u/Salty-Reserve970

Hi everyone! I’m posting on behalf of my mother, who is a civil engineer from Greece and is trying to move to the US for work.

She has 30 years of experience, has worked on major projects, and has two Master’s degrees, including one focused on seismic engineering/studies. She has recently started the process of getting her qualifications/certifications and willing to get licensed recognized in the US.

She has applied through LinkedIn, Indeed, Migrate Mate, etc., but so far hasn’t had much luck finding employers willing to sponsor a visa. She received interest from one company, but they required US certification first. Interestingly, she has received more interest from government/public-sector organizations than private companies.

She has a very long professional background and has worked on major projects, so we feel that her biggest obstacles are probably getting her qualifications recognized and finding an employer willing to deal with the immigration/sponsorship side, rather than lack of experience. Though she is fine and knows she might start as an Entry-Level.

If anyone here is an internationally trained civil/structural engineer who successfully moved to the US, or if you work in engineering recruiting/HR and have experience with visa sponsorship, I would really appreciate hearing about your experience.

I’m currently in the US on an F-1, so I’m trying to help her from here. I’m wondering if anyone has advice on what else we could do — for example, contacting engineering recruiters, Greek-American professional communities, companies with offices in both Greece and the US, or approaching firms directly.

Has anyone here gone through something similar as an internationally trained civil/structural engineer? What worked for you, and where would you recommend we look?

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I applied for my initial post-completion OPT on April 6

(regular processing, not Premium Processing) and I'm still waiting for a decision.

I had to leave the U.S. because of some important unexpected events so returning home wasn't really a choice.

I'm now thinking about returning to the U.S. while my OPT application is still pending, and I'm feeling pretty anxious about it.

Has anyone here re-entered the U.S. with a pending initial

OPT? What documents did CBP ask for? Did anyone have any issues, or was the process straightforward?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially if you traveled recently while your OPT was still pending.

Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I applied for my initial post-completion OPT (F1) on April 6 (regular processing, not Premium Processing) and I’m still waiting for a decision.

Ι had to leave the U.S. because of some important unexpected events so returning home wasn’t really a choice.

I’m now thinking about returning to the U.S. while my OPT application is still pending, and I’m feeling pretty anxious about it.

Has anyone here re-entered the U.S. with a pending initial OPT? What documents did CBP ask for? Did anyone have any issues, or was the process straightforward?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially if you traveled recently while your OPT was still pending.

Thanks.

I applied for my initial post-completion OPT (F1) on April 6(regular processing, not Premium Processing) and I’m still waiting for a decision.

Ι had to leave the U.S. because of some important unexpected events so returning home wasn’t really a choice.

I’m now thinking about returning to the U.S. while my OPT application is still pending, and I’m feeling pretty anxious about it.

Has anyone here re-entered the U.S. with a pending initial OPT? What documents did CBP ask for? Did anyone have any issues, or was the process straightforward?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially if you traveled recently while your OPT was still pending.

Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I applied for my initial post-completion OPT (F1) on April 6 (regular processing, not Premium Processing) and I’m still waiting for a decision.

Ι had to leave the U.S. because of some important unexpected events so returning home wasn’t really a choice.

I’m now thinking about returning to the U.S. while my OPT application is still pending, and I’m feeling pretty anxious about it.

Has anyone here re-entered the U.S. with a pending initial OPT? What documents did CBP ask for? Did anyone have any issues, or was the process straightforward?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially if you traveled recently while your OPT was still pending.

Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I applied for my initial post-completion OPT (F1) on April 6 (regular processing, not Premium Processing) and I’m still waiting for a decision.

Ι had to leave the U.S. because of some important unexpected events so returning home wasn’t really a choice.

I’m now thinking about returning to the U.S. while my OPT application is still pending, and I’m feeling pretty anxious about it.

Has anyone here re-entered the U.S. with a pending initial OPT? What documents did CBP ask for? Did anyone have any issues, or was the process straightforward?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially if you traveled recently while your OPT was still pending.

Thanks.

https://preview.redd.it/hrmtc83im8bh1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8fb541a9f50daef810f712725d4064deb809542

URGENT!

I’m trying to update my address on the USCIS portal, but it keeps giving me an error saying they are "unable to verify my address with the US Postal Service" and telling me to edit it. The thing is,I tried the exact, correct address, confirmed by and written exactly as it appears on USPS.COM Zip Code Lookup tool.

It's seems like a system glitch and not an issue with the addresses themselves.

Has anyone else dealt with this recently? There is an option to "ignore error," but I'm scared to click it because I don't want to trigger any weird things in their system. Any advice? Did someone bypass it and get the card to the new address without problem?

FYI I am waiting for OPT as F-1 student Form I-765 to be approved, right now the case is still under review and I would like to change the mailing address where the EAD card will be sent to.

Thanks