What did it cost to fight for the green card for so long

Photo: provided by the heroine of the material

Want to live in another country, but do not know how to do it? It may be worth it, as in a bearded joke, to buy a lottery ticket. As part of a series of materials about fellow citizens who moved to live abroad, "Lenta.ru report»Publishes a story Maria Popova, whose family moved from Yekaterinburg to the United States and settled in the state of New Jersey. Believe it or not, everything happened thanks to sheer luck and perseverance.

I was born in Yekaterinburg. Now I am 19 years old, I have completed secondary education. My family moved to the States in April 2016 — it turns out that we have been here for a little over a year.

My parents went purposefully to the realization of the move, but my brother and I did not even know about it. Every time when we had to be photographed, dad said that it was demanded from him at work.

In fact, he and his mother took part in the diversification lottery Green Card - This is the US government visa drawing program, which gives the right to become a permanent resident of the United States. They participated in it about seven times and eventually pulled out our lucky ticket. In December, 2015 was invited to an interview in Moscow, in May of the same year, we learned about the winnings, in April, 2016-th moved.

Americans will not stay for a long time where they don’t like, and will not do what they don’t have a soul for. Photo: provided by the heroine of the material

The development of territories

First we settled in the capital of New Jersey - Trenton, it is not far from New York. We lived there for about four months. This is a tourist area, so it is quite noisy. After some time we moved to Manalapan Township, this is a more peaceful place, which is also located in New Jersey, it is incredibly clean and beautiful here.

Fight any job

I managed to find a job, despite the lack of any experience. Now I work in New York on Eighth Avenue in a non-chain cafe Gourmet new york. I stand behind the cash register, I make tea and coffee, I bring and carry food, when there are no people, I fill up the refrigerators and restore order.

In previous work, in the gift shop I love NYIt was hard for me: too little time passed after the move, I didn’t really understand English. But in my current job I noticeably pulled up the language and I can even conduct a dialogue in Spanish.

The minimum wage is 12 dollars per hour, but they give it out every week and immediately deduct taxes when calculating.

I saw a large number of people in pajamas and slippers on the streets of the city, you can go out even in your underwear - you will not catch a single oblique glance at yourself. Photo: provided by the heroine of the material

Americans as they are

People here are very kind and polite. Each car will give way to a pedestrian, and if you suddenly come across a person on the go, he will smile and apologize.

Americans are very noisy and emotional, they like to listen to music at high volume, but here it doesn’t bother anyone, quite the contrary - it raises the spirits.

On the streets of the city I saw a large number of people in pajamas and slippers, you can go out even in your underwear - you won't catch a single oblique glance at yourself, here it is completely indifferent to people. A man stands in the headphones in the subway and suddenly begins to dance. Nobody attaches any importance to this, but why? The main thing - a man is happy.

Americans are good to Russians (and indeed to all). In my opinion, nationality is not important to them. There was one funny case in the store. A woman came up to me and asked: "Are uou russian?"(" Are you Russian? "), I answered her in the affirmative. She laughed and said, "If you are a Russian Trump"(" If you are Russian, then you love Trump ") or something like that. They also like our Russian accent very much.

The prices here are fully consistent with the salary, that is, there is no such thing that you have a salary of 1000 dollars, while 950 must be paid for an apartment. Photo: provided by the heroine of the material

Science people feed

New Jersey is one of the five "most educated" states in the country; in 2016, the state ranked second in the United States in terms of the quality of schooling after Massachusetts.

Preschool education in New Jersey begins with three years. This level is not obligatory, however, about 60% of children aged from 3 to 5 years attend pre-school educational institutions. In respectable areas, education is paid, the cost varies from 5 000 to 25 000 dollars per year, but most often it is 10 000 dollars per year.

Schools here are divided into 3 type: public, private, charter. Public schools are funded and controlled by three levels of government: federal, state, and local. Private schools in America are a direct way to the university.

According to statistics, 90% of graduates of private schools go to the most prestigious universities in the country. The cost of education in such schools is from 6 000 to 40 000 dollars per year. Charter schools receive funding from the federal budget, but work on their own program.

In the state of New Jersey 74 high school: public and private universities, institutes and colleges. The most famous is Princeton University, which is part of the Ivy League (the union of the most prestigious universities in the country). Institutions of higher education are predominantly private, therefore their interests include attracting undergraduate and graduate students from around the world.

Prose of life

The prices here are fully consistent with the salary, that is, there is no such thing that you have a salary of 1000 dollars, while 950 must be paid for an apartment.

As for food prices: the cost of cereals - from 50 cents to 2 dollars per pack, meat and poultry can be purchased from 1 to 5 dollars per kilo, vegetables and fruits - up to four. Dinner in a cafe together will cost somewhere in 70 dollars.

About home appliances and electronics: do not think that in the country where they produce products Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), and other branded products, prices differ for the better - this is not so.

Gasoline prices also vary - about 3-4 dollars per gallon (3,8 liters).

A cozy one-bedroom, one-bathroom home with a garage can be purchased in New Jersey for about $200. A house with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a garage costs about 360 thousand. The price for renting a two-story house is approximately two thousand per month.

As for the standard of living, as long as we live on the minimum wage. I work, mom and dad. But at the same time, we live an order of magnitude better than we lived in Russia with average incomes. We had the opportunity to not limit ourselves in products, as we did in our homeland.

The income tax depends on the size of earnings and ranges from 10% to 39,6%; we pay 12,3%.

Correctly they say that in order to learn a foreign language, you need to immerse yourself in the atmosphere where they speak it. Photo: provided by the heroine of the material

In debt, as in silks

America lives on credit, everyone knows that. Here, many are trying to "bleed" credit history. This is that people take loans even for small household needs. Interesting is the fact that only by “pumping” their consumption history to the maximum level, Americans can buy housing at the minimum credit rate.

But in this situation, as in any other, there is a downside: it often happens that a person collects a bunch of credits and ceases to control his expenses, leaving a big minus.

See a doctor before you get sick

Medicine in America is very expensive, so I think you should not neglect insurance. Yes, and neglect will not work, it is required for all legal residents of the country.

If you have just arrived in America and you do not yet have a stable income, it is enough to pay about 95 dollars a year and lead a healthy lifestyle.

If the income is, and it is sufficient, and the employer does not provide insurance, then it makes sense to buy it, otherwise there will be a sizeable penalty.

Fighting the language barrier

It is quite difficult for me to speak a foreign language. Almost everyone with whom I entered into a dialogue, I initially asked to speak more slowly, because I needed some time to think and build sentences. Despite this, I was not shy and not upset, but on the contrary - I tried to talk with the Americans more often.

The result was not long in coming: recently I have noticed obvious changes for the better in my speech. They correctly say that in order to learn a foreign language, you need to immerse yourself in the atmosphere where they speak it. Again, this does not mean that he will somehow learn, just those who speak this language are the strongest motivation for learning a language.

Want to be at your best - choose the path to the mountain

Americans treat everything a lot easier. People in their pajamas, dancing in the subway, loudly turned on music, moving, changing work - everything is somehow easy, which cannot be said about Russia.

Americans will not stay for a long time where they don’t like, and will not do what they don’t have a soul for. They always strive to satisfy all their interests and needs with maximum benefit for themselves.

Russia vs America

All our relatives and friends reacted well to our move, were very pleased for us.

In Russia, I am relatively often. The desire to go there is, yes; I miss my boyfriend and friends. But I don't want to move back, I like it more in America.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How I won the green card, and what happened next

How to come to the US with $ 200 and build a successful medical career

10 steps to take immediately after moving to the USA

Why, after five years in the USA, I am returning to Russia

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