[Eliab]

Hi All,

Hope you can help. I am will be going to Atlanta and Baltimore in 3 weeks time and need advise on a couple of things

1) Is 8 days enough for an LSD (at the moment I don't have enough leave to take two full weeks)
2) I will be spending 3 full days in Atlanta and 3 full days in Baltimore?
3) Which area is the best area to stay(I have looked at extended stay hotels and at the moment that looks like a good option) Can you recommend one which is closer to the down area
4) Is walking around the area the best way to do an LSD (take note the only time I have been to Atlanta is when I was catching an intrasit flight, that doesn't count as a visit)
5) Is it advisable to take my resume and deliver to a couple of recruitment agence while I am there?

Also please recommend what else I should do? at the moment I am having a brain freeze. The surrounding surbubs to the down town area I can visit

Thanks,all for your help

Eli

[Fiela]

Woohoo, LSD is awesome, wish I could have mine all over again.
We did the road trip thing where we visited multiple states as opposed to the city type one which you're planning.
Enjoy and remember to share your experiences when you're back!

[Malamute]

Hi Eli,

1. While 8 days isn't really long enough to actually achieve too much - it is long enough to give you a little taste, and more importantly to achieve some important things......e.g. actually LANDING and becoming a Permanent Resident of the USA. I imagine you are also planning to do a couple of other practical things - e.g. go to the Social Security offices and apply for your SSN (you will need this for anything - working, getting a driver's license in due course etc). You may also want to open a bank account and maybe organize a mailbox - even at a UPS office or similar. Remember that once you land, and hand your envelope in, the wheels will be put in motion to send your Green Card to you at the USA address you stipulated on your forms. When you go for your SSN, they will also need a mailing address. Given that you are only here for 8 days, these 2 documents will likely arrive after you leave the USA.

2. 3 full days in Atlant = welcome. Buy the local paper - the AJC - which will help give you an idea of prices - places to rent, cars, etc.

3. Atlanta has hundreds of hotels. In the city itself, you could stay anywhere downtown or Midtown. Slightly further out is Buckhead, which is also a big commercial area, but still within the 285, which is the big ring road that encircles Atlanta. You may seriously want to rent a car (with a GPS). Atlanta is not really a 'walking city' - unless you stay narrowly within a few blocks in the city centre. There is a local transportation system called MARTA, which is fine within the city itself,but won't give you much leverage to move around beyond that. Most people live in the surrounding cities in the Atlanta Metropole - like Marietta, Roswell, Smyrna, Alpharetta etc,

4. See the comment on MARTA above as well as the suggestion to rent a car if you want to go beyond the city centre.

5. Don't bother to bring a resume - at least not in hard copy. I don't know any recruitment agencies that will actually accept drop-in, hard copy resumes. Most want you to email to them, and in most cases, to fill in an online form in a particular format - that is the only way they will take resumes. They won't see you unless they think they can place you, and will only do that based on your resume, and an opportunity they have lined up. This is all applicable if you are looking for work in the formal, corporate sector. For other types of work, e.g. restaurant jobs etc, there are specific agencies, but even there, you will need to apply online in most cases. Of course, there are always the 'help wanted' signs, where you would simply walk up and enquire, but these are very far and few between these days.

I would suggest you rather spend the time getting a feel for the place, and sorting out the logistics of just becoming a 'person' in the USA (SSN, Green Card, bank acount, mailing address etc), than actually trying to job hunt, or see recruitment agencies in the 3 days you are in the city. If you can, prior to your visit, obtain an appointment to see one of these agencies, then that is different.

Good luck and happy landings!

This post has been edited by Malamute: 20 July 2010 - 09:50 AM

[Eliab]

Malamute, on 20 July 2010 - 07:50 AM, said:

Hi Eli,

1. While 8 days isn't really long enough to actually achieve too much - it is long enough to give you a little taste, and more importantly to achieve some important things......e.g. actually LANDING and becoming a Permanent Resident of the USA. I imagine you are also planning to do a couple of other practical things - e.g. go to the Social Security offices and apply for your SSN (you will need this for anything - working, getting a driver's license in due course etc). You may also want to open a bank account and maybe organize a mailbox - even at a UPS office or similar. Remember that once you land, and hand your envelope in, the wheels will be put in motion to send your Green Card to you at the USA address you stipulated on your forms. When you go for your SSN, they will also need a mailing address. Given that you are only here for 8 days, these 2 documents will likely arrive after you leave the USA.

2. 3 full days in Atlant = welcome. Buy the local paper - the AJC - which will help give you an idea of prices - places to rent, cars, etc.

3. Atlanta has hundreds of hotels. In the city itself, you could stay anywhere downtown or Midtown. Slightly further out is Buckhead, which is also a big commercial area, but still within the 285, which is the big ring road that encircles Atlanta. You may seriously want to rent a car (with a GPS). Atlanta is not really a 'walking city' - unless you stay narrowly within a few blocks in the city centre. There is a local transportation system called MARTA, which is fine within the city itself,but won't give you much leverage to move around beyond that. Most people live in the surrounding cities in the Atlanta Metropole - like Marietta, Roswell, Smyrna, Alpharetta etc,

4. See the comment on MARTA above as well as the suggestion to rent a car if you want to go beyond the city centre.

5. Don't bother to bring a resume - at least not in hard copy. I don't know any recruitment agencies that will actually accept drop-in, hard copy resumes. Most want you to email to them, and in most cases, to fill in an online form in a particular format - that is the only way they will take resumes. They won't see you unless they think they can place you, and will only do that based on your resume, and an opportunity they have lined up. This is all applicable if you are looking for work in the formal, corporate sector. For other types of work, e.g. restaurant jobs etc, there are specific agencies, but even there, you will need to apply online in most cases. Of course, there are always the 'help wanted' signs, where you would simply walk up and enquire, but these are very far and few between these days.

I would suggest you rather spend the time getting a feel for the place, and sorting out the logistics of just becoming a 'person' in the USA (SSN, Green Card, bank acount, mailing address etc), than actually trying to job hunt, or see recruitment agencies in the 3 days you are in the city. If you can, prior to your visit, obtain an appointment to see one of these agencies, then that is different.

Good luck and happy landings!

Thank you Malamute. Does car rental in the US work the same as SA ( bring my local/ AA internationl license) and credit? To open a mailbox do I need documents and which ones?
How long does the post office keep letters?

[Malamute]

Eliab, on 20 July 2010 - 02:27 PM, said:

Thank you Malamute. Does car rental in the US work the same as SA ( bring my local/ AA internationl license) and credit? To open a mailbox do I need documents and which ones?
How long does the post office keep letters?

Car Rental:
Yes, all the major chains e.g. Avis, Hertz, Enterprise etc. Bring your AA and your SA license. Rent a car and a GPS, need credit card, off you go.

Mailbox:
The USPS website (United States Postal Service) has specific info on post boxes - prices etc. As for keeping letters - not sure what you mean? Your mail is placed in your box. You open and empty your box at your leisure, as long as you rent it etc.

Better option may be a private service - e.g. Postnet exists here, but not as big as UPS etc. Rental costs more, but you can make an arrangement with them to empty your box from time to time, and mail your mail to SA. You would pay them the cost of the packaging/envelope to mail your mail, as well as the international shipping to you (or to a Postnet in South Africa, where you could pick it up). However, I assume you plan to be back in the USA within a couple of months, you may not want to bother to do this. Remember that you will need a way to physically get your Green Card - which will be mailed to the address you give - to you in South Africa - as you will need it to re-enter the USA.

Rates, details of USPS, UPS, Postnet etc are all online.

[oscar]

Hey Eliab,

If you are going to hire a car in Baltimore make sure it’s got a built in navigation system or Tom Tom or Garmin. The roads can be tricky and you don't want to end up in New York or Washington, DC. Baltimore has more down and out neighborhoods and some streets all look the same. Watch out for the pan handlers, fancy name for beggars. They may try to spin a story that they need a dollar, to take a bus home as they locked their keys in the car. If anyone asks you for change, or has a sob story just keep on walking and ignore them no matter how well dressed they are. The Baltimore waterfront area is fine but some of the back streets are a bit dodge.

I have only been in one employment agency in Boston, MA where I was given a typing test. But you do not generally see employment agencies in Washington, DC luckily I have been at the same job for over five years. Also you never really see travel agencies, everything is online.

This post has been edited by oscar: 20 July 2010 - 02:03 PM

[Eliab]

Hi Malamute,

In SA the post office keeps your post for 21 days then they return it to the sender if it has not been collected from the box. Once I have opened my Postal Mail Box. Can I also change the address which I submitted for my Green to be delivered to this new address, if so how?


Thank you guys I am learnig as I go which is fantastic.

Eli

[Malamute]

Eliab, on 21 July 2010 - 02:30 AM, said:

Hi Malamute,

In SA the post office keeps your post for 21 days then they return it to the sender if it has not been collected from the box. Once I have opened my Postal Mail Box. Can I also change the address which I submitted for my Green to be delivered to this new address, if so how?


Thank you guys I am learnig as I go which is fantastic.

Eli

I have no idea about the post box - would suggest you go the private route given your concerns - e.g. Postnet, UPS etc.
I wouldn't change the address for the Green Card - once you have given it - just stick with that address until the Green Card has arrived. With a bit of luck, the Green Card will only take a couple of weeks to arrive anyhow. You will first receive a Welcome letter - 2 or 3 weeks after arriving which will have an A (Alien) number on it, and you need this number to do any address changes etc

BUT remember, that by law - you MUST advise the government each and every time you change address - within 10 days. This can be done online on the USCIS website. If you fail to advise them of your address change, this may well come up at your naturalization interview (it did for someone I know). It is one of the conditions of holding a Green Card.

[Eliab]

Malamute, on 21 July 2010 - 03:53 AM, said:

I have no idea about the post box - would suggest you go the private route given your concerns - e.g. Postnet, UPS etc.
I wouldn't change the address for the Green Card - once you have given it - just stick with that address until the Green Card has arrived. With a bit of luck, the Green Card will only take a couple of weeks to arrive anyhow. You will first receive a Welcome letter - 2 or 3 weeks after arriving which will have an A (Alien) number on it, and you need this number to do any address changes etc

BUT remember, that by law - you MUST advise the government each and every time you change address - within 10 days. This can be done online on the USCIS website. If you fail to advise them of your address change, this may well come up at your naturalization interview (it did for someone I know). It is one of the conditions of holding a Green Card.

Wow!! I didn't know that, so when I get to the airport I just tell them that my address for the green card has not changed.

Please all bear with me sometime I jsut ask questions which might seem stupid to others.
Great thing is that I learn a new thing all the time.
Thanks all will keep you up todate.

Eli

[Eliab]

Hi All, I have just obtained a document from the internet after googling (while using the resources at work) a couple times I was able to download a document called A guide for new immigrants very interesting documents. I would suggest that all those who are about to land for the first time to read it.

This is the link www.welcometousa.gov it has loads of information. And Malamute you were right about carrying of the ID. At all times and changing of the adress.

Cheers
Eli

[Fiela]

Malamute, on 20 July 2010 - 03:50 PM, said:

1. While 8 days isn't really long enough to actually achieve too much - it is long enough to give you a little taste, and more importantly to achieve some important things......e.g. actually LANDING and becoming a Permanent Resident of the USA. I imagine you are also planning to do a couple of other practical things - e.g. go to the Social Security offices and apply for your SSN

Not necessary to go to a Social Security Office - at all!
When you land at the airport of your choice and you get processed there is an option on the forms that the person dealing with your paperwork can tick for you that will result in our Social Security Numbers be processed automatically and sent to the address you have specified.

Just make sure you mention to the person processing you that this is what you would like to happen!

We were processed in Dallas, we asked for this to be done and we received our Social Security Cards in the post a short while before our actual Green Cards arrived without having set foot anywhere near a Social Security Office of any description.

Talking out of personal experience here, as usual.
Hope I've saved you some effort

This post has been edited by Fiela: 21 July 2010 - 12:31 PM

[Malamute]

Fiela, on 21 July 2010 - 02:26 PM, said:

Not necessary to go to a Social Security Office - at all!
When you land at the airport of your choice and you get processed there is an option on the forms that the person dealing with your paperwork can tick for you that will result in our Social Security Numbers be processed automatically and sent to the address you have specified.

Just make sure you mention to the person processing you that this is what you would like to happen!

We were processed in Dallas, we asked for this to be done and we received our Social Security Cards in the post a short while before our actual Green Cards arrived without having set foot anywhere near a Social Security Office of any description.

Talking out of personal experience here, as usual.
Hope I've saved you some effort

Fiela is right; you don't have to go to the offices if you selected that option on the form - and you should still receive your cards in the mail. I just decided to follow what the person processing me advised to speed things up - I reckon he maybe knew something I didn't!

I had also stipulated on the forms that I wanted them to process and send the SS card to me and initially had no intention of going to the offices. However, when I landed (Atlanta), the person who processed me asked me if I intended to go to the SS offices, when I said 'no', he said to me that he would strongly advise me to do so, as it I may wait months otherwise, and that it would be a lot faster. So I went a couple of days after landing, and received my SSN soon thereafter.

This post has been edited by Malamute: 21 July 2010 - 01:37 PM

[Dolphie]

Re Social Security, we also automatically applied when we arrived. Hubby got his right on schedule 2wks later. The kids and mine didn't. We had to go to the SS offices - several times actually. Hopefully it will be straight-forward.

[Hagar]

Just wondering why you picked 2 of the most crime ridden cities in the US for a look-see? It might not be up to Johannesburg levels, but there are much better places to go see.

[Eliab]

Hagar, on 30 July 2010 - 07:58 AM, said:

Just wondering why you picked 2 of the most crime ridden cities in the US for a look-see? It might not be up to Johannesburg levels, but there are much better places to go see.

Hi Hagar, I have been sensing a bit of negative opinon from your side, can you please tell us the reason for this. All advise and opinions are taken to consideration when one is making a decision.
To answer your questions, I chose Baltimore because nice people who I met through my work in SA offered me a place to stay for a mont or two until I get settled there is also a possibility because the guy is well connected friendly guy.Then Atlanta I picked because I had great reviews from some of the Americans I met you have to keep in mind that not all places are dangerous and wherever a person goes there will an element of crime.
I am being open minded, not every city I land in will be my home.

Also just to let everyone know have postponed my LCD will keep you all informed

Cheers
Eli