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I'm going to travel to Alpharetta in September under L2 visa and intend to stay there in 5 months. During my stay, I just want to improve my English in practical environment. My friends suggests that I should find a short-term job there.
Could anyone give me any clues about finding jobs in Alpharetta or Atlanta? Salary is not so important to me. Above all, I just wish to practise my English.
As you probably know, if you're the spouse (not the child) of the L1 holder in your family, you'll be eligible to work.
Will you already have your EAD (Employment Authorization Document) when you arrive in Alpharetta? If not, it looks like the Texas Service Center, which would handle an application from Alpharetta, is currently taking a full three months to process I-765s. https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/Pro...viceCenter=TSC
If you don't already have an EAD in hand, since your objective is to improve your English, how about volunteering with a community service organization of some kind? That would get you out among friendly English-speaking Americans. You can do volunteer work without an EAD, so long as it's not something that a person would normally do for pay.
Good luck! I hope you have a wonderful stay in the USA.
As you probably know, if you're the spouse (not the child) of the L1 holder in your family, you'll be eligible to work.
Will you already have your EAD (Employment Authorization Document) when you arrive in Alpharetta? If not, it looks like the Texas Service Center, which would handle an application from Alpharetta, is currently taking a full three months to process I-765s. https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/Pro...viceCenter=TSC
If you don't already have an EAD in hand, since your objective is to improve your English, how about volunteering with a community service organization of some kind? That would get you out among friendly English-speaking Americans. You can do volunteer work without an EAD, so long as it's not something that a person would normally do for pay.
Good luck! I hope you have a wonderful stay in the USA.
Hi Rainy Day
Thanks so much for your help! Yeah, my husband is working there under L1 visa. I haven't had EAD but I'll ask my husband more about this. To be honest, my English is not so good. I'm not sure if I can have any chance to find a job there. Volunteering with a community service org sounds so interesting but is it easy to join in it? Do you have any experiences about that?
I greatly appreciate your kindness!
Have a nice day
Cheers,
To be honest, my English is not so good. I'm not sure if I can have any chance to find a job there. Volunteering with a community service org sounds so interesting but is it easy to join in it?
I would definately go the route of volunteering. Many who have restaurants and retail shops rely on an employee's ability to give good and quick service, and they don't want their customers to be discouraged. If your English is hard to understand, those who own those types of establishments might not be that willing to test the waters for fear it might cause customers not to come back. I have actually been to stores with clerks that had heavy foreign accents, and I've overheard people say things like, "I'm not going back there - I can't understand anyone!".
That being said, for an "International city" and metro area such as how Atlanta likes to advertise itself, there are surprisingly few language translators around. Maybe you could volunteer your time to a police department, tourism office, or even if it's allowed, in a school. Gwinnett County has schools with as many as 40 (yes, 40) native languages being spoken by students. I'm SURE translators - paid or volunteer, are more than welcome.
I would definately go the route of volunteering. Many who have restaurants and retail shops rely on an employee's ability to give good and quick service, and they don't want their customers to be discouraged. If your English is hard to understand, those who own those types of establishments might not be that willing to test the waters for fear it might cause customers not to come back. I have actually been to stores with clerks that had heavy foreign accents, and I've overheard people say things like, "I'm not going back there - I can't understand anyone!".
That being said, for an "International city" and metro area such as how Atlanta likes to advertise itself, there are surprisingly few language translators around. Maybe you could volunteer your time to a police department, tourism office, or even if it's allowed, in a school. Gwinnett County has schools with as many as 40 (yes, 40) native languages being spoken by students. I'm SURE translators - paid or volunteer, are more than welcome.
Yeah! Thanks for ur advice. Absolutely, I just want to help others while improving my English. The first case seems not good at all if the customers can't understand what I'm speaking. Being a volunteer translator is cool, but it requires a good command of English. Is that right? My shortcoming is pronunciation. I'm Vietnamese. Writing, reading are not demanding, but speaking (with good accent) is my challenge
How can I do now?
The advices above are great. I just want to say that your writing is better than most people here. For someone who does not speak English, I understand your writing better than most people in this country. (Others, please dont be offended, as I'm not trying to put anyone down. I'm just stating that some natives cannot write English as well). Good luck, and I hope you do well in your future endeavors in this country.
Check local community adult schools for Adult night classes, ESOL classes(basically English for Speakers of Other Languages), basic conversational English classes should help. I'm not sure how prevalent they are in the Metro Atlanta area, but there should be a few.
Being a volunteer translator is cool, but it requires a good command of English. Is that right? My shortcoming is pronunciation. I'm Vietnamese. Writing, reading are not demanding, but speaking (with good accent) is my challenge
How can I do now?
Let's put it this way - I seriously doubt there are too many Vietnamese translators in the Atlanta area that the police, schools, or anyone else can call upon. Now, I'm not sure what requirements the police may have, but I would think that so long as they can understand you enough to make out what's going on, they would definitely consider it "better than nothing" when they need someone to translate. As long as you can understand English well enough to translate, heck, you could WRITE the English translation back and they'd probably be thrilled.
I can't count how many times something happens where an ambulance, hospital, or police are involved and on the news they say, "... and authorities are having trouble communicating....". As a matter of fact, I think the recent bus crash with tourists going to a religious retreat recently were filled with people from Vietnam, and they said on the news they had a hard time finding a translator. So I'm sure the services are in demand.
Let's put it this way - I seriously doubt there are too many Vietnamese translators in the Atlanta area that the police, schools, or anyone else can call upon. Now, I'm not sure what requirements the police may have, but I would think that so long as they can understand you enough to make out what's going on, they would definitely consider it "better than nothing" when they need someone to translate. As long as you can understand English well enough to translate, heck, you could WRITE the English translation back and they'd probably be thrilled.
I can't count how many times something happens where an ambulance, hospital, or police are involved and on the news they say, "... and authorities are having trouble communicating....". As a matter of fact, I think the recent bus crash with tourists going to a religious retreat recently were filled with people from Vietnam, and they said on the news they had a hard time finding a translator. So I'm sure the services are in demand.
All very true. However, a nonimmigrant (that's what ChicMon's status will be here, in the US) without employment authorization is permitted by USCIS to perform as a volunteer only such tasks as would not normally be compensated (paid). In other words, the law allows ChicMon to help out at a soup kitchen, or as a Girl Scout leader. Whether she could help out as a translator for schools or the police is might be questionable.
It's easy for US citizens to take a relaxed view of this sort of thing. This is your country, and you pretty much can't be thrown out of it. However, nonimmigrants are here at the pleasure of DHS, and any screw-up can get one barred from US permanently.
I came here on L1 status (same as ChicMon's husband) and my spouse and daughter were L2s (like ChicMon). When my daughter was 10 years old, she spent the best part of a fall Saturday over at her friend's house, a couple of doors down, helping her friend and the friend's mom (a single parent) rake leaves. Daughter came home all joyful because the mom generously gave her 20 bucks at the end of the day. I'll tell you, I agonized over whether to make my 10 year-old give the money back, because it was probably illegal for her to have accepted it.
If ChicMon just comes here for a few months, and does whatever, it may not matter too much. But what if things go well for her husband on the job, and there's an extension, or a subsequent longer assignment in the US, and the family later ends up seeking green cards (more properly known as permanent resident status). They don't want to be having to fudge around the questions about "have you ever...?" Contravening immigration laws is so not worth the risk.
All very true. However, a nonimmigrant (that's what ChicMon's status will be here, in the US) without employment authorization is permitted by USCIS to perform as a volunteer only such tasks as would not normally be compensated (paid). In other words, the law allows ChicMon to help out at a soup kitchen, or as a Girl Scout leader. Whether she could help out as a translator for schools or the police is might be questionable.
I came here on L1 status (same as ChicMon's husband) and my spouse and daughter were L2s (like ChicMon). When my daughter was 10 years old, she spent the best part of a fall Saturday over at her friend's house, a couple of doors down, helping her friend and the friend's mom (a single parent) rake leaves. Daughter came home all joyful because the mom generously gave her 20 bucks at the end of the day. I'll tell you, I agonized over whether to make my 10 year-old give the money back, because it was probably illegal for her to have accepted it.
If ChicMon just comes here for a few months, and does whatever, it may not matter too much. But what if things go well for her husband on the job, and there's an extension, or a subsequent longer assignment in the US, and the family later ends up seeking green cards (more properly known as permanent resident status). They don't want to be having to fudge around the questions about "have you ever...?" Contravening immigration laws is so not worth the risk.
Hi all,
I've just come back from a vacation (2 Sep is an Independence Day of Vietnam) . I see what RainyDay meant in her message. In fact, my husband will continue working in the US until April, but I'll return by the end of January. My company only allows me to take an absence within 6 months. Thus, the second mentioned by Rainy will never happen .
In sum, I just prefer to seek a temporary job to enhance my English. I've got some great advice from all of you. I've been searching more information about translators and volunteer jobs on the Internet.
I hope to be able to find one when I come there.
Best wishes to you. I'm so grateful to continue getting further information.
Cheers,
Hi
I'm loking for a job as a volunteer , to improve my English , to be unest my english is not so good ,I can underestand what other people say but , I can't talk to other very well , I'm a garaduated student , I studied MBA in my country .
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The first case seems not good at all if the customers can't understand what I'm speaking. Being a volunteer translator is cool, but it requires a good command of English. Is that right? My shortcoming is pronunciation. I'm Vietnamese. Writing, reading are not demanding, but speaking (with good accent) is my challenge
