I m Turkish and live in Turkey. I might move to Los Angeles soon to be with my guy (he and I are talking about getting married.) We re probably going to live in/around West Hollywood/Pasadena/LA Canada.I am 24-years-old, little taller than 5 2 and 92lbs (some job positions like Receptionist requires a certain height/weight standard - that s why I m giving this little info-) have 6 years of tourism and hotel education. I still study psychology in college but I will give a break if I move to LA. I worked in an international 5 star hotel for 12 months in total as an intern. I currently work as a sketch writer for a TV show, a film critic, and I volunteer for Unicef and Amnesty International. I am fluent in English but I have a little dysgraphia (a writing disability) problem so I assume I would not have a good shot at a writing job until I make some friends from the field in LA. I don t have a driving license. I can speak English, Turkish, French and a little bit Italian. I took acting classes in the past. What kind of jobs I can apply to? I mean, I guess I can apply to all kind of jobs but who would hire me? My guy works from 9am-6pm week days and have the weekends off - I would like to be with him when he s not at work. It would be great if you can give me the names/links of the best online job listing websites from Los Angeles.
Until you marry your guy and he applies for a marriage visa for you you cannot look for work in the USA. At all. The process takes about 8 months to a year.To sponsor you for immigration he has to be able to support you without working. Because there are about 1,000,000 unemployed people in the LA area now with skilles equal to or greater than yours. It may take you 1-2 years to find a job.And here in the USA, unless the emp0loyer can prove a special need for height and weight, it is quite illegal for them to require certain height and weight from an employee. The fire and police departments can require certain height but few private employers can.
three words ... DON T MOVE HERE!!! If that sounds cold, so be it.
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First off I would go to the US Embassy in Ankara and check out what you need to do to get a tourist visa. (110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara). Visit your boy friend first and see if you even like LA...If you do then you can climb up the visa chain...(there are a lot of hoops you have to jump through). Your training and experience seem to be the things normally in demand in LA, so I am optimistic that with effort YOU CAN DO THIS.....You sound like the type of person that anyone would want to have in their country..
Just have your boyfriend go to Turkey and marry you. You will then be expedited to the front of the immigration bureaucracy and be a citizen by marriage and be able to work anywhere you want.Don t come here without being married and think you can get a job without a work visa. It doesn t work that way. You said you were a student. Can you get a J-1 visa? If so you can come here during the summer and work for only four months. Maybe during those four months you and your boyfriend will get sick of each other or fall madly in love and get married. At least the J-1 visa will give you 120 days to sort things out.
First off, if you are not a legal resident of the US, you need a VISA and all the proper paperwork and that process can take YEARS!!Second, did you ever consider the fact that LA is not the cheapest place in the world?Coastal California is the MOST COVETED area which means MORE $$$.Affordability does not exist in Los Angeles. Starting prices begin at around $1000+/mo. and that s usually for a studio in a somewhat decent area.Jobs are also nonexistent at the moment. Unemployment rates have jumped to 13% so good luck finding a job. Even if you find a job, that job will barely pay the rent (or not even come close to paying the rent.)Keep in mind you do NEED to buy groceries, hygiene products, clothes, emergency money, gas, electric, water, insurance, car, etc.Speaking of cars, you NEED a car in order to live in Los Angeles. The insurance for the car is not going to be cheap since the rate in Los Angeles are high and the gas prices are going to make you want to move back to your hometown.Bottom Line: You sound unprepared so my best suggestion for you is don t even bother moving to California because we already have a crisis going on and people like you are just contributing to the problem.
Most people who ask this question are unprepared, unrealistic, with no money, no experience, no skills, (no visa), and no plan.If you are outside the United States, you will need a visa. The nice folks in the immigration forum can help you with that. Currently, there is a HUGE waiting list.Next, you need a plan: First item on the agenda is rent. A decent 1BR apartment in LA currently goes for $1200, give or take. Nicer areas and areas closer to the beach are much higher. Don t expect to move to Santa Monica and get an apartment on the beach for that much. Or Toluca Lake, or Beverly Hills. Next, you will need a car. Los Angeles is VERY spread out, and train service is extremely limited. If you don t have a car, you will have to take a bus, which takes 3 times longer to get anywhere than a car. All told, it generally takes about $3,000 per month to live here. If you don t have a job that pays that much or skills that can get you that kind of job, stay where you are. If you are unskilled and work for minimum wage (or for tips like bartending or waiting tables), you ll only make about $1200 per month. And speaking of jobs, they are rather hard to come by now. College grads seeking employment are having a very tough time of it right now, since the job market is flooded with experienced people who were laid off. Unemployment is over 12% right now. Not exactly the kind of job market you want to move into.Finally, you will need money. Landlords want first month s rent and a security deposit up front. You ll need money for food, transportation, utilities, etc. The consensus in this forum is that you need about $7500 to start out.So there s your plan. And please don t tell us that you have dreams of being an actor or writer. That sets off another alarm. We already have a million (literally) wannabe actors/writers/singers in this town. Don��t even get me started.Re-reading your question, I think that you really need to check up on this guy. It s very easy for someone to be nice and romantic on the Internet, then be controlling and abusive in real life. We see it all the time on the news. People come here, and get stranded. If your BF is thinking about living in WeHo or La Ca?ada, those are VERY expensive places to live. He must have a lot of money. Before you even think of moving here, run a background check on this guy. It will be worth the $40 if it saves your life.