4 ms·

Ask HN: I am 34 years old refugee how Can I find a job

28 points by ref1234 5y ago

Hell HN, This is so uncomfortable to me so I decided to do two things: The first is to create a new account so no shame in the future. The second is to accept the problem that I have. I've been in a state of denial the entire decade. That was almost ten years ago when I made a decision to flee my country because of the civil war. Since then, things have changed so much and so deep. I am not going to explain the psychological effect. It's enough to see the news to know what Afghans are going through. It's ugly. Some of us - the nation of refugees - are lucky to start a new life. Others, like me, are stuck between two worlds. You are not settled in a new country, you can't go back and you can't establish a new life. So you become clearly, undocumented in a third country. An undocumented person has no right. Not even the right to work. You are allowed to make a living basically in the black market. You can live, you can't grow and you cant build a career. With a lot of what can you do and what can't, I had several jobs. A teacher, a ghostwriter, an interpreter, along with the thing that I love: programming. Since March 2020 I've been unemployed. Covid came and hit me hard, financially. Job hunting is good until you reveal who you are. I got rejected multiple times because of my nationality. And then the US decided to impose sanctions that affect the whole nation regardless of your status. Of course, I have another plan. I was working hard on JavaScript, so hard that I decided to launch my own product. And I did it, two months ago I launched a software product. What a nice thing to do, except, you need a marketing plan, some kind of fund (obviously), and time to make your product usable in the production. The bottom line is I feel I am living in a world of illusion, I know my limitations now. Working hard is not enough, make your bed in the morning wouldn't improve my life. I am not sorry though, I did what I did. But I have come to the point where I have to make a decision. What should I do? I can't work normally since I am undocumented. My resume is not fit (admit it no no one hires people like me). And I feel like I have to be patient and wait, maybe my product will improve and boom becomes a success story but the clock is ticking and I have to make a decision. If you are 34, do you wait? Or change your path and accept your destiny and find anything that generates income and stop chasing the clouds. If you are in a situation like this, what would you do?

MattGaiser 5y ago
Have you considered small business freelance work? Pay isn't great, but I have always found some on Indeed and they don't background check or really do any kind of verification.
- ref1234 5y ago
  No, actually I didn't and I don't know if I can depend on it but I am definitely going to try it. Thanks.
  - RosanaAnaDana 5y ago
    There is also fiver for smaller tasks. Again, lower pay than heads-up freelance/ consulting, but more accessible. https://www.fiverr.com/ https://www.fiverr.com/
    - ref1234 5y ago
      anything can pay is good, thank you.
ref1234 5y ago
* Just realized it's full of typos and I can't edit it. Sorry.
csomar 5y ago
You are failing to mention two important things: Where you are from and where you are currently living. Also, what identification document you have or you can get (can you get a passport?). These are important as some countries will allow you to incorporate a business regardless. Then you can do freelance work locally unless the target company have strict due diligence (most small businesses don't). Also, depending on your identification document, you might be able to open FinTech bank accounts that are as good as real bank accounts. Don't forget that you can avoid paying any taxes given your status. But you are not getting any rights, so I think that's okay.
- ref1234 5y ago
  I didn't mention it because I am seeking career advice. So where I am from or where I live don't think will make any difference. I have my expired passport and UN document, with my CS degree and a lot of other things. All documents I have don't make me eligible for residency. And paying taxes is not something I am concerned about right now.
  - codingdave 5y ago
    It makes a huge difference - it isn't about residency, it is about labor laws. If you are in the USA with official refugee status, the laws of what work you are allowed to do and whether companies are legally allowed to refuse you work based on your nationality come into play. Without refugee status, the rules will be different. If you were still in Afghanistan, then yes, sanctions come into play. If you are in a different country, they'll have their own laws. IANAL, so I don't know what all the rules are, but it absolutely makes a different where you are, and under what status.
    - ref1234 5y ago
      > If you were still in Afghanistan, then yes, sanctions come into play. No, you can't be refugee inside your country. But you can be an asylum seeker indefinitely in a third country. In this case, you will have a document issued by the UN that says this person is seeking asylum. They put you on hold, forever, until you receive an invitation for resettlement. What does the labor work say? Simple. You are either a foreigner or a citizen. There's no way to deal with you in the `grey area`.
leandot 5y ago
Have you tried freelance sites like Upwork or Fiverr?
- ref1234 5y ago
  No, actually RosanaAnaDana recommended Fiverr and MattGaiser recommended Indeed. Fiverr seems wild, people there have been building reputations for years. But I'll explore the rest including Upwork.
nickd2001 5y ago
Would Canada be more likely to grant you proper asylum? Its possible to walk across the border from certain parts of USA... ;)
- ref1234 5y ago
  Great idea, but I am not in the US. I am in Egypt. The only way out is through Mediterranean.
  - nickd2001 5y ago
    I wonder can you apply to Canada direct? It is one of the friendliest and sympathetic countries when it comes to asylum seekers, and is a nice place too :) You might actually, with a comp sci degree, qualify for permanent residency there on the grounds of skills without needing to claim asylum there. Might need a job offer I suppose too. I would imagine you've more chance there than with most places
    - ref1234 5y ago
      Agreed. But I have no idea how the system works. I can't apply directedly I guess because I don't have a valid passport.

28 points by ref1234 5y ago

MattGaiser 5y ago

Have you considered small business freelance work? Pay isn't great, but I have always found some on Indeed and they don't background check or really do any kind of verification.

ref1234 5y ago
No, actually I didn't and I don't know if I can depend on it but I am definitely going to try it. Thanks.
- RosanaAnaDana 5y ago
  There is also fiver for smaller tasks. Again, lower pay than heads-up freelance/ consulting, but more accessible. https://www.fiverr.com/ https://www.fiverr.com/
  - ref1234 5y ago
    anything can pay is good, thank you.

ref1234 5y ago

* Just realized it's full of typos and I can't edit it. Sorry.

csomar 5y ago

You are failing to mention two important things: Where you are from and where you are currently living. Also, what identification document you have or you can get (can you get a passport?). These are important as some countries will allow you to incorporate a business regardless. Then you can do freelance work locally unless the target company have strict due diligence (most small businesses don't). Also, depending on your identification document, you might be able to open FinTech bank accounts that are as good as real bank accounts. Don't forget that you can avoid paying any taxes given your status. But you are not getting any rights, so I think that's okay.

ref1234 5y ago
I didn't mention it because I am seeking career advice. So where I am from or where I live don't think will make any difference. I have my expired passport and UN document, with my CS degree and a lot of other things. All documents I have don't make me eligible for residency. And paying taxes is not something I am concerned about right now.
- codingdave 5y ago
  It makes a huge difference - it isn't about residency, it is about labor laws. If you are in the USA with official refugee status, the laws of what work you are allowed to do and whether companies are legally allowed to refuse you work based on your nationality come into play. Without refugee status, the rules will be different. If you were still in Afghanistan, then yes, sanctions come into play. If you are in a different country, they'll have their own laws. IANAL, so I don't know what all the rules are, but it absolutely makes a different where you are, and under what status.
  - ref1234 5y ago
    > If you were still in Afghanistan, then yes, sanctions come into play. No, you can't be refugee inside your country. But you can be an asylum seeker indefinitely in a third country. In this case, you will have a document issued by the UN that says this person is seeking asylum. They put you on hold, forever, until you receive an invitation for resettlement. What does the labor work say? Simple. You are either a foreigner or a citizen. There's no way to deal with you in the `grey area`.

leandot 5y ago

Have you tried freelance sites like Upwork or Fiverr?

ref1234 5y ago
No, actually RosanaAnaDana recommended Fiverr and MattGaiser recommended Indeed. Fiverr seems wild, people there have been building reputations for years. But I'll explore the rest including Upwork.

nickd2001 5y ago

Would Canada be more likely to grant you proper asylum? Its possible to walk across the border from certain parts of USA... ;)

ref1234 5y ago
Great idea, but I am not in the US. I am in Egypt. The only way out is through Mediterranean.
- nickd2001 5y ago
  I wonder can you apply to Canada direct? It is one of the friendliest and sympathetic countries when it comes to asylum seekers, and is a nice place too :) You might actually, with a comp sci degree, qualify for permanent residency there on the grounds of skills without needing to claim asylum there. Might need a job offer I suppose too. I would imagine you've more chance there than with most places
  - ref1234 5y ago
    Agreed. But I have no idea how the system works. I can't apply directedly I guess because I don't have a valid passport.