Jenny FxOne thing that's not talked about much but is something we struggled with as #immigrants to the US is that we started with a 0 credit rating. So even though we got jobs quickly - it was years before we had the credit rating to buy a car or even get our own apartment without a guarantor.
This comes to mind because where we struggled to borrow for a car a few years ago with 0 debt, even our own bank is trying to shove a car loan down my throat now we've been here a decade and our debt is far from zero.
We had green cards and a home when we got here. We could work within 3 weeks. We'd packed up.and mailed our stuff beforehand., we flew here on a comfortable plane. But it wasn't easy at all. The first few years were a struggle.
Now imagine arriving here with none of those things and not speaking English after the most harrowing bus and trek journey of your life. #SupportImmigrants
Do you know how many forms you have to fill in and get stamped and original or notarized documents you have to show to get your kids enrolled in a school when they don't have a US Birth Cert or they have a different vaccine schedule?
Forms are hard to fill in in the US and there are loads of them. Dates are backwards, measurements are imperial and the direction is sometimes under the line not at the top of the space. I have multiple degrees and. my native language is English.
Even if you have a green card before you get here, you cannot work until you have a social security number and that will be mailed out to.you in 3weeks-ish after you present at a center that you have to get an appointment at.
You need an address for them to mail the number to but you can't rent an apartment without a social security number...
Asylum seekers paperwork takes minimum 6 months, sometimes years before they can legally work.