Things We Should Have Known Before Immigrating to the United States (otherwise known as "That is why we started this website.")

The seed. The Big Why. The reason behind the creation and invention of something. And this is ours.

Our Origin Story
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Disclosure

This page may contain affiliate banners and links, which means that if you purchase through them, we may receive a commission (or compensation of some kind) AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU. You may read the full disclosure here.

THIS IS THE “START HERE PAGE” WHERE WE TALK ABOUT THE WHY WE CREATED THIS SITE, WHO THE TARGET AUDIENCE IS AND WHAT IS OUR ANGLE ON COMMONLY DISCUESSED TOPICS.

FIRST OF ALL, DO WE REALLY HAVE TO MIGRATE?

It is human nature, regardless of culture and race, to hope for a better life.

All immigrants, us included,  not only hoped and dreamt of a better life for ourselves and our families, but we acted on these concepts. Powered by hope, we strived to achieve the dream by whatever resources and opportunities that are available to us.

Therefore, if we think that “the hope and the dream” can be fulfilled in the next city, beyond the mountains, or across the oceans – off we go!

Which place promises freedom, democracy, equality, and stable economy?

Personally, it could be ANY place and ANY country as long as it can provide and sustain said dream and hope for a better life“.

By God’s grace, we do not have to resort to unsafe and dangerous methods to “find the dream”. It was the United States of America for us, by virtue of a family petition visa – a wait time of 22 years. 

WHY DID WE CREATE THIS (UIM) WEBSITE? 

With more than two decades of waiting, you would think that we were super prepared.

NOPE! Not at all! 

This is partly because of the touch-and-go situation of our visa. Our visas were delayed for many years due to events that happened, the main one being the 9/11 World Trade Center tragedy which changed many of the immigration guidelines. 

As a result, our preparation was protracted for years and years.  Until it came to a point when our attitude had become AHHH, WE STILL HAVE MUCH TIME TO PREPARE. 

(Yeah, right! 🙄)

To prepare for our future life in the United States, all we can do was to have “informal research”, such as the following:

    • asking family and friends about their personal experiences
    • taking cues from TV shows and movies
    • the news
    • reading books, magazine articles 
    • and a few blogs.

During that period of time, there were very few first-person articles of immigrant experiences available to us. 

Personally, I was disappointed. I had hoped to read from real experiences from which I could learn from. (Or possibly, I did not look hard enough?🧐)

We came very much UNPREPARED.

And that’s why, as I have mentioned in ABOUT ME page, if I have a chance to help prepare one immigrant by sharing my experiences, I would.

Now, I am a pair of boots on the ground. As such, I will strive to do my part to help those who are coming to the US (or are new immigrants to the US) by telling them about our journey as immigrants ourselves.

Cartoon face of Unauthorized Momsense
We have learned from the ones who came before us...

THINGS I WISH I KNEW BEFORE COMING OVER

I was excited to immigrate. But, I had many doubts and hesitations that held my excitement in check. 

Even today, I still have many fears that need reassurance and there are questions that beg for answers. But big thanks to those questions, they birthed this blog. 

Ta-da! Welcome to Unauthorized, Immigrant Momsense!  

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

What's in a name? Unauthorized Immigrant Momsense

Now, let’s discuss the site name. What a weird and awkward name for a website, you may say. 

Unauthorized Immigrant Momsense

Yes, you are reading it right! Take note of the comma AFTER Unauthorized. 

It is not  Unauthorized Immigrant, Momsense  

This site does not make fun or make light of or deride the status of other immigrants.

Simply put, this site is from an immigrant mom’s point of view (aka, MOMSENSE) and she is dispensing this information although nobody deputized her. Hence, unauthorized. 

This mom is a chatterbox on a (self-proclaimed) mission 😉.

WHAT CAN YOU READ HERE?

Unauthorized Immigrant Momsense showcases the very topics I wanted to have read years ago, preferably before my family and I came over. 

Hindsight is 20/20, we could have made many crucial decisions differently had we more prepared. 

So many what ifs, perhaps and should haves could have been avoided. 

So, if you are a new immigrant or someone waiting for your visa to come through, read up here on topics about saving, earning, investing, staying out of debt and life in general AS AN IMMIGRANT in this great United States of America. 

I hope to bring you stories of real-life immigrant struggles.

Right here!

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WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT OUR ANGLE?

Why should you read us? 

First, you must be a new (or incoming) immigrant looking for answers and information.

Second, Unauthorized Immigrant Momsense aims to present topics with THE IMMIGRANT in mind.

Those are 2 reasons already. 

Many articles written about life in this United States are helpful. However, most of them are directed to the natural born American or the longtime immigrants.

The new and incoming immigrants like we were (and you are now) get lost in the translation and transmission of information when reading some of these articles.

Take this illustration below, for example.

When searching for articles on “how to save money”, there are many things that are not applicable to the new and incoming immigrants.

Guide for new immigrants about saving money

What’s a student loan? What’s a refinance a mortgage? Membership to a gym?

Many articles for example, of common topics like saving money, assume that everyone knows the reference of each talking point.

Not every new immigrant. No.

For this reason, Unauthorized Immigrant Momsense curates information and provides relevant articles with the immigrant angle. 

We will try our very best to add topics in as many subjects as possible with the hope that there is something here for the new immigrant. 

And by the way, this website is NOT FOR EVERY IMMIGRANT. Yes, you read it right. 

WHY IS THIS SITE NOT FOR EVERY IMMIGRANT?

There are  immigrants who DO NOT NEED the topics and information we have on this site.

The people who had been coming here for vacations and then decided to stay for good, as immigrants – no they do not need the information we present. These immigrants already have the needed information they need, perhaps even more than we could present on this site.

Plus, most likely, they have money to spare for when they make costly mistakes. 

They do not need topics on saving money. They do not need to learn about about Finance 101. They do not need articles about frugal living and repurposing things.

Maybe, they we should all be learning from them instead.

WHO IS OUR TARGET AUDIENCE?

This blog is dedicated to YOU, the new immigrant who:
 
        • Do not have money to burn, therefore, you need resources on how to earn and save and who wants to know the most efficient way of doing things.
        • You are steadfast in your pursuit of the betterment of your life and the future of future generations of your family that you appreciate any idea-sparker.
        • Endeavors to be of service to your fellowmen, regardless of social standing, color, creed, and race – be a good and useful citizen.
        • Is proud of the heritage and culture of their birth and origin and celebrate the uniqueness of these alongside the ethos of other people.

Even one, just ONE new immigrant that will be helped by this site is already good enough.

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WHAT ARE THE LEGAL PAGES ON THIS SITE?

Right off the bat I said, I am an unauthorized chatterbox. Should you need expert advice on finance, health, etc., you need to contact a professional. 

On this site, we do not give out professional advice but general information only, and our personal experiences.

If we may suggest something on any of the posts, you have every right to do further research on them. You have all the right to reject any or all of them, if it is not to your liking.

The following legal pages dictate how you and UIM must behave on this site:

TERMS AND CONDITION 

The Terms and Conditions page governs how you will use our site and how to behave while perusing our posts and pages. Go to the page for the full information.

DISCLAIMERS AND DISCLOSURES

The Disclaimers and Disclosures page is there to state how we earn, what we earn, that we have partners, that technology is used to track your usage and behaviors while on our site. Go to the page for full information.
 

PRIVACY POLICY

The Privacy Policy page is there to state that we value the privacy of  everyone, most especially, the children. Go to the page for full information.

The page also state how we collect data from you and why and how we use those data. Go the the page for full information.

AN Invitation TO CONNECT
Tips for Immigrants from an Immigrant

Learning is a lifelong journey, whether we are immigrants or not. And it is best done when there is more knowledge to go around.

In the spirit of sharing knowledge to enrich and help equip each other, and the other new and incoming immigrants, I invite you to connect with us and let us build a community.

We, (my team and I) are thinking of other avenues where we could share knowledge better and faster. 

One of these things is an email newsletter and we want you not to miss a post or an update.

Thank you for stopping by.

SHORTCUTS TO SPECIFIC TOPICS

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Picture of MOMSENSE Maria
MOMSENSE Maria

Maria is just a chatterbox (on a mission.😋)

NO ONE AUTHORIZED her to spew all this MOMSENSE, but she is a complicated cat and so she feels that she must. Be advised and take a spoonful of salt for every opinionated post you read here. And please, please consult a professional for individualized advice on life-altering decisions.

Picture of MOMSENSE Maria
MOMSENSE Maria

Maria is just a chatterbox (on a mission.😋) NO ONE AUTHORIZED her to spew all this MOMSENSE, but she is a complicated cat and so she feels that she must. Be advised and take a spoonful of salt for every opinionated post you read here. And please, please consult a professional for individualized advice on life-altering decisions.

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Tips for Immigrants from an Immigrant
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