British Columbia - closest border to US - Peace Arch Border Crossing

I remember leaving San Francisco to go back to Calgary after the interviews. I remember feeling like I was a completely new individual. I had seen a glimpse at something amazing and I had to have it. I couldn’t go back to just being who I was. I had to find a way to be in the Bay Area in California.

When I arrived back in Calgary, I also had to go back to work. I arrived on Monday and went straight to my next client. I kept checking my hotmail account to see if I received any news from the new company. I did! It was great news! The company wanted to hire me. They were working out the details for my starting date and my salary. The international recruiting manager let me know that they would be sending me an offer letter in the mail and through email. When I received the offer letter through email, I was to print it out and fax the acceptance letter to them, so that they could start the visa process. I got the offer letter in my inbox the next day and immediately faxed it to them. That’s when I made some big mistakes!

After faxing the acceptance letter and receiving confirmation from the US firm that they had received it and that the visa process was on the way, very early the next morning, I walked into the Office Managing Partner’s office and handed him my two-week resignation notice. I had been nervous about handing him the letter but the surprise on his face was well worth it. He accepted my resignation and said: “I hope you find what you’re looking for”. He had no idea!

Of course, quitting the firm wasn’t the big mistake, but the timing was. At the time, I didn’t realize what was involved to legally begin working in the US – having an offer letter isn’t necessarily enough. So, I was very surprised to learn that after having given in my two-week resignation, my visa could still be rejected and I still had to wait to receive a Social Security Number before I could begin work. Little did I know that this could take weeks and in some cases months – many, many months!

That’s when I moved to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada so that I could be closest to the nearest location in the US that gives out Social Security Numbers, Seattle, Washington. Then the arduous task of waiting and traveling back and forth to Washington began!