And the rest is history ...
The Vermont Service Center of USCIS reports processing of I-129 applications filed last spring. Thus, quite a bit of idle time without substantial progress is expected. It seems to be perfect time to reflect on how it all started.
Jul 14 - a dear friend of mine found a job ad published by a bodyshop. The friend was very excited about the opportunity while I was reluctant to consider it seriously. Nevertheless, I sent my CV just in case. I should say I had an offer from another bodyshop a couple of years ago so I was curious how different it could be this time.
Jul 15 - the company proposed to conduct phone screening. I decided I needed at least a week to review the low-level details typically raised during technical interviews. I spent evenings that week skimming classical books on diverse technologies I had not dealt with for some time.
Jul 23 - a technical interview on the phone. The good news was that my friend who had had his interview a week before told me about key areas so I knew what to prepare for (well, I admit the content of Ant build files and the servlet lifecycle where pretty much blurred in my mind). The inevitable bad news was that the Indian interviewer was stunningly difficult to understand. For the first time in my life I could not understand someone speaking English and on more than one occasion.
Jul 27 - an offer received. Basically, it took them 3 working days to make up their mind. The contract was pretty much austere. Apart from the salary, a few pages were dedicated solely to the scourges which a breach of the agreement would incur on me. All the benefits were listed in a separate ��company policy’ which, unsurprisingly, was not legally binding.
Having pondered on the situation I attempted to negotiate a better deal but miserably failed. Hardly anything else could be expected taking into account the lack of leverage on my side. I was repeatedly hurried up by the company. They affirmed that there was urgency but I tended to perceive those warnings as a classical negotiating ruse.
In a sense, I felt I was doing something questionable without paying enough attention to the strategic consequences. It is one thing to yearn for work or life abroad and another to actually make it come true. I was almost desperate in my mental thrashing.
Aug 05 - I had an interesting discussion with a person referred to me by the company. He introduced himself as a software engineer from CA (originally also from Moscow). He told me so many good things about the bodyshop (in comparison with the others he had had business with) that I almost decided he was a disguised company employee :)
Aug 07 - a somewhat mysterious situation took place that day. An insurmountable inclination made me visit the office on Sunday. I find the idea of explaining why I went there and prepared copies of all the necessary documents completely baffling.
In the evening, I reflected on the situation. I had the papers ready and a spare FedEx envelope but I still was not sure if I were going to send the documents. All in all, it was a nerve-racking evening but I proclaimed ��What the heck!’, signed the contract and decided to send it first thing in the morning.
Aug 08 - the document package sent via FedEx. As a free gift I found that there was the only FedEx office in Moscow from which a receiver-paid package could be sent.
Aug 09 - I received a frantic call from the bodyshop. They bluntly declared that unless my documents were to arrive I would be out of the race. The funny thing was that I could not believe that the situation was grave to such an extent. Nevertheless, I assured the caller that my package was coming.
Aug 10 - 2006 H-1B Visa Cap reached (as it turned out later). Simultaneously, my application reached INS. Later, INS announced that a kind of a lottery would be performed on the applications filed on the last day. Consequently, it remained to be seen if the application had been successful.
I should admit the suspense was substantial. A colleague of mind (the one who originally hinted at the bodyshop) was trying to obtain a visa through another bodyshop and by the moment he negotiated what he wanted it had been over just like that.
Aug 20 - USCIS confirmed that my application had been accepted for processing, EAC number was provided for online case status checks.
Jul 14 - a dear friend of mine found a job ad published by a bodyshop. The friend was very excited about the opportunity while I was reluctant to consider it seriously. Nevertheless, I sent my CV just in case. I should say I had an offer from another bodyshop a couple of years ago so I was curious how different it could be this time.
Jul 15 - the company proposed to conduct phone screening. I decided I needed at least a week to review the low-level details typically raised during technical interviews. I spent evenings that week skimming classical books on diverse technologies I had not dealt with for some time.
Jul 23 - a technical interview on the phone. The good news was that my friend who had had his interview a week before told me about key areas so I knew what to prepare for (well, I admit the content of Ant build files and the servlet lifecycle where pretty much blurred in my mind). The inevitable bad news was that the Indian interviewer was stunningly difficult to understand. For the first time in my life I could not understand someone speaking English and on more than one occasion.
Jul 27 - an offer received. Basically, it took them 3 working days to make up their mind. The contract was pretty much austere. Apart from the salary, a few pages were dedicated solely to the scourges which a breach of the agreement would incur on me. All the benefits were listed in a separate ��company policy’ which, unsurprisingly, was not legally binding.
Having pondered on the situation I attempted to negotiate a better deal but miserably failed. Hardly anything else could be expected taking into account the lack of leverage on my side. I was repeatedly hurried up by the company. They affirmed that there was urgency but I tended to perceive those warnings as a classical negotiating ruse.
In a sense, I felt I was doing something questionable without paying enough attention to the strategic consequences. It is one thing to yearn for work or life abroad and another to actually make it come true. I was almost desperate in my mental thrashing.
Aug 05 - I had an interesting discussion with a person referred to me by the company. He introduced himself as a software engineer from CA (originally also from Moscow). He told me so many good things about the bodyshop (in comparison with the others he had had business with) that I almost decided he was a disguised company employee :)
Aug 07 - a somewhat mysterious situation took place that day. An insurmountable inclination made me visit the office on Sunday. I find the idea of explaining why I went there and prepared copies of all the necessary documents completely baffling.
In the evening, I reflected on the situation. I had the papers ready and a spare FedEx envelope but I still was not sure if I were going to send the documents. All in all, it was a nerve-racking evening but I proclaimed ��What the heck!’, signed the contract and decided to send it first thing in the morning.
Aug 08 - the document package sent via FedEx. As a free gift I found that there was the only FedEx office in Moscow from which a receiver-paid package could be sent.
Aug 09 - I received a frantic call from the bodyshop. They bluntly declared that unless my documents were to arrive I would be out of the race. The funny thing was that I could not believe that the situation was grave to such an extent. Nevertheless, I assured the caller that my package was coming.
Aug 10 - 2006 H-1B Visa Cap reached (as it turned out later). Simultaneously, my application reached INS. Later, INS announced that a kind of a lottery would be performed on the applications filed on the last day. Consequently, it remained to be seen if the application had been successful.
I should admit the suspense was substantial. A colleague of mind (the one who originally hinted at the bodyshop) was trying to obtain a visa through another bodyshop and by the moment he negotiated what he wanted it had been over just like that.
Aug 20 - USCIS confirmed that my application had been accepted for processing, EAC number was provided for online case status checks.
posted by Nick at 5:33 AM
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