The work visa saga continues

The good news is all my work visa paper worked passed the cultural office. The bad news is my medical report forms where rejected by consulate. The doctor that conducted my physical exam here in Portland has a simplistic stamp. "ROBERT CROUSE M.D." It does not include his licence number and clinical address. For this reason my medical papers where sent back to be corrected and then send back to the consulate for review again. 

Now I have to go down to Oregon Medical Board office on Monday and hand deliver the stuff, fill out a request to verify my doctors licence (to confirm he is a real doctor) and then send it back to the consulate. This is going to delay me at least 1-2 weeks and cost me close to $100 more, which is going to be really hard right now. Well keep on keeping on, right? Ill keep you all up to date.

Recieved my authorization letter today.

I finally received my authorization letter today and my official final contract. I have been waiting on these things for months, since before I even started this blog. Now I have to take my collection of notarized paper work, certificates, licences, letters, college transcripts, ect... and have some of them notarized by the notary office who verifies my notary is real. This makes no sense to me, but a lot of this process does not make a lot of sense.

       Then in a couple days I send all of this off with the signed paper work I received today to my Visa handler in DC. From there I will find out what documents the visa handler accepts and what he does not. Anything the visa handler rejects will need to be redone to there standard. In some cases this can take only a few days, in others it can take a couple months. I am hoping I have learned from Aaron's mistakes and that all my paper work will be approved quickly. After  my visa handler approves my papers and grants me a work visa, the only thing left to do is wait for my plane tickets to arrive. Ill keep you all up to date

The waiting game

I was able to reach someone with the SRCA since my last blog post. Apparently my file had just been sitting around and needed someone to sign off on it. Now that my paper work was signed off my file has been reviewed by the SRCA committee and sent to the HR dept. to get my official offer and authorization letter ready to be sent. It has been 2 weeks since it landed on the HR desk and no news yet. If there is one thing I am learning and anyone else interested in pursuing this should learn, its extreme patience.... I applied to the SRCA in early December 2009 and I am guessing I wont be in country until at least June 2010.

As previously stated by me, the last thing I require to apply for my work visa is the authorization letter from my employer. The work visa itself will be a whole other amazing journey that can take as little as a week or as long as 2 months. After my work visa is approved I should be "good to go." 

Updates from the ground are positive. Aaron has told me they are taking good care of him his living conditions are good, he is getting paid on time, everyone has been friendly, but it sounds like patience remains a key factor when arriving in country also. He is very slowly processing into the system. 

Sorry I have not updated my blog much, but there has been no information to update it with. I will make a regular habit of keeping everyone up to date on a weekly basis if possible or when something major changes. For now I hope "slow and steady wins the race" and soon!

Hurry up and wait

I have been waiting for my "authorization letter" to come since my last blog post. It is the only thing left I need to apply for my work visa. I have obtained my passport and completed all my medical labs/exams. I was told I should have it "very soon"

My friend Aaron (the other Oregon medic) got his plane tickets and will be flying over April 7th! Congratulations Aaron!

Aaron's travel date is less than a week away and even though its not me, the reality of this whole situation is starting to sink in. Hopefully Aaron and I can be room mates and he can give me a report once his boots hit the ground in Saudi. I will update everyone once I get my authorization letter or work visa. If you haven't done so please join my blog as a follower it increases its popularity.

Received My Preliminary Job Offer

I was beginning to doubt if I would get this job. I have kept it a secret from most my friends because Kuwait did not work out, but after months of back and forth communication, gathering documents from employers, medical licenses, college transcripts, and fingerprints, I finally received my preliminary job offer today from the Saudi Red Crescent Authority(SRCA). The SRCA is the ambulance agency in Ryahd Saudi Arabia. I found the offer very fare and accepted it. I should receive a hard copy in the mail coming fed-ex soon. This is when I will confront my first obstacle. The package with the hard copy will also include the things I will need to mail for my work visa which includes....

1. I have to complete a physical from a U.S. doctor and $500 USD worth of x-rays, labs, and test. This will all be out of pocket to me.

2. The next big hurdle will be obtaining a passport, I can expedite the passport, but this is also going to cost me big, $200 USD big.

3. $60 USD criminal background check and fingerprints. (I have already done this!)

4. The rest of it should not cost me much since my friend is a notary and includes many notarized copy's of letters from all employers in the past 5 years, sealed college transcripts, color notarized copy's of all licenses and certificates, ect.

I am going to have to go out on a limb with this one and roll the dice. My unemployment is about to run out, I have not had a full time job in over a year and I need this. On the plus side it will also be an amazing experience and adventure. I have already been communicating with the first wave of U.S. medics to hit the ground over there 2 weeks ago, they have good things to say. Another plus is my old friend Aaron who is also a Paramedic in Oregon will be coming along with me for the ride. I will be turning in my 30 days notice to leave my Apartment in Portland and staying with friends so I can retain enough of my unemployment checks to pay for the passport and physical. I sure hope this works out.

PS: Some of you may remember a failed job offer Aaron and I had in Kuwait, the reason this did not work out was because a security clearance was required, there is NO security clearance required for this job.