Preparations in Europe

(Jani Hursti, Finland; 1996, partly based on Paal Kristoffersen, Norway and Jesus Cruz, Spain; 1995 )

Hey, congratulations! Seems like you have been the lucky one to get a dream job at HP! So, the purpose of this little chapter in our guide is to help you really make it a dream before it turns into a nightmare. Because, before you can start your job, you have to get to the U.S. and the following has some advice about what to do before you travel and what can go wrong, 'cause when things go wrong, they REALLY can go wrong. So sit down, relax, and prepare yourself. All the following examples have happened before, which does not mean that they will happen to you. But it does NOT either mean that the people arranging these things have learned from the mistakes, and you don't have to worry about them anymore.

So what can possibly go wrong? Well the first thing might be that you are right now firmly seated in some HP office in the U.S. reading this guide because no-one remembered to give the paper copy or the URL to you before. That would not be such a surprise. But if you're still in Europe, you're one of the lucky ones and the following is just for you.

Things to do while still in Europe:

1. Get a passport (surprise!). Seriously, get one, and get one that is valid for long enough time. So if you have a passport that is only valid for the summer, it just might be that you will not be accepted to the U.S. It depends on the country, but generally the passport should still be valid at least a year AFTER you have left the U.S. And if your passport is not valid for long enough time, change it. And now comes the hard part; in case you have already given your passport information to the personnel contact in your home country and you need to change it because you gave incorrect information or changed your passport, make sure that they get the information, AND it goes all the way to whoever writes your visa application forms. It would not be a surprise if you will receive visa application forms that arrive so late that you will have a lot of trouble of getting your visa in time, AND they still have a passport number from a passport that never existed or is no longer valid because you changed it!
2. Get your J-1 visa from your American embassy. In some countries this might be the hardest part, not only because of the bureaucrats, but also because you don't receive your application forms in time. So you basically have two choices. March boldly into the embassy demanding to get your visa and get kicked out, or get some help. Sometimes you need muscle and money with these guys and either HP or some travel agency will be able to get the visa for you much faster and easier than you would on your own.
3. If you intend to drive a car, a drivers license is not such a bad idea. If you have an international license or an American one, good. If you don't…it does not matter, depending on what kind of a card you have and if the officer who caught you for speeding is on a good mood. But just the European date format makes these guys do somersaults. Your local automobile club might be able to write you a piece of paper that will show that your license is valid for driving in the U.S.
4. A major credit card is absolutely a must. So although you don't intend to buy anything and try to survive by eating grass, bring a credit card. Just for the safety, in case you land on a foreign country with just your luggage and nowhere to go. If you stay in a hotel, rent a car or do anything where you don't pay right away, a credit card will be required. You won't get anything until they get some account to charge in case you mysteriously disappear.
5. Bring a dictionary. Especially if you don't feel too sure about the language.
6. And some cash. Just in case they have an earthquake or a major blackout and nothing works.
7. Food! It's a long flight, and you know the airline food. You can't take any food through the customs (a word of warning), but nothing is as good as a slice of pizza while all the others are starving after the "meatballs".

OK, now that we have all the necessary items gathered, time to do some other arrangements:

Do you intend to bring your girlfriend or your wife or some other family members with you? Well, start arranging their airline tickets fast or you might have to a) pay, and pay even more b) forget it. It's summertime and all the flights are full. (Especially if some goofball tries to arrange Olympic games during the same summer ). So start planning their flights really early. The only problem you might have is that you have no idea where you're going. It sometimes takes forever to get some confirmation about your destination from HP, and I'm telling you; it's extremely hard to get (cheap) airline tickets if you don't know your destination. Again, don't be surprised if your girlfriend is on her way to San Francisco while you are flying to Denver.

An important thing should be making your arrangements for arriving in USA. Try to talk to your supervisor at the U.S. HP and make sure he/she knows you're arriving (yup, you cannot be sure about anything, this has happened). It is usually your manager who arranges you some accommodation in the U.S. so make sure he/she REALLY understands that you don't want to sleep in a tent and he/she SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Once you have the room/ apartment/ condo/ house/ tent/ barn/ cubicle, find out your address in USA or at least the address of the HP site you'll be working in.

Imagine this. You have all the stuff you need, you have called your manager, and he/she has promised you that everything has been arranged and there will be someone to pick you up at the airport. Sounds good. Yeah, sure. Time to get real.

The worst thing that can happen? I can imagine a lot of bad things, but let's just take one example out of real life. You arrive to the U.S., go to the immigration officer and he gets the idea that you are coming from some country near Zimbabwe, and your visa is no longer valid. There you go. No visa, no access. Back to where you came from.

Or you get out of the airport, but there is no-one waiting for you. So where do you go?

To avoid all the trouble always make a plan B. What is a plan B? Plan B is

1. Your managers phone number, home, work, and mobile. If you really end up having trouble, HP should have enough muscle to get you out of it.
2. A hotel nearby where people will find you if you have not arrived to work next morning.

And if you are on the airport, totally lost, take a taxi or rent a car and drive to the address that is in your visa form and try to get a room in a hotel nearby. Don't worry about the money, in this case HP will pay it back (remember to get a receipt!).

Phew, finally in the office. It is over, OK, safe. Not. The next thing that can go wrong is that the person you meet and the one you have planned your trip with is not your manager. Because of some mix-up, they have decided to move you to a totally different location and a different project. Or they have just yesterday given the project that was meant for you, to someone else and will have to figure out something else for you to do (like sorting the papers or answering the phone).

So try to figure out on the first day, what your real project is and make sure that you get signatures to all the necessary papers and that you receive all the necessary stuff from HP. For example you should receive your Medical Coverage ID Card. Your manager might have it on his/her desk in an envelope just waiting for you but has thought that is just some junk mail from corporate again and has not bothered opening it.

So, welcome to the U.S., have a pleasant trip, good luck and may the force be with you (you'll need it ).