Scandinavians

[Utopia 1]

Hi Utopia,

Please feel free to shoot me a private message, and I can elaborate more on my situation and experiences. Depending on what kind of job you are looking for and where you are moving, I might be able to offer some good advice in a PM. I entered on a K1 visa in November 2012, after graduating with a MSc from NTNU in 2011. I worked for over a year in Norway before moving, got married in January 2013, had my AP in March, and landed a job in May. I have always been doing something, and being without a job was hard. My wife supported me both financially and emotionally, but I felt like I wasn't contributing enough. Needless to say, it was a huge relief to land a decent job...

As for the family part, I was lucky in the sense that my closest family understood and supported me when I went through the process. However, I actually lost a couple of friends who thought I was out of my mind moving to the US and marrying a woman I never really lived with as a "real couple", whatever that means.

And when you land a job and it is time to pay taxes, I can offer some advice on how to handle Skatteetaten

Dear robhaa,

Thank you so much for your reply, I will definitely PM you! Congratulations with the job, must feel great to have found something just a few months after the marriage. I'm also happy for you that you have the support of your family. I realize now how hard it is to go through it with most of your family thinking you're making a huge mistake, especially if you're from a close-knit family. My friends have actually been more supportive, so it's surprising to me that your friends would react in that way. I feel like people find it hard to understand that we don't have the same luxuries as them, when it comes to time to see each other, shorter physical distance, not to mention the time difference. That can put a toll on any relationship, and in our cases it gets hugely expensive also flying in and out on a tourist visa all the time. How long can you go on living like that? I don't want to do this for years, and I feel like time is precious. If you want to keep a full-time job at the same time, it gets very difficult. That's why it's so inspiring to hear your story and that you made it.

I wish you all the best

[Utopia 1]

I was like you. I came here in 2012 out of college with a master in engineering degree from Denmark. I had zero work experience prior and with almost no saving and my wife was going back to school, so we had almost no income. I just kept putting charges on my danish credit card, my debt was growing more and more and it was very stressful and frustrating at that time.

But my in-law are the kindest people in the world. They took us in and let us stay with them for months while I was looking for a job. I don't think we would have made it without their support.

Fortunately, I found a good job relatively quickly (4-5 months after I got greencard). It's a scary thought but you just have to believe in yourself and your qualification. The economy seems to be relatively better now with more hiring. But when it comes to job hunting, all I can say is it's all about luck. Looking back, I have no idea how I got hired. In engineering, most company prefers to hire college graduates from "ABET" accredited schools but my supervisor and I just clicked during the interview

So, the key here is family, family and family support :-)

Dear GandK,

Thank you for replying I impressed by your courage and so glad you've done so well for yourself. I hope my family will come around eventually, but I'm also lucky to have the sweetest (soon to be) in-laws, like you. My fiancé also has a good income, it's just hard to having to rely on someone else (almost completely) financially. It scares me a lot. I think this is maybe more typical for Scandinavian countries, especially as a girl/woman, you're brought up with the beautiful idea that you should 100% independent financially before you get married. But life doesn't always turn out that way. I didn't plan it that way, but I guess I will start my working life in the US, and I have a very small financial safety net. But I'm lucky to have the love and support of my amazing fiancé.

I will take your advice about believing in myself and just go for it once I have the opportunity to apply for jobs and go to interviews. And appreciating the support of my fiancé's family, I think I will need it.

Good luck with the rest of your journey

Edited September 22, 2014 by Utopia

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

I think this is maybe more typical for Scandinavian countries, especially as a girl/woman, you're brought up with the beautiful idea that you should 100% independent financially before you get married. But life doesn't always turn out that way. I didn't plan it that way, but I guess I will start my working life in the US, and I have a very small financial safety net. But I'm lucky to have the love and support of my amazing fiancé.

I would very much not worry about this with how common it is for women in America not to work. It might bother you on some level, but you won't be judged for it at all. Plus, it isn't really financially necessary for both people to work, depending on your living situation.

In some ways, I think maybe it will be a good cultural transition to America to not be so independent even if for just a couple of months. It is hard to make generalizations, but there are a fair number of American women (myself included) who grew up with the notion that we'd rely on our husbands and not be financially independent. So a tiny short walk in our shoes? I know for me, the hardest part about culturally assimilating in Denmark or even acceptance was the opposite of this issue, I couldn't get past feeling pressured to work and feeling judged for being a stay at home mom.

[anjans 21]

Hi.

Does any of you here know if it matters that we didn't register our marriage in Sweden when applying for AOS?

[robhaa 1]

Hi.

Does any of you here know if it matters that we didn't register our marriage in Sweden when applying for AOS?

I have not registered our marriage in Norway, and I had no issues with my AOS.

[anjans 21]

Hi.

Another question, does anyone from sweden know if , when taking your medical exam, does the dr. list the vaccinations i had in sweden in the medical exam?

Tror inte jag tog med mig min svenska lilla bok, där det står vilka vaccinationer jag fick när jag var liten!!

HJÄLP!!!

[MikeandEl 4]

Hi.

Another question, does anyone from sweden know if , when taking your medical exam, does the dr. list the vaccinations i had in sweden in the medical exam?

Tror inte jag tog med mig min svenska lilla bok, där det står vilka vaccinationer jag fick när jag var liten!!

HJÄLP!!!

Which medical exam are you referring to? If you're doing AoS and had your medical exam in Sweden within the last year, you don't need a new one. You might need to fill out the vaccination form again, though. In which case...yeah, they probably need your book. I honestly don't remember what they used when I did it, sorry.

[anjans 21]

Thanks, i found it, ima gonna add that to the package. One other question, how do i write å,ä,ö?

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

Thanks, i found it, ima gonna add that to the package. One other question, how do i write å,ä,ö?

aa, ae, oe

if asked to write it in English

[anjans 21]

aa, ae, oe

if asked to write it in English

thanks, i found it and did just that. Where it says current husband or wife, is it my spouse or my parents?

Cause there is only one line, so if both my parents would be married to other people i could only write one of them, im confused about that

[sandra3711 52]

Do you book your own interview in stockholm or are you assigned a date? How does this work out with medical scheduling?

[Mikenmalin 1]

Do you book your own interview in stockholm or are you assigned a date? How does this work out with medical scheduling?

Hi

When the embassy in Stockholm get your approved petition they send you a checklist to your email with all info. You book your medical yourself with one of the dr on the embassy list. When you have Done all they ask for in the checklist you book your interview, there is links to everything you need in the checklist.

Good luck

[sandra3711 52]

Thanks Malin!

[Mr. Borkström 63]

My wife and I booked our honeymoon to Hawaii recently. Yesterday morning my request for time off from my job at Target was approved. I am so happy. So the week before Thanksgiving we are going to Honolulu for a week.

[MikeandEl 4]

Does anybody know if the IKEA julmust is any good? It seems like a challenge to find the must any other way for a reasonable price. Maybe it's too soon to start looking, but... I needs it. It's my first Christmas outside of Sweden and I need some familiarity to keep me happy.

I'm reading good things about "World Market" which I noticed is available in some Bed Bath and Beyond stores. They have Glögg and Pepparkakor!

Edited October 20, 2014 by MikeandEl