Green Card advice

I realized that my answer to Celeste's comment on "Luckier than I knew" was getting so long, it deserved it's own post. She asked for advice, but I'm not sure I have any great advice to give. I only found out about the Green Card process after I'd gotten the job, and from then on it seemed mostly straightforward. Well, except for the company sitting on the completed paperwork for a month, thus delaying my planned leaving date, basically ruining my life and my bank account for awhile! Oh, and the 45 minute (very expensive) call (mostly on hold) in the frantic final few days before my flight, from the States to the Irish govt dept to arrange where the permit would be mailed so I'd have something in hand to show passport control at the airport. Those last few days were NOT restful!

I take it back, it wasn't straightforward at all. What it was was frustratingly out of my control and incredibly anxiety-provoking.

So, I guess my main advice is to get the job offer cemented first and then either you or someone else ride herd, hard, on the personnel dept to get everything sent in... correctly (another long story). Once all the paperwork was submitted, they govt took about 6 weeks to process it, though this included a break for corrected information from the personnel dept. However, I just checked the website and they're saying they're currently processing applications sent in only 2 weeks ago! Not bad. Hopefully things will be more straightforward for you. Good Luck!