Who helps new immigrants in America

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When we - me, my husband Sasha and five-year-old son Lev - won green cards in the lottery and were about to go to California, immigrant acquaintances warned us: “Just don’t mess with the Russians! They’ll rip you off like a stick.” We had no intention of contacting anyone, because we agreed to first live with friends in San Jose, and then move to the best city in America - San Diego.

Friends who emigrated 4 a year ago and now lived in their own house offered to rent a monthbook: until we get the documents, buy a car, and so on. But everything did not turn out as we expected.

Just the day before departure, friends put us in front of the fact that we could only stay with 3 days - they didn’t finish the repairs, there’s not enough room in the house. The proposals were: to rent a room through airbnb, and from October temporarily live with some of their friends. I turned on the “yazheteri” mode: I absolutely didn’t want to lug around with a child in a foreign country in foreign corners. And on our last day in Russia, we decided to make a knight's move and go immediately to San Diego.

When we - me, my husband Sasha and five-year-old son Lev - won green cards in the lottery, we decided to go to California. Photo from personal archive

Russian Sandies

And after the 12 hour flight, we stand at the Los Angeles airport and wait for the transfer - a recent emigrant Natasha agreed to take us to San Diego for 100 dollars. The know-all Facebook brought us together. Natasha became almost a fairy godmother: while driving, she fed us, showed an incredibly beautiful sunset on the ocean, told about the intricacies of road traffic in the USA and eventually even helped us move into the motel because we didn’t understand anything from the road.

Then, when we had already found permanent housing, a new friend brought us a rocking chair and a new excellent mattress for the child, and also volunteered to babysit him - we had a lot of work upon our arrival in the States (I am a journalist, my husband is a talented tattoo artist), and we started looking for a nanny.

It turned out that Natasha, whom we found in a group of Russian-speaking residents of San Diego, was only the first of a series of amazing acquaintances with Russian immigrants who selflessly strive to help the newcomers.

On the beach, we met the old-timers of San Diego - Nadia and Dima. The guys immediately invited us to visit, gave us tea, gave Leo a toy. Now they help to promote the services of my husband for a new audience, give useful advice: with whom you need to get acquainted, how to pay bills and how much to save for taxes, where it is profitable to buy something from the products and so on.

Useful dating can be made even on the beach. Photos from the personal archive

The fact that we could not do without help at first was when we got into the first domestic deadlock: when we moved to the apartment, there was a problem with the delivery of furniture from Ikea: the housewarming was planned for October October 1, and the next delivery date was already 7 th numbers. But we all settled with the help of another immigrant, Jura, whose phone we were given Nadya and Dima.

He delivered all our mattresses, tables and floor lamps on his mini-truck without any compensation. And then he and I also went back to make out a return: we bought too many lamps. At parting, Yura also promised to give us the TV.

As you can see, you can make useful contacts even on the beach, quite by accident. But preparing for the move does not hurt by finding in advance in the social networks of immigrants who are willing to share experiences.

Immigrant Street

Altruists who are ready to help their own are much more than even the real optimist can imagine. Ilya Korefan arrived in California from Ukraine as a teenager. He now works as a graphic designer in Silicon Valley, and lives in Sacramento.

Recently he began investing in real estate and bought an apartment on one of the streets of a not-so-good area of ​​the Californian capital. Then Ilya had an idea: he wanted to improve the situation in the area, namely, to surround himself and his family with Russian-speaking people.

Ilya Korefan created Immigrants Street in Sacramento. Photos from the personal archive

Ilya began to promote information on how immigrants get settled in a foreign land, in YouTube and Facebook: made a video about life in California, interviewed newcomers:

“Someone said that an immigrant is 4 times more likely to become a millionaire than someone born here. Russian speakers come to the USA to start life over with a new leaf and rise up,” says Ilya. “These are decent and reliable people.”

The street where Ilya’s family lives has already been nicknamed Immigrant Street. Now more than thirty Russian-speaking families live there. And he began to popularize the idea of ​​mutual assistance among people like him - people to whom someone once provided selfless support.

“Other sympathetic immigrants who had already settled in America began to help me,” says Ilya. — We meet people from the airport, go with them to test their licenses, look at apartments, and collect the necessary things for them. So, recently, in 2 hours, the entire street collected everything needed for the first time (mattresses, dishes, etc.) for a family that came to the States through Mexico. We help newcomers selflessly and absolutely free of charge and invite similar people to our team.”

Now Ilya has already created five groups to help new arrivals on Facebook, and not only in Sacramento, but also in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and Fresno. Their members help newcomers in any way they can: advice, kind words, services and things. The main condition is that the assistance is free of charge.

Ilya’s plans are to create detailed instructions for immigrants that would help them begin to make the American dream come true without unnecessary hassle and expense.

Help as a business

But for some, helping means earning money. When, while still in Russia, we were wondering which city to move to, we found the blog of a Russian-speaking woman from San Diego. She talked about the beauties of the city and offered her help to new emigrants - renting an apartment, renting a license, creating a bank account, enrolling a child in a kindergarten or school. However, after calling her, I found out that all this is not free - the woman pays hourly, $20.

Probably, there is nothing shameful about this: I'm just used to my naivety to assume that if a person offers help, then this is an unselfish act. It turned out that I was mistaken. And with such help, with hourly pay, many of our compatriots are engaged. They provide a variety of services - from filling out applications for green cards to transporting and arranging new immigrants in a given city of America.

Do not argue, this business can be very useful for those newcomers who find it difficult to communicate and solve financial and housing issues in English. But for me, for example, it was not difficult, although live communication with the Americans was a novelty.

By the way, the bank can order the service of an interpreter by phone. A computer test on the knowledge of American traffic rules can be taken in Russian. Entry to school and garden goes online, so you can figure it out yourself: everyone has Google, and Sooner or later, you will still have to take independent steps and make serious decisions. And I believe that the sooner this happens, the faster and easier the adaptation will take place.

Help comes not only from “our own people”

Yulia, a Muscovite, attended college in Annapolis, Maryland, and worked as a waitress. At work, she met her future husband Nicholas, who served in the navy.

The next day, he invited Yulia to a military ball, but the girl had to work, and she did not have the opportunity to prepare properly. Then a restaurant guest came to the rescue, Yulia recalls: “Having learned about my situation, she bought me a dress, prescribed and paid for makeup for me at Nordstorm, brought accessories and right in the mall where I worked, gathered me and took me to the ball. Later, Nancyann, my “godmother fairy,” became the organizer of our wedding with Nicholas.

Nancyann, “The Fairy of the Cross,” became the organizer of the wedding of Julia and Nicholas. Photos from the personal archive

And now, 3 years after marriage, we communicate warmly. When I went to the embassy with my baby in my arms to apply for a passport, I stayed with her. Nancyann still helps us and takes care of me and my “granddaughter”; she has become my second mother.

If it were not for the help of the guest of the restaurant, perhaps this family would not exist. Photos from the personal archive.

10 first steps after moving to the USA

Moving to the United States for permanent residence, the newcomer immigrant is faced not only with stress after entering a foreign country and a new language environment, but also with domestic problems. In a short period of time, a person needs to find accommodation, obtain identity documents, get a job and do much more.

ForumDaily I prepared information on the 10 first steps you need to take on your arrival in America. Read more.

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