I have ADHD, but I also have an incredible appetite for intensely consuming paperwork where it directly impacts my life. For example, my ability to live in this country. Wanna know how it works for 'aliens'? Follow along on my paperwork journey!

As a Singapore national, I have a special work visa under the Free Trade Agreement. This is actually a HUGE plus. The quotas are never met, which means we don't have to go through the H1B lottery. This is step one. Getting the Department of Labor to give you a LCA document!

This LCA document is usually sent back to you in 7 days. You need a job offer, and you need your employer to sign this doc to get the LCA. It basically says they plan to pay you at the prevailing wage for that industry and location.

Before the LCA is sent to you, you need to paste copies of the LCA posting at the place you're going to work. This meant I pasted 2 copies of these, 13 pages each, at various places around my office. Fun.

While this LCA thing is happening, you can go and fill in details on the DS-160 form. This is VERY thorough and it depends very much on where you are applying. I pick Singapore, of course. https://ceac.state.gov/GenNIV/Default.aspx

This form is not easy to fill out. Now that I've done it a few times, I know what to expect. But it's still not easy. If you've ever filled out a tourist visa application, it's the same thing. But you pick a different category for work.

Since I am usually applying for myself and my spouse, we fill this out twice! Later, I can share a few details about how same sex couples can still apply for spousal visas from embassies in countries that don't recognize same sex marriage.

I know now to keep a Trello board open just with everything from this process. The DS-160 application number? Save it in Trello. For all applications. And keep saving the application, because the form will time out. Constantly!

It's unclear to first time applicants what happens after you complete the DS-160. That's because it depends on where you plan to visit the embassy. The info is all on another website! Fun. For me: https://www.ustraveldocs.com/sg/sg-niv-ds160info.asp

I now have to use another website ( http://ustraveldocs.com ) to schedule an appointment at the embassy. Here, they'll ask for your details (but less than the DS-160) and they'll ask you for your DS-160 application number.

You'll have to pay for the appointment. In Singapore, I have to use the payment portal run by the post office. In Malaysia, you have to use internet banking for certain banks. It's a mess.

At various points you have to put dummy application numbers just so the application forms don't break! I never remember where or what number. And have to refer to this https://medium.com/@Ashleylim/navigating-the-h1b1-visa-process-4c8e459c4b96

(Note: all of this is happening in spite of the fact that I have already paid an immigration attorney. They can help you with things Stateside but most do not know anything about the processes in embassies abroad.)

They certainly don't know, for example, that you have to put "ABC1234567890" when asked for a "Receipt Number" to schedule your appointment. It's just a dummy number you're supposed to use and know. I know now, coz it's not my first rodeo.

All in, all of this paperwork took around 10 days to complete. And now I have to wait a few hours for my payment to show up so I can finally book my embassy appointment. :)

As with so much of my immigration grievances, I know what we have to do is a significantly scaled down process compared to many others'. The embassy in SG @RedWhiteBlueDot is also very helpful and efficient.

In fact, a big reason why we're going home is because (1) it's so much faster there (2) I can eat chicken rice after that.

I do wonder how younger me might have navigated all of this paperwork, back when my ADHD struggles were significantly worse, when I could not even place a single document in a file and keep it there.

So even though Singapore does not recognize same sex marriages, if you are legally married somewhere else that does it (we went to New Zealand), the marriage certificate is recognized by the US embassy in Singapore.

That's actually why we came to San Francisco: my country wouldn't recognize our marriage, and my wife wasn't able to stay on somewhere she'd lived for a decade (Singapore).

It still doesn't shield you from the potentially homophobic micro-aggressions outside it, though. One time, we were going through security and the guards were like, what do you mean you're married?! And people came to stare at our docs.

In my experience, immigration attorneys are going to prep you with an inane amount of documents for your appointment. But this whole process is far simpler at the embassy, once you actually get there, I guess because we have good relations with the US.

The paperwork on the way there is the same, however. When I am filling it up, I often wonder someone with disabilities would be able to navigate all of this bureaucracy. It really isn't straightforward.

I have an Immigration Trello. It helps.

My wife thinks I should offer immigration and relocation consulting to other queer couples. We moved ourselves, our pets, got married and got work visas, in something like 6 weeks in 2018.

AND THEN WHEN YOU GET HERE. More paperwork awaits you! Tax season! Open enrollment where you'll have to figure out what health plan to get on! You'll be asked to nominate a 401K beneficiary for when you die! Pretty much immediately.

Not to mention: your credit score is zero when you arrive here from somewhere else. Look into: AMEX global transfer and Citibank global transfer programs, so you can switch to a US-issued card immediately. Otherwise, you'll not easily get a US card.

Your first tax year, you most likely won't be able to file taxes yourself, even with a SSN. So you'll need to get a professional to do it for you. ;/

I have so many logistical things in my brain that are really just filed under the 'I came to the US as an adult and now I know too many random things and tips', but I also know that younger me definitely would have missed all of it.

In a few weeks we get on a flight like this one: https://onemileatatime.com/11-passengers-worlds-longest-flight/

With significantly fewer people on it than usual. It'll be 16 hours, not 19, from SFO. Direct / non-stop flights only resumed a few months ago, and only premium economy and business class is available.

Thanks to my jet-setting past lives, I have so many random miles and points on various things that I was able to work out a trip back at a reasonable cost. But yeah, if we didn't absolutely have to go, we would not be traveling at all. Certainly not internationally.