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Go to get drivers license - told to come back when I have a SSN and 2 forms of ID with proof of address. Also told I will need to take a driving test despite having driven for 15 years. Ok ok, I drive on the wrong side of the road and don't mind taking a test as a formality, but the documentation is the frustrating bit.
I won't get my SSN for apparently 3 weeks? Arrived 2 days ago. I'm working on 2 forms of ID which is my next vent.
Go to get bank account - had to 'fight' for it for about 1 hour. The bank didn't think I had a visa, even though it was stuck right there in my passport. They finally 'agreed' that I have a valid visa but insisted on using my Australian drivers license as proof of address - so my belief that a bank account could act as 1 form of new USA ID was kind-of crushed. They put the 'mailing address' as my USA address which might be OK...
In any case, I'm basically in limbo until this SSN arrives because I need it for absolutely everything.
Surely there could/should be a Social Security rep at ports of entry who can print off or whisper in your ear your SSN to help get things started upon arrival.
I know, I know, it's hopefully only 3 weeks to wait... but what do I do for 3 weeks? Sit around...
I won't even go into my bewilderment upon being told at the port of entry that the actual green card can take up to 12 months to arrive.
Please, someone, tell me it's not 12 months!
Trying to 'Americanize' myself is difficult! I'll feel much better with a US drivers license as it will all feel a bit more official... and being able to spend money will be great... then it will all come into place from that point onward.
Relax. The wheels of bureaucracy grind along very slowly and laboriously. I'm not sure why you would think that you wouldn't have to take a driving test in a new country and extensive paperwork is the norm everywhere. Good grief, I opened up a new bank account in a new local bank a year or so ago after having lived and worked in the same neck of the woods (and owned a business) for the past 30 years. I was only half way through all the paperwork when I started wondering when the question of handing over my first-born was going to pop up. Relax. There will be plenty of opportunities to have an apoplectic fit as you adjust to the American way of life ...
Go to get drivers license - told to come back when I have a SSN and 2 forms of ID with proof of address. Also told I will need to take a driving test despite having driven for 15 years. Ok ok, I drive on the wrong side of the road and don't mind taking a test as a formality, but the documentation is the frustrating bit.
I won't get my SSN for apparently 3 weeks? Arrived 2 days ago. I'm working on 2 forms of ID which is my next vent.
Go to get bank account - had to 'fight' for it for about 1 hour. The bank didn't think I had a visa, even though it was stuck right there in my passport. They finally 'agreed' that I have a valid visa but insisted on using my Australian drivers license as proof of address - so my belief that a bank account could act as 1 form of new USA ID was kind-of crushed. They put the 'mailing address' as my USA address which might be OK...
In any case, I'm basically in limbo until this SSN arrives because I need it for absolutely everything.
Surely there could/should be a Social Security rep at ports of entry who can print off or whisper in your ear your SSN to help get things started upon arrival.
I know, I know, it's hopefully only 3 weeks to wait... but what do I do for 3 weeks? Sit around...
I won't even go into my bewilderment upon being told at the port of entry that the actual green card can take up to 12 months to arrive.
Please, someone, tell me it's not 12 months!
Trying to 'Americanize' myself is difficult! I'll feel much better with a US drivers license as it will all feel a bit more official... and being able to spend money will be great... then it will all come into place from that point onward.
...up to 12 months to arrive"...it can take less time, however and most likely, the minimum may be 12 months.
If it's any consolation (and I am sure it won't be because why should you care what my experience was) As a born and raised American citizen I once moved out of State. I had to get a new driver's license in the new state, however, they snipped the corner off the previous State license and allowed me to keep it (thank goodness they did that for me). A few years later I had returned to my original state with my 'old' driver's license in hand and was told it was no longer in the system and I would need to bring in 3 forms of ID, a birth certificate...AND I had to take the written test.
Then they complained because the birth certificate with my birth name did not match my other Id's with my married name...yes, true story and so stupid I would not make it up.
Well, it took some time but I accomplished everything I set out to do...in good time!
Good luck, welcome to America, be patient and if nothing else...walk around in your new environment if you are able to and take in all the sights.
I won't even go into my bewilderment upon being told at the port of entry that the actual green card can take up to 12 months to arrive.
Please, someone, tell me it's not 12 months!
Green cards are running about 6 weeks in most cases right now for people who entered on an immigrant visa, which it sounds like you did. The 12 months sounds like an extreme case of over-managing expectations.
...up to 12 months to arrive"...it can take less time, however and most likely, the minimum may be 12 months.
If it's any consolation (and I am sure it won't be because why should you care what my experience was) As a born and raised American citizen I once moved out of State. I had to get a new driver's license in the new state, however, they snipped the corner off the previous State license and allowed me to keep it (thank goodness they did that for me). A few years later I had returned to my original state with my 'old' driver's license in hand and was told it was no longer in the system and I would need to bring in 3 forms of ID, a birth certificate...AND I had to take the written test.
Then they complained because the birth certificate with my birth name did not match my other Id's with my married name...yes, true story and so stupid I would not make it up.
Well, it took some time but I accomplished everything I set out to do...in good time!
Good luck, welcome to America, be patient and if nothing else...walk around in your new environment if you are able to and take in all the sights.
Were you by any chance in Fl ? I was born and raised here, now over 70, and everyone here had to produce all those documents at renewal time. It was a pain in the patootie but I just did it. Supposed to be to prove you are a citizen of USA.
Yes, the bureaucracy will drive you nuts. But honestly, if you somehow managed to actually get your green card application approved, I'm impressed. All the other stuff shouldn't be so bad compared to the green card process. Of course, that doesn't help your situation. I suppose you could go to your local Congressperson's office or the embassy of your former country to try and make a few calls to inquire about the arrival of your green card and SS card; at the very least, it can't hurt. Anyway, hope it works out soon for you.
Go to get drivers license - told to come back when I have a SSN and 2 forms of ID with proof of address. Also told I will need to take a driving test despite having driven for 15 years. Ok ok, I drive on the wrong side of the road and don't mind taking a test as a formality, but the documentation is the frustrating bit.
I won't get my SSN for apparently 3 weeks? Arrived 2 days ago. I'm working on 2 forms of ID which is my next vent.
Go to get bank account - had to 'fight' for it for about 1 hour. The bank didn't think I had a visa, even though it was stuck right there in my passport. They finally 'agreed' that I have a valid visa but insisted on using my Australian drivers license as proof of address - so my belief that a bank account could act as 1 form of new USA ID was kind-of crushed. They put the 'mailing address' as my USA address which might be OK...
In any case, I'm basically in limbo until this SSN arrives because I need it for absolutely everything.
Surely there could/should be a Social Security rep at ports of entry who can print off or whisper in your ear your SSN to help get things started upon arrival.
I know, I know, it's hopefully only 3 weeks to wait... but what do I do for 3 weeks? Sit around...
I won't even go into my bewilderment upon being told at the port of entry that the actual green card can take up to 12 months to arrive.
Please, someone, tell me it's not 12 months!
Trying to 'Americanize' myself is difficult! I'll feel much better with a US drivers license as it will all feel a bit more official... and being able to spend money will be great... then it will all come into place from that point onward.
.
Why are you coming to America, to become a citizen or what ?
What makes you think you shouldnt have to show documentation when everyone else, even citizens, have to? And everyone, at one point in time, had to take a driving test.
I dont know why you are venting when you are doing something every other single person has to do for the privilege of living here. What makes you so special?
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