dakna

H-1B is a temporary (nonimmigrant!) visa category.

Which social services to use as a safety net are you talking about? Because it is not Medicaid:

"In order to get Medicaid and CHIP coverage, many qualified non-citizens (such as many LPRs or green card holders) have a 5-year waiting period. This means they must wait 5 years after receiving "qualified" immigration status before they can get Medicaid and CHIP coverage. There are exceptions. For example, refugees, asylees, or LPRs who used to be refugees or asylees don’t have to wait 5 years."

https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/lawfully-present-immig...

Unemployment benefits? You have to pay into it to get money out of it. Same as everyone else.

Emergency treatment at a hospital? I don't see a difference between citizens and immigrants.

I would really like to know where that free money is I hear so much about.

That makes sense. I thought about doing something similar for a while, but I'm not sure about licensing. Which open source license did you choose for your base code and customizations?

I recently learned Doc Martens boots are fashionable again. Makes me regret throwing my pair away in the 90s. Yes, I'm old. But at least back then they were all made in Great Britain.

It evolved from German/Dutch/British building techniques brought over from early settlers. Most houses were built with Timber Frame construction ("Fachwerkhaus" in Germany). Over the years this was adapted to have more ready-made materials available and spend less time on the building site. Saw mills delivered wood posts (studs) and boards, and eventually everything converged to standard sizes and become modular. Lumber is/was available everywhere. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framing_(construction)https://...

It is called Stick Frame construction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framing_(construction) and is the default construction method in the US in areas without much seismic activity and fewer termites. It is a modular system where you can buy all the materials needed ready-made at big box stores like HomeDepot, Lowes or Menards. Professional builders get better prices at their lumber yard. It is very DIY friendly, and if you want to change something (build an addition, change the floor plan, etc.), it is easy to do without getting the sledgehammer out to destroy brick/concrete walls. The standard wall size has enough space to put insulation in the cavities, although it is not much. Building codes require at least R13 in colder areas, but that depends on the areas the house is build. You can build with more cavity space and have superinsulated outer walls that are good enough to qualify for an energy efficient rating like "Passivhouse".

Source: Moved to the US a couple of years ago and researched a lot of building techniques to be able to work on my own house.

It also works great as fuel for pellet stoves. It produces roughly the same amount of ash as wood pellets. I would love to use it as a renewable energy source.

I set the text to

"I'm sorry Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."

to be prepared for whats coming ...

There are plenty of lawyers who love to make money out of unlawful use of the German "Impressum" and send you an "Abmahnung" which requires you to pay fees even if you comply and change your website afterwards.

What about married people that are jointly filing taxes, will you take only the income of the person attending the school into account?

You actually need quite a bit of money to be eligible for the diversity visa AKA green card lottery. One of the requirements is that you are able to support yourself for weeks/months while you are looking for a job. Proof of funds is required, and it better be around $10k per person.

Having said that, I still think you are on point about the American Dream available for everyone willing to work hard. It just starts before you enter the US since green cards are not handed out that easily even though it is called a lottery.

The TSA already does passenger screening on international airports before you board a flight to the US. They interview you in your local language to find out if you are a security risk. I think in combination with the required transfer of all passenger data before departure, it makes it easy to implement this rather quickly.

If you can't show enough money in your bank account at the time of interview (we had bank statements for the last 3 days only), you have to talk about your straightforward plan about how to get a job ASAP. In my experience your plan has to answer the following questions:

What is your marketable skillset?

Where is this skillset needed (name at least 5 different metropolitan areas and their job market outlook)?

What are potential employers in this area?

What are your next steps to reach out and do some networking in your field?

What will you do to cover your cost of living before you get a full-time job? (part-time retailer jobs etc, or maybe something you had work experience while still in college)

How will you get the first references from US employers so you can hunt for your next job?

You might not be able to talk about all that, because your interview partner decides what to ask. It is a good idea to have those answers, and to try to get these topics into the interview when it is your time to speak. Be confident about your future as a highly skilled immigrant.

But talk about that very politely and friendly, even if you know more about your potential job. Treat your interview partner (the US consul) as an employer. You have to convince him you are a good catch for the country.

There will be a difference once you have your greencard and a SSN, because now a company can hire you without visa sponsorship. But you will need US references, because HR wants to call people you worked with. So get to know local people, maybe start as an intern, maybe work in retail, work in a non-profit, do whatever it takes to get a reference by your supervisor. You can do short term apartment leases in each metro area to go to meetups and have interviews with local companies. And you can do interview training and work on your resume with this non profit company: https://www.upwardlyglobal.org/ (You need some work experience in your local country to be eligible)

Please do not make things up and lie. You will get caught. Your interview partner is trained to find out if there is something wrong with your story. But you should show up prepared, have a plan, maybe back it up with some printouts, for example your action steps, the websites of Upwardlyglobal, temp staffing agencies in your desired areas, job listings in your field etc.

The more your prepare and rehearse what you are going to say, the less stress you will have at the interview. In the end it might be easier than you think , but if you don't have enough money to start in the US, you don't meet all the requirements for the DV greencard. Simple as that. So do your best to look like a professional and a goal getter.

All the best. It's a great country and worth the effort.

Most people in the US I talked to have no idea the DV lottery exists. That might be different for the HN crowd though. Still, I would resubmit under a different title. And it would make things easier if you have some contact details in your user profile.

All the best for the interview. How hard it is depends also on your current citizenship. Where are you from?

I'm a side sleeper as well and I have been using Ohropax Classic earplugs for years. They are made out of wax, so you can roll and bend them a bit. This way they fit in my ears, nothing sticks out.

German company, but available in the US: http://www.amazon.com/Ohropax-Reusable-cotton-Plugs-Carrying...

hey Victor,

sometimes you just meet someone with similiar desires, plans and values. this is what the internet is all about: connecting those people, so the result is more than the sum of all parts.

we are glad to have you on board and are excited that you decided on us. looking forward to make it happen and pick you up on the airport. like tim ferriss said: travel lightly :)

nicole is cheering all the time ("victor is coming, wohooo") and I'm really happy as well.

see you soon.

daniel+nicole