughed like I was high on something.
Sharp sharp, I suspended everything else and codedly planned my movement. Covid-19 negative test results, yellow fever card and the rest were with me cuz I no wan hear demsay demsay at the airport. I checked in and in about an hour, I’m already flying. It was a mixed feeling cuz I don’t know what awaits me in the new land compared to my small enjoyment life in Naija. As I landed at the POE, Omo see levels. Airport make sense die. The best part was reuniting with my family.
At first, the area was so so boring to me, no place to go, no friends to roll with and worst of all no single person on the whole street. They say jobs are everywhere,true, but mostly warehouse jobs, home care jobs and other menial jobs. For starters, I worked in a warehouse but I quit after 2months cuz I have to stand, and walk throughout a shift of ten hours. My brother, I can’t. I brushed up my IT skills and wrote a certification exam with which I got an IT job and I’m still studying more courses till now. I pray for God’s grace and help, Amen.
I hope this story motivates someone. There’s always hope so never give up!!!!

Congratulations.

I'm really happy for new immigrants into the USA. It helps ensures my Social Security benefits will be payable in the future

EgunMogaji2:


Congratulations.

I'm really happy for new immigrants into the USA. It helps ensures my Social Security benefits will be payable in the future

Absolutely!

Originalsly:
Interesting thread! I'm really interested in how your social life is going! The US can be a verrrrry lonely place..... especially in a middle of nowhere state like ehmmmmm....... Indiana! How are you coping? .... especially coming from an urban environment? The quietness of such places makes me uneasy! How's your neighbourhood? ... mixed?

I live i Indianapolis and there are lots and lots of Nigerians here esp. people from the western side. It’s really a lovely and cool city, less crimes, less violence

Artiiclebeast:


We are in the same boat.

I don't even have a host yet except God.

I'm stalling on purchasing my ticket for this reason.

I need help.

If you don’t have/know anyone,it’s going to be a lil bit difficult except you’re financially loaded. You can stay in a hotel for sometime while trying to network with people, especially on accommodation

kaykith05:


If you don’t have/know anyone,it’s going to be a lil bit difficult except you’re financially loaded. You can stay in a hotel for sometime while trying to network with people, especially on accommodation

Thanks.

This is my first plan of action.

I will just stick with this.

Thanks, sir.

kaykith05:


If you don’t have/know anyone,it’s going to be a lil bit difficult except you’re financially loaded. You can stay in a hotel for sometime while trying to network with people, especially on accommodation

I'm here now since a month plus and loving it.

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement.

Artiiclebeast:


I'm here now since a month plus and loving it.

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement.

Welcome!.... hope you have TWoods advice on your wall and be following it.

Where is here?