Chronicle of a departure: D-128

It’s getting harder!

As you noticed, I write less on the blog. This is because the deadlines are approaching and we have to carry out many tasks at the same time. As recently a close friend said to me “in fact you are the project manager of your installation in the USA, with imperatives of cost, deadline and quality!” That’s true.

In a previous life (at the beginning of my professional career), I was a project manager in a company and it is true that I had to face similar challenges: to discuss with many people, to be very careful not to leave spin costs and delays and ensure the quality of achievements! Stress, multitasking and great splits in perspective!

Over the past 50 days, we dealt randomly with the following “cases”:

– Real estate loan

We decided to follow the advice we were given and buy a house in the US. So we had to look into the “mortgage” file and not surprisingly, it is not easy.

Indeed, after lots of research, it looks like there is an indirect kind of “discrimination” against newcomers to the United States: banks and brokers only lend to those who have a credit score, resulting from their banking history in the USA for at least 2 years. We have been able to find banks that are ready to talk to us (notably thanks to my husband’s future employer and our previous stay in 2014), but there is little room for negotiation. As long as we do not have a credit score, we can only accept the package or refuse it. Probably in 2 years – 2.5 years you will be able to “renegotiate” the loan, but by now, things are relatively locked and relatively unattractive.

– Search for accommodation and purchase rules

Buying is a source of stress, even when you are familiar with the environment. This is even more so when you are not familiar with the rules: how usually goes the transaction, who is the equivalent of the French “notaire”, what documents are required, etc. The bank and the real estate agent will present us with contacts, but we like to understand by ourselves. So I do a lot of research online … Not easy.

– Visa and passports

Ah, the Visa issue, THE key issue. My husband got the approval for his visa (sponsored by the future employer) and it seems that on the day of the appointment at the US Embassy, they will give a visa for him and his “dependents”. In the meantime, we have a planned trip to the US (on early April) and as soon as we come back to France we will have to ask for our passports to be renewed (which normally expire at the end of 2017) before the appointment at the US embassy. I’ll have to watch the deadline…

– Work permit and job search

Well, I knew that I was about to face a major difficulty: finding a job related to my skills and my tastes. It turns out that things are “slightly” more complicated! Indeed with my visa in order to obtain a work permit, I’ll need to:

1) look for a position at a minimum Bachelor level (that was my intention, since I am a psychologist and an engineer)

2) but also look for a position in a public structure since there is a quota of “sponsorship” for private structures and without going into details (which I have not yet quite understood), a private structure would probably not bother to go through all the “sponsorship” thing …

But “good news”: I will not have to leave the country to change my visa into a visa + work permit when I’ll find a job position! Changing countries also means tackling these issues of work permits that are not thought of spontaneously. However, I am fortunate to benefit from a “dual career” program devoted to spouses by the University.

– Graduation scoring sites

In the United States, future employers ask routinely for credential rating by specialized companies for people arriving from abroad. There are at least 20 companies (and websites) recognized and all do not ask for the same things. For example, there was a major difference between the 2 rating sites that I approached: one asked for certified translation of all my documents, whereas the other had apparently its internal translation services or, at least some of its experts spoke French (in addition to knowing the French educational system). Nevertheless I took care of contacting only the sites recommended to me (by the University).

Anyway my diplomas have been certified!

– Schools and back-to-school

We would like to visit the schools during our trip to the US in April. So it will be necessary to contact them beforehand by email and telephone and make appointments. There will be 4 or 5 schools in the perimeter of the neighborhood we are interested in. Another “little” research and contact task to be carried out, on time!

Note that back-to-school is in early August, a few days after our arrival in the US. Our children will lose this year a month of holidays and August will be quite hectic!

– Preparation for our trip in April

Besides the real estate issue, meeting with banks and visiting schools, this trip will give my husband and I the opportunity to attend professional meetings, for him with his future colleagues and for me to make professional contacts. This trip will definitely not be a “classic” holiday trip.

– Moving and customs rules etc., packing stuff

This file is a recurrent one for the moment. I have already mentioned our discussions with different moving companies. But there are also regulatory aspects: Americans are very strict and ask for a lot of documents and justifications and check about 80% of the loads, with a significant number by X-ray, and the additional cost falls to the sender … I also discovered that there are taxes on some products and that for example one can’t take his personal jewelry (or perhaps we have to pay a tax?)This point has to be clarified because the mover we signed with told us that we can’t put jewelry in the cargo and I have some stuff I want to keep with me!

As for the packing thing, we progress … slowly.

There are still quite a few “cases” to be dealt with: the revenue tax issues, for 2017 and for the following years (how they will be split between the USA and France), and more generally to do things “neatly” before the 2 administrations since we will keep ties in France, unsubscribe in time our various suppliers (water, electricity, gas, internet, etc.), continue packing…

And to live daily stuff, to enjoy everyday life and to be present for our children who look absolutely not at the same deadlines as us! Big project.