I was catching up on the web log of Sahil Malik today, I
usually read what he has to say because, like me, he is a techie, and unlike me,
he is an MVP, so I value what he has to say. I was very interested to read his post
about his life when he came to the US, and it inspired me to write of my
experience in coming to the US 6 years ago (this November)….
I had been planning on coming over to the US to work for
over 6 months in 1999, most of that time had involved filing paperwork for my
Visa. The process of filing for an H1B US
Visa is a little tricky, but a good lawyer can make light work of it. I spent a lot of time making phone calls to
and from the US
to determine the status of my application with, what was then called, the INS
(now the USCIS). Not knowing when my
application would complete was the agonizing part of it all. According to my lawyer, September was when I
should expect to receive confirmation of Visa acceptance. Therefore, I made plans to rent an apartment,
gave notice with my employer in London, and
began the process of packing up my life in England
to move to the US. My Visa did not actually come through until
the beginning of November, and by this time, I was paying rent on an apartment
in the US as well as a
mortgage on property in England.
My employer at the time was cool with my
emigration plans and allowed me to continue to work past the date given in my
notice.
On November 25, 1999, I said goodbye to my loved ones and
boarded a plane bound for Washington
DC. This was a painful day – saying goodbye to my
Mother, Father, and Brother at the airport was a tearful experience. I remember sitting on the plane thinking
about the life I knew so well that I was leaving behind, with only my essential
possessions in suitcases stowed in the belly of the 747 I was traveling, and
the rest transported by ship. For a
moment, panic set in and I wondered if I had made a big mistake.
I arrived at Dulles
International Airport
about 7pm in the evening, midnight GMT, and was exhausted. I was looking forward to dumping the cases in
my new apartment, grabbing a bite to eat, and then crashing. By the time, I had made it through
immigration and customs, and the cab had dropped me off in Bethesda it was about 9pm. I carried two huge, heavy suitcases to the
front lobby door of my apartment block, and looked for the guard on duty. It was at this time that I learned about “Thanksgiving
Day.” I had heard of the US holiday
before, but did not know that this is a major event. I very quickly found out that, most people do
not work on TG day and that most businesses are closed. Fortunately, I managed to the one temporary
worker on duty, who knew nothing about my expected arrival, but was nice enough
to search for any paperwork. As luck
would have it, we found my key and welcome pack, and I was able to enter my
apartment – phew.
By now, it was rather late in the US, which meant it was the middle
of the night by my biological clock. The
plane food had worn off hours ago, so I went in search for food, but no
restaurants or stores were open. I found
a gas station open with a min-mart. Since
I had no cooking utensils or porcelain I had to go with snack, so my first Thanksgiving
dinner in the US
consisted of cookies and milk.
Next day – since I had not heard a great deal about TG day,
there was no way I would have known about Black Friday. I decided that I needed some essentials and
went to the mall – ON THE BUS! I
remember that day really well, it was pouring of rain all day, and standing
waiting for a bus was no fun. Once at
the mall I found out that not many stores want to take travelers checks (even
if they are in US dollars), which meant that I had only my UK credit card to
fall back on, and the exchange rate wasn’t great at the time. After the experience the night before I made
sure that I had plenty of utensils and flatware to eat from, so I purchased
quite a lot, and then after paying for it all realized that I’d never get it all
home on the bus in one go – I made three round trips to the mall on the bus
that day. Now, when I am at the mall on
Black Friday, among the crowds, I just think of that day, and everything else
seems so much better.
That was pretty much the story of my arrival in the US. My situation did improve. I very quickly found friends from work, who
were prepared to drive me to the mall, and hang out in evenings and weekends doing
fun stuff (my wife started out as one of these friends). Once I started working and my paycheck came
in I no longer had to worry about the UK/US exchange rate for future purchases,
and in future years, I understood the significance of Thanksgiving Day.
I sometimes miss life back in England,
but when I look at where I live, the work I have accomplished here in the US, and my wife
and children, I realize that I have a good life here, and it was worth the
journey.