Ask HN: What are the challenges of being an immigrant in the US? Is the US a welcoming country overall? What if you more of a blue-colllared worker? |
Ask HN: What are the challenges of being an immigrant in the US? Is the US a welcoming country overall? What if you more of a blue-colllared worker? |
I suspect the take comes from a very white collar background. If you're a highly educated immigrant you'll do well in America's coastal states, if you're a blue collar immigrant good luck entering the service class.
And this is actually backed by data. Contrary to self-image major US metropolitan areas are highly segregated, more so than the south, and interestingly enough the mountain west and plains states have the lowest levels of segregation
I do think it’s fair to say people in rural areas of any country have less exposure to people outside of their own little tribe. Hopefully this continues to change as internet becomes more omnipresent.
One-year-old children don’t form meaningful sentences, not even in rural America where families eat at Arby’s and holler out slurs at the TV.
You can find bigots and racist people everywhere in the world, including among immigrants to America.
Foreign driver’s license? In most states there is no way to exchange it directly for a local one like most other countries do, you’ll have to sit the driving test again. This even applies to licenses issued by jurisdictions like Canada or Europe, which have similar driving customs and laws.
Foreign driving record? Unless you were driving in neighbouring Canada, with most insurers it won’t count for insurance purposes. You’ll be starting with crazy high premiums like a new driver, as if you never drove a car before.
Foreign credit score? Nope, you’ll have to start from scratch and pay high interest rates on car payments, and deal with a very low credit limit on your credit card. It won’t no matter what limit your previous cards abroad trusted you with. Also you won’t be able to get a phone on a contract, you’ll have to get a prepaid or BYOD because of your low credit score.
The processes of immigrating to the Netherlands for example are vastly less Kafkaesque and not subject to luck or some bureaucrat’s mood at the time. Everywhere else is not necessarily as difficult as America.
Massive taxes without any benefit.
And most Americans haven’t a clue how much trouble it is. It’s a constant thundercloud in your life.
Anyway, Americans are super friendly and very nice. A few among them are very motivated and the country is unbelievably wealthy so there is a lot of opportunity. Most locals don’t like to challenge themselves very much but the country will give to you tenfold what you put in so it’s worth all the pain and then some.
Oh and don’t go to all the weird places if you aren’t white. Pick an election map and stick to cities and areas that were colored blue. On the Internet people will get very offended about this and tell you how the finest people they know are in the other parts and they much prefer people be upfront and straightforward and all that. But here’s straight talk: stick to the places colored blue.
This is a white collar perspective.
Makes the DMV look like a well oiled machine.
Go all the weird place you want. Some people need to feel that the country is some hell hole outside of a few cities, it isn't. Also you will pay less, gas will probably be cheaper. Enjoy.
I should warn you that this will be normal. You will see this. People who will never face what you will will tell you about how it’s perfectly okay and everything is great etc etc.
Talk to other people like you and know a more lived reality.
If you are able to befriend a local with good credit and get them to trust you so they're willing to cosign, you can work around this, but it's a barrier that is not to be unaware of. Immigrant communities are built on people that do this for others creating community.
I'm curious. Isn't enough to show your latest payroll? Or, if it's is your very first month, your contract stating how much you'll earn. In Europe there are credit rating companies, but relying on payrolls are a thing as well.
Some combinatiom of the above will do and make sure that you are able to speak to a human. Of course, this means that its cpnsoderably more difficult to live outside of your means. It is almost as if systems were set up to encourage people living outside of their means..
I felt like people cared less about where you are from and what you do (blue collar/white collar) compared to my home country.
In some larger cities, specialized blue-collar workers can earn high wages (home-repair type work) due to a shortage of these skills in high cost-of-living areas.
Just work on your English and try to avoid an accent. Some people are picky about people with accents. Learn the culture, laws, religions, society norms and you'll do fine.
I studied International Business and it tells you how to blend in to a new country.
I've sometimes had difficulty making myself understood with my Dutch accent, which isn't always very practical. Especially in noisier environments and over the phone it can be annoying.
On the other hand, I also see it as just who I am. Would you ask an Irish person to change their accent? Of course not; it's part of their identity. On the other hand, if someone with a strong Irish accent would move to the US, NZ, or even the UK it might be wise to tone things down a bit so folk actually understand what you're saying. And asking where the craic is at would likely be received similarly to Checkov asking where the nuclear wessels are.
It's all a bit of a fine balance.
1. The moment you land in America, you need to try and get a Social Security Number (SSN). As a legal immigrant, you can get this by applying either yourself or through your school/employer etc.
2. Once you have SSN and a decent proof of Address (lease/school letter), go and apply for a local State ID at your local Motor Vehicle Agency. You probably won't be able to geta Driver's License right away BUT many people don't know that you can get a State Identification Card or State ID which is really useful for ID purposes. Carrying your passport everywhere for ID if needed is very inconvenient and frankly opens you up for more scrutiny unfortunately. Get a State ID.
3. Go to a local bank/credit union and ask them for a secured line of credit. In other words, they will ask you to deposit something like $500 and in return give you an actual credit card (not a debit card). This will help you build credit slowly over time. Don't wait for this. Do it as soon as you can. Debit cards in US will not help with building a credit score.
Once you have these in order, you will find it much easier to get other things done.
As an immigrant to the US who is now a citizen for many years, I can tell you that most Americans are friendly and want to help but there is a lot of ignorance as well. Racism etc exist but it is not as common. What really hurts the immigrants is the ignorance and knowledge gap that Americans in general have especially if they have never travelled outside. But most mean well and you just have to be patient and get your ducks in a row. All the best.
It’s the same as having credit card debt, it will keep you up at night. It takes tremendous coping mechanisms to power through.
Personally I think getting credit for the sake of it is rather silly though. It offends all sorts of sensibilities I have about credit and financial responsibility.