My journey of permanent residence in the United States began in the spring of 2022, when I came to visit my friends on a tourist visa. As with the UK, it was not my first visit to this country as a tourist or for work. In April, the United States adopted a government programme for Ukrainians who were officially in the United States on the date of the adoption of this act to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS). I was able to stay in the US on a tourist visa for up to 6 months, but in fact, I had no desire to acquire this status.
As a lawyer, I knew very well that by obtaining this status, I would be stuck in the US, with restrictions on travel (this is especially important for me, as I am used to travelling very often). Nevertheless, I applied for Temporary Protected Status together with an application for a work permit and a travel parole.
For the first time, I applied through an immigration lawyer who was recommended to me by my friends in the United States. It took me 8 months to receive my documents in 2022 and I was given a gift before Christmas that year.
So far, I have applied for extension of my status several times on my own, since when I first created an online account with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the applicant (the owner of the account) always has the case files and/or submitted documents.
After obtaining the documents, especially the work permit, I have had and still have experience of official work in the United States and all employers ask first of all about the need to obtain such a permit without involving the potential employer in the decision. Regarding the extension of my TPS status, it is rather a matter of the necessity of the current choice that was made earlier, and I understand the changes to this and the consequences of these changes.
From the beginning of my move, I lived in Florida, and the search for an apartment at that time was not very easy, because the prices for apartments at that time were rising overnight, because there was a great demand not only from Ukrainians who moved because of the respective situation in Ukraine, but also from the respective migration within the United States. In fact, without the help of friends, it is very difficult to rent an apartment even in Florida (compared to other states, Florida is quite democratic in this regard), but I had a guarantor.
I lived in Florida for 2.5 years and moved to another state. This question is related only to my subjective point of view, because for many years I thought that I really liked warm or hot climates, but living in Florida, it is very clear that this is not my place to live.
Choosing a state is a very difficult question, because in the US, each state is like a micro-state, and they are very different from each other. I chose the state of Massachusetts and the city of Boston (I really enjoyed being there as a tourist and for sightseeing) and moved there in autumn 2024.
On this occasion, I highly recommend travelling around the USA (it’s not a cheap pleasure) and if you are here try to understand Americans if you are in this country. For me, being authentic and preserving Ukrainian culture is important, but it doesn’t mean ‘imposing’ this culture on other countries, and the verb doesn’t really correlate with the word ‘preserve’.
Writing this article from Boston, I have no regrets at all in terms of my move, but it is a very subjective decision and if you need a more detailed explanation, I will be happy to share it with you. Honestly, I was influenced by the fact that walking is important to me, the quality and choice of food is different, and I actually missed the different seasons, so Florida is not a good state for me, in terms of climate, let alone work.
After Florida, this is a question I get asked a lot, and I can say that I have travelled a lot and I am very close to Europe (lifestyle, habits), and even Americans sometimes say that this city is the closest to Europe.
In addition, 2 world universities are located here (Harvard University and MIT), and this also greatly influences the lifestyle in the city in general. Having lived in the US for 3 years now, I’ve been working online all the time, first for Ukraine, and now in the US. For my current work, my UK degree was very useful, as the legal systems between the two countries are similar, and therefore I have the opportunity to simply take the bar exam in the relevant US state.
One of the areas of work in the US is to help our Ukrainians with various issues that arise during their stay in America, working with documents and providing consulting services.
