Chile Forum

I am an American citizen living here in Chile with my wife which I married here. Things have been extremely difficult for us because for the first part of our marriage I wasn't able to work while I waited for my residency visa. Now that I have it, things are still bad because I don't speak spanish and haven't been able to find work. Even the english schools I have applied to haven't even so much as responded to my emails/resumes. We've run out of options. Truth be told, I am afraid to detail how difficult the situation is. The part that makes things most difficult is that my wife is now 5 months pregnant and we also have a 7 year old girl to take care of. My parents have been telling us to move to the United States. For the past few months I have been resistent to this idea simply because I have been holding out on the possibility that someone would respond to my solicitations for work. However I was waiting in vain.

So here is my question. Is it even possible for us to get into the US on a tourist visa (for her and her 7 year old daughter who both already have passports) and then file for some sort of status change in the United States? We'd like for this child to be born in the US if possible, and applying for an immigration visa here in Chile would mean the baby would be born here, considering the waiting perioud I've read about on these forums. Also, here is the Double Wammy part. My sister is getting married in the States here in the next few months. So this is another reason for us to try to at the very least visit the States. So, what exactly are my options? Really I feel completely crippled here in Chile. I know that at least in the US I would be able to provide my family with basic necessities. Buying food would be nice for a change.

Last question, would it even be worth my time asking the American Embassy these questions? Or would this only make things more difficult for us?

Your dilemma is do I stay here and struggle, or return to the US and subject my family to the evolving prison state?
Some choice, my friend.
Please weigh your options carefully, especially the true consequences of returning at this time. There's a reason why people are fleeing our collapsing nation. I presume you've kept up on the police state thread on this forum? Did you see the recent links related to FEMA?
Of course, the psychological pull to be "home" and near family when times are tough is certainly understandable.
Other forum members will have excellent information to answer your visa questions.

My dilemma is that I have a 5 month pregnant wife, a 7 year old girl, and myself to take care of. And after being in this country for 9 months, things haven't improved. My spanish is still terrible, and nothing on the job front has panned out. Shoot, I don't even get responses from people. I honestly don't know what to do. If I had a decent prospect for my family here in Chile I would gladly stay. I was fully aware of what was happening in the US when I left (yes I'm familiar with FEMA etc). This is one of the reasons I was excited to try to make a life here in Chile. However, en verdad, we're not making a life, we're not even hardly surviving. Not sure how much easier things will become when I have another mouth to worry about. So, it is for this reason that I'm exploring the option of returning to the States, where at least I could put a meager amount of money on the table for my family.

Josiah ben Paul wrote:My dilemma is that I have a 5 month pregnant wife, a 7 year old girl, and myself to take care of. And after being in this country for 9 months, things haven't improved. My spanish is still terrible, and nothing on the job front has panned out. Shoot, I don't even get responses from people. I honestly don't know what to do. If I had a decent prospect for my family here in Chile I would gladly stay. I was fully aware of what was happening in the US when I left (yes I'm familiar with FEMA etc). This is one of the reasons I was excited to try to make a life here in Chile. However, en verdad, we're not making a life, we're not even hardly surviving. Not sure how much easier things will become when I have another mouth to worry about. So, it is for this reason that I'm exploring the option of returning to the States, where at least I could put a meager amount of money on the table for my family.

whats your qualifications? or background..... why dont English schools like you? (also you wont get any english teaching work until march)...................

You probably wan to to rephrase your question as "Chile to US Immigration Question"............ and separate your personal story from the actual question, that way someone might answer with the correct answer

zer0nz wrote:

Josiah ben Paul wrote:My dilemma is that I have a 5 month pregnant wife, a 7 year old girl, and myself to take care of. And after being in this country for 9 months, things haven't improved. My spanish is still terrible, and nothing on the job front has panned out. Shoot, I don't even get responses from people. I honestly don't know what to do. If I had a decent prospect for my family here in Chile I would gladly stay. I was fully aware of what was happening in the US when I left (yes I'm familiar with FEMA etc). This is one of the reasons I was excited to try to make a life here in Chile. However, en verdad, we're not making a life, we're not even hardly surviving. Not sure how much easier things will become when I have another mouth to worry about. So, it is for this reason that I'm exploring the option of returning to the States, where at least I could put a meager amount of money on the table for my family.

whats your qualifications? or background..... why dont English schools like you? (also you wont get any english teaching work until march)...................

You probably wan to to rephrase your question as "Chile to US Immigration Question"............ and separate your personal story from the actual question, that way someone might answer with the correct answer

I went to college for 2 years, though I didn't finish in the last few months. Over the years I have worked on and off as a cook. I have also worked a bit administering linux computer systems (really I haven't touched a Microsoft Windows based computer in over 12 years). I can do a little programming. I also spent 2 years building houses and (doing everything from excavation to finishing details). Another two years I was a professional window cleaner. Another two years I worked on an organic vegetable farm, selling things at farmers markets.

So, I'm not sure. I have various qualifications. Concerning teaching English, I was excited about this prospect and I do still hope this is an option.

Thank you John ^_^

Your issue will not be your wife or your unborn child which will have US citizenship through you (wherever it is born) but her 7 year old daughter which will need permission to leave the country from her father and you will need her father’s cooperation on that or an order from a family court, sorry to rain on your parade but all that is not going to happen in 4 months, seeing as for the next 2 months it will be difficult to get anything done.

nwdiver wrote:Your issue will not be your wife or your unborn child which will have US citizenship through you (wherever it is born) but her 7 year old daughter which will need permission to leave the country from her father and you will need her father’s cooperation on that or an order from a family court, sorry to rain on your parade but all that is not going to happen in 4 months, seeing as for the next 2 months it will be difficult to get anything done.

You are correct. But considering his situation, and considering his daughters current sitation, we believe that after talking to him this week he will realize that this is perhaps the best choice for her as well us as.

Josiah ben Paul wrote:I went to college for 2 years, though I didn't finish in the last few months. Over the years I have worked on and off as a cook. I have also worked a bit administering linux computer systems (really I haven't touched a Microsoft Windows based computer in over 12 years). I can do a little programming. I also spent 2 years building houses and (doing everything from excavation to finishing details). Another two years I was a professional window cleaner. Another two years I worked on an organic vegetable farm, selling things at farmers markets.

So, I'm not sure. I have various qualifications. Concerning teaching English, I was excited about this prospect and I do still hope this is an option.

Really bothers me to read stories like this one. Jack of all trades and master of none is more like it. As you can see there is a pattern in your life.... unfinished business.... and to top it all you'll soon be a father.
In this situation you'll be (in a sense) "better off" traveling by yourself to the US although your chances of finding a job there are very low. KMart and Sears are closing over 100 stores and unemployment still climbing. Your dilemma is not so much the different circumstances in your life but above everything, the fact that you don't complete a task to the end and you need to recognize it and do something about it. Stick with something that you really love and perfect it.
If you know how to cook and are able to make "cazuela" and "empanadas" it may be a job for you around the corner. The tables has been changed nowadays, it's not easy to be an unemployed immigrantI ought to know!Good luck to you!

Gloria wrote:

Josiah ben Paul wrote:I went to college for 2 years, though I didn't finish in the last few months. Over the years I have worked on and off as a cook. I have also worked a bit administering linux computer systems (really I haven't touched a Microsoft Windows based computer in over 12 years). I can do a little programming. I also spent 2 years building houses and (doing everything from excavation to finishing details). Another two years I was a professional window cleaner. Another two years I worked on an organic vegetable farm, selling things at farmers markets.

So, I'm not sure. I have various qualifications. Concerning teaching English, I was excited about this prospect and I do still hope this is an option.

Really bothers me to read stories like this one. Jack of all trades and master of none is more like it. As you can see there is a pattern in your life.... unfinished business.... and to top it all you'll soon be a father.
In this situation you'll be (in a sense) "better off" traveling by yourself to the US although your chances of finding a job there are very low. KMart and Sears are closing over 100 stores and unemployment still climbing. Your dilemma is not so much the different circumstances in your life but above everything, the fact that you don't complete a task to the end and you need to recognize it and do something about it. Stick with something that you really love and perfect it.
If you know how to cook and are able to make "cazuela" and "empanadas" it may be a job for you around the corner. The tables has been changed nowadays, it's not easy to be an unemployed immigrantI ought to know!Good luck to you!

You should avoid presumptions Gloria. The job market in the United States has always been hit or miss, especially for someone who is still young. Therefore my fallback work was always cooking. It's not that I didn't finish this work, it's only that I didn't want to be a cook for my entire life, but didn't mind doing this type of work when necessary.

I have been administering computer systems since I was a child. This isn't a career I chose but then failed to finish. I saw the job market for administrators and programmers being outsourced to other countries like India. So for someone considering 6+ years of University and then numerous years in internship all so I can compete with some Indian man for a 20k to 30k per year job was not something that interested me. Computers are my hobby, and I didn't want to see it turn into a chore because American ISV's didn't want to pay for educated American programmers/admins. So, this was not an arbitrary decision because of what you would call a pattern of failing to fulfill what I start.

I spent 2 years building houses when my sisters boyfriend asked for my help. Sounded like a good time, but when he left town and the new house economy crashed and builders with decades of experience were flipping burgers at McDonalds I made the decision not to continue in something where there was virtually no market for such skills.

Farming vegetables has always been a hobby/passion, so I wasn't pursuing a new "career" when I moved onto my friends farm. This was a difficult time of my life (for personal reasons) and I needed to get out of dodge for some time. When the farm couldn't support itself any longer, and we all had to move, I moved out with my friends. Again, this wasn't another failure for me to continue with things.

Let's see, Window Cleaning. I loved this job. I would have gladly continued. However my boss' business got shut down for money laundering and tax evasion. So unfortunately I wasn't able to continue doing this work.

So please, don't paint people in a negative light based on false presumptions about their life history. This isn't fair to them and it isn't fair to me.

Stephen

Josiah ben Paul wrote:You should avoid presumptions Gloria. The job market in the United States has always been hit or miss, especially for someone who is still young. Therefore my fallback work was always cooking. It's not that I didn't finish this work, it's only that I didn't want to be a cook for my entire life, but didn't mind doing this type of work when necessary.

I have been administering computer systems since I was a child. This isn't a career I chose but then failed to finish. I saw the job market for administrators and programmers being outsourced to other countries like India. So for someone considering 6+ years of University and then numerous years in internship all so I can compete with some Indian man for a 20k to 30k per year job was not something that interested me. Computers are my hobby, and I didn't want to see it turn into a chore because American ISV's didn't want to pay for educated American programmers/admins. So, this was not an arbitrary decision because of what you would call a pattern of failing to fulfill what I start.

I spent 2 years building houses when my sisters boyfriend asked for my help. Sounded like a good time, but when he left town and the new house economy crashed and builders with decades of experience were flipping burgers at McDonalds I made the decision not to continue in something where there was virtually no market for such skills.

Farming vegetables has always been a hobby/passion, so I wasn't pursuing a new "career" when I moved onto my friends farm. This was a difficult time of my life (for personal reasons) and I needed to get out of dodge for some time. When the farm couldn't support itself any longer, and we all had to move, I moved out with my friends. Again, this wasn't another failure for me to continue with things.

Let's see, Window Cleaning. I loved this job. I would have gladly continued. However my boss' business got shut down for money laundering and tax evasion. So unfortunately I wasn't able to continue doing this work.

So please, don't paint people in a negative light based on false presumptions about their life history. This isn't fair to them and it isn't fair to me.

Stephen

How ungrateful can you be! so many of us take the time to answer questions to help out. You need to understand that it takes away minutes of our lives when we could be doing something more important in our daily routine or simply we could say..." piss on you! manage on your own". But no, we do this for the simple reason of lending a hand to someone that may need guidance in a foreign land, advice that others would gladly pay just to get a breather in an ocean of despair.
Not you though. You think you have all the answers and justifications, never stopping to " listen" or quite down your mind to assimilate what you have been told.
You are not telling me anything different about the job market that I already don't know.I spent a great portion of my life in the so called "Land of the Free" and I still have deep roots there plus I read the daily news so I'm updated on what's going on but we decided to leave for obvious reasons.
I have been in Chile for almost 4 years and what we have accomplished in such a short time including a "cottage business" it deserves to be applauded so you need to pay attention, be less defensive and more appreciative. I could've help you with some good, wise and sound advice, but I won't waste my time any longer. I have a lot to do, enjoy and my time is precious so..................read above.