Since about January, I’ve been transitioning out of the Foundstone Professional Services team and into one of the McAfee product teams (as I hinted some time ago).  This was a good move for me, as although I absolutely love the guys I work with in FSPS, and the work certainly was interesting (getting to see how a lot of companies and their security, or lack-thereof in some cases, and helping them get better), I longed to “get in deep” with a problem which, due to the very nature of the kind of consulting I was performing, seldom happens – usually it’s work with a client to do some testing/auditing/evaluation of where they are currently, find what things they are missing, report on the impact/issues/reasons of the delta, recommend how to move forward, and then be on your merry way.  Normally one doesn’t hear anything until the next engagement other than maybe some quick email exchanges or conference calls for clarification or review as the client is bringing you in for a specific purpose; once that is done, remediation and on-going work is done by their internal staff because paying continued consulting rates would, in many cases, be cost-prohibitive (and thankfully there’s lots of work out there still, so there’s always that next client to start the cycle again with).

In transitioning to a McAfee product team meant that I could really get my teeth into a problem, look at the requirements, devise an architecture to move forward, and slowly develop and overcome issues with implementing the final delivery of the product (I’m sorry I can’t be any more specific at the moment, but when it’s released I’ll post again about the project and sing the praises of the people I worked with).  It was pretty clear that this is what I really missed doing – researching a problem and devising solution(s) – and what was only going to be a sabbatical to the product team for a specific technology/release was panning out to be a full time position.  I was welcomed onto the team with arms wider than I could have possibly hoped for, and was settling into working with some great people and a roadmap that could have kept me interested for years.

But then I got an email and went out for a coffee with an old friend from the STAR conference circuit. He was back working for Microsoft in a cool group and was looking for people – there was a need for a “security guy” and I came with good recommendations.

I guess I’ll have to say at this point, to be fair, that I had begged off from ever going to Microsoft.  I had interviewed there a few times in the past and my experiences were “mixed” at best.  I had seriously doubted myself after a few of the loops, and had just about had enough – it was clear that for whatever reason I wasn’t a “fit” so had crossed it off the places where one day I might have seen myself.

Anyway, I talked to some of the people there, met the director for the group, and after what I thought were just informal “get to know you / what we do” kind of meetings (although there were some obligatory “whiteboard” questions), it was clear that they wanted to hire me.  Sort of sunk in when on the way out, Mr Director (I’m not going to mention any names as-of-yet because I don’t know how happy they are about having their names out there, and as a security/privacy guy, I’m very much for “opt-in” ) said “I’m going to ask HR to extend you an offer”!!!

So, here I am with a bit of a conundrum.  I’m currently working with a great team at McAfee, in a product that I believe in and can make and impact, and a roadmap of things that I could work on (and most importantly be super interested in) for years.  On the other hand I’m being offered a role to help set the direction for all of security testing at Microsoft’s Bing.com platform as a senior SDET/security test architect.

I’ll let that sit for a while.  I had to as it was a difficult decision, so take a breather

I really wasn’t looking to leave McAfee/Foundstone – the company has treated me very well, I have great colleagues there that are just plain *friends* now and hopefully will always be, and I feel the company is heading in the right direction with some fantastic management that I’ve had from the top to bottom.  However, on the other hand, what a great opportunity to work on such a big, strategic site such as Bing, and to have that on my resume.  Microsoft were great in that they didn’t pressure at all and gave me a few weeks to think about it, including setting me up to have some time for very open talks with various people to know what life on the team looks like and how my role would pan out (which, if I can, I’d like to write more about as I get further into the job).  It was night-and-day different from my other experiences with Microsoft.

So, positives…

• Having the opportunity to work on something at this scale, in my field, and with such a spotlight is rare (clearly, only one other place) and (as long as Bing doesn’t get hacked up and it’s my fault!) as a colleague said “this would not be a career-limiting move”.
• Despite the haters out there, Microsoft clearly “gets” security now, and has attracted some top talent in that field. Getting the chance to work with some of these people would be fantastic.
• Even inside Bing practically every big computer science problem is touched upon somehow, and if for whatever reason I don’t want to work in that field/team any more, inside Microsoft you could do everything from designing mice, through to games, and obviously so many different types of software technologies/platforms – there’s plenty of growth opportunities there.

semi positives…

• Microsoft are just outside of Seattle, which is where I’m based now and have wanted to live in this area for a long time.  Being able to go into an office and interact with people I think gets much more done than via email/phone.  Now, in consulting where you are doesn’t matter much – the internet and an an airport close by works well as you are onsite with clients lots.  The McAfee product group were flying me in every month and a half or so for a week of really productive meetings and stuff, and I’m quite happy working remotely (and I’m actually very productive in my home office), but you do in some way get “isolated” and not involved in conversations/meetings as much as I’d like to be.
• I won’t have to travel nearly as much – both for professional services (every few weeks) or in the product group (every few months).  I don’t mind travel (in fact I quite enjoy it), but it’s hard leaving family at home and sometimes trying to schedule even little things like meeting up with friends or going to a concert can have unexpected changes (although to be fair, Foundstone was always really good with me sorting anything like this out, but I just hate having to bring it up as it feels like “shirking” work if I need to turn any travel down).

negatives…

• In taking the job with Microsoft, I don’t get to “see out” the product I started building.  It would be hubris to say that I’m needed on that team to complete it or for it to be a success – the guys clearly can do a great job – but I like to finish what I start, feel I have plenty more to add, and if nothing else would be a benefit to the team as another resource to get things done and meet deadlines.  There’s never a “good” time, but I guess this is “non-optimal”.
• I’ve built up some level of “goodwill” at McAfee and know many people there.  There’s no question that at Foundstone/McAfee I’m treated very well and have a great working relationship with people there.  I’ll have to start that again at Microsoft and be somewhat a “small fish in a very big pond” again.  Not so much of a negative as I like building relationships, but certainly having to start again, and I’m really going to miss the guys I’ve worked with.
• Simply the “new”.  Each company works differently, and I’ve never worked for such a big enterprise before.  I’m sure I’m going to have to learn a lot, and quickly, in what it takes to really thrive in such an organization.

In taking everything into consideration, I think this is a fantastic opportunity and something I’d be stupid to turn down.  It’s really going to up my game, give me new learning experiences, and allow me to work on something at a scale that I’ve never been able to before.  In many ways it’s both exciting and daunting at the same time!

So, today is my last day at McAfee/Foundstone.  As of Monday I’m a Microsoft employee and the joys of NEO – New Employee Orientation (or where you get your chip implanted and force-fed the corporate kool-aid ).  I’m certainly going to continue posting about general security trends and news I find interesting, but hopefully can add a slant on what it’s like working in Microsoft and on a property such as Bing.  All that after  I know how the land lies – I don’t after all want to get fired soon after I get there!  So, don’t expect very much in the short term as a) I’m going to be really busy getting up-to-speed on the platform and technology, and b) get to know what is on and off-topic.

Well, stay tuned, and hopefully I’ll have some interesting things to write about.

Some videos from the show I’ve dumped here.

Ah, brings back memories working on gigs like that.  Still amuses me being in an audience full of teen-age Americans singing their little hearts out to American Idiot and not quite getting that it’s a warning for which many of them are becoming:)

Main bag

I’ve spend ages (and lots of $$$) getting the “right” bag and I think this is the one for me.  I’ve had Oakley bags, Crumpler bags, Timbuk2 bags, but the Swiss Gear Synergy backpack is what I’ve used for well over a year now.  Some people have shoe fetishes; mine’s bags.  I keep getting/changing bags so often but the fact I’ve had and used this one for so long must mean something!

Comms

Currently I have have an ATT Tilt phone which does me very well.  Because of work I don’t have an iPhone (incompatible email – Blackberry or GoodLink – don’t even ask) which I guess I would consider, but I have to have email on my phone and I’m not carrying two devices.  When it’s available on a GSM provider (ATT or T-Mobile in the US) I’m really going to look at getting the Touch Pro 2.  In addition to the phone itself I always carry a spare battery just in case (after a long day of consulting, and especially IR work, batteries drain quickly – more reason not to go with an iPhone ) and a spare charger so I don’t have to remember to pick up the one at home each time.  For a headset, which I honestly don’t use all that much, the Jawbone 2 has been excellent.

Peripherals

I use a Kensington power supply with multiple tips for other devices I carry so I don’t have to pack multiple chargers.  Yeah, I know the cell phone charger is a separate one, but I’ve found I have to carry at least these two or I forget to charge my phone each night! Looking to pickup a Belkin power splitter so I can use/charge multiple things when there’s limited power outlets like in airports and some hotels.

I also carry a Kensington laptop lock which I always use because it’s just too easy to walk away with a laptop and have seen it many times.  I wouldn’t be all that worried about the data as I use SafeBoot and PGP VirtualDisks for client information, but being without a laptop would be a major PITA.

In the case is a headset/mic and a webcam.  I use the two for staying in touch with home when I’m traveling and conferences calls via Skype.  The choice for the Logitech headset was as much for the case as the headset itself – although the headset is good, having a solid place to put it and some other things at a squeeze, sold it for me as I’ve busted many others by not having having a place to protect them

Rounding out I have a general power converter (only needed when traveling international), a short USB cable (never know when you need one), and a Microsoft ARC mouse – a tad expensive for what it is, but has been the best travel mouse I’ve had in a while and folds up into nothing.

Entertainment

Sitting on a plane or in a hotel room can be boring.  I have a 32GB iPod touch with lots of music, a few audio books and no video (see later).  I’ll always have a separate media device as the last thing I want is to get off a flight only to find I’ve used up all the juice of my phone – if the iPod runs out, then I’m not stuck.  Pairing with the iPod I have a set of Sure SE210 in-ear buds.  I’ve tried the noise cancelling headsets and they make me feel like my head is underwater.  These are really light, great sound, and I’ve used Sure stuff for years so I know are good quality. 

I always have some book on the go (no Kindle for me for lots of reasons, but primarily when I’m done I like to pass my books on) and stuff some magazines into the bag as well (yes, that is Geek magazine – you got a problem with that?).  Not pictured is that I have a Tivo (a real one – not a crappy DVR) at home and a SlingBox so I can catch up with TV.  I also have a homeserver that I can grab videos off if I’m really bored, although that seldom happens; mostly the homeserver is for backups and offline storage and has meant that I can now ditch a USB hard disk I used to travel with.

GPS

Very recently I got a cheep TomTom.  This is pretty new to my travel collection as I got fed up with paying (extortionately) for one at the car rental when going to a new place.  I used to either use the GPS on my phone, or print out maps, but it’s good to have when you have to find a client’s office and also somewhere to have dinner in a place you’ve never been before.  I make use of a few Eagle Creek cubes to separate things out (I can grab what I need easier when I go, and though TSA if necessary) and to make my bag a bit easier to manage

Misc

In the “i don’t know what to class this under”, there’s a few other things I have in my bag.  A blow-up travel cushion helps me get some sleep on planes (I prefer to have a window seat where possible so I can prop myself up), as well as some ear-plugs if I’m not listening to my iPod. 

I try to be conscious that talking lots makes your breath smell, so I have some TicTacks or breath strips/mints.  An Oakley lanyard is useful sometimes for security badges and to hold keys so I don’t lose/forget them.  The Oakey vault case (did I say how much I love Oakley products) holds my sunglasses while in the bag so they don’t get crushed. 

Business cards are a necessity, as is my Moleskin notebook and Fisher space pen – my handwriting isn’t great so I don’t make that many handwritten notes, mostly I use my laptop, but in meetings I’m not a huge fan of peering over laptop screens and it’s easy to get distracted into the laptop rather than what is going on in the meeting.  There’s a multi-function screwdriver/light/etc that was a Foundstone freebie a while back that I’ve just never removed from my bag, and some Crystal Light (always Orange for me) that gives water a little bit more taste (I always grab a bottle of water before getting on a flight – you have no idea how often the trolley service is going to be).

Laptop

I don’t get much choice with the laptop other than going out an buying one myself.  As I can get though about one a year (which goes back to our fantastic Tim that swaps them for us and revives them back to life, good as new), I’m reluctant to get my own although I’d like a tablet like a Dell XT2 or HP TX2Z, depending on how well they fit with my home setup – has to support a external multi-monitor setup.  So, after all that explanation I have a Dell D630 which does me fine.

Case

The final thing is the main case that I use.  I hate checking luggage not only because of the probability of it getting lost, but the time waiting to pick it up at baggage claim, so I have a carry on.  I’ve had Samsonite cases for years – my old Oyster case has literally been round the world a few times and survived 4 years of constant touring and being thrown in the back of trucks.  I much prefer hard-side cases because they can take more abuse than soft sides and their zippers.  I can’t even remember the name of this case I have because I’ve had it for over 5 years (with one trip back to a Samsonite repair shop for minor fixes) – this thing is an absolute tank!  Generally I can easily pack for 1-1.5 weeks (or longer with a laundry stop) in here.  I won’t go into packing this case because it changes depending on where I’m going, the client, climate, etc, etc, but I’m sure you get the idea.

There’s a lot of plusses and minuses in consulting as Curphey pointed out in an old blog post.  Travel for some can be a no-go, but I’m pretty used to it from my previous career.  If anything, the thing that get me riled the most about having to travel as part of work is the notice part – for an IR gig I expect to be on a plane within a few hours, but other work I at least expect a couple of weeks.  Duration is a big thing as well with a lot of people, and I don’t think I could handle any more than 50% for a long duration.

However, travel can be fun, especially if you do it right.  Lifehacker has had a series on people’s “go bags”, but I guess this is slightly different – this is my travel setup, and although I guess in some way it is  my “day-to-day”, I know that in a different job without travel my bag would be very different.  These are the tips and technology that I travel with, and I would bet that many others have their own.  If you do and want to share, I’d love to hear about it either in the comments, or better your own blog post. .

In any case, work has got very interesting as after being on a few good IR and PenTest gigs at the beginning of the year I’ve transitioned (temporarily) into a product/architect role within the larger MFE company.  It’s good getting back to my software engineering roots as well as bringing some of my consulting expertise to a product.  I don’t think I can say much more about it right now, but it’s going to be exciting when I can and I’ll certainly talk more about it in the future.  Also expect some other releases from me in the not-so-distance future.

Other than work though, I’ve (finally) been on vacation   Taking time off from work for me is an odd thing, as I don’t really work per-se – I enjoy what I do as my hobby as well as a job, so although having down-time is good I don’t need too much of it especially in one big block.  A certain person in the Andrews’ household insisted we have a “proper” vacation though (the last “real” one I’ve had that hasn’t been tacked onto the end of a work trip was in 2006), so we’ve been in Australia for the past 3 and a bit weeks, which is another reason for not posting.  That’s not to say that I didn’t concede to a little bit of work (it was just reading documents – honestly), as the photo below shows when Tara caught me on the balcony at our hotel in Hamilton Island   I’ll write up a full trip report in the next few days.

It’s nice to be back – stay tuned.

Anyway, for those that want to see this, and my reply email.  Read on…

—

From: [withheld]
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 12:18 PM
To: ME!
Subject: What does Obama prefer to read?

"The Post-American World". It is Muslim’s view on the fall and collapse of the United States as a Super Power. WAKE UP AMERICA !!! 

—

I just cant stand this type of ignorance.  READING IS NOT A CRIME!  There are plenty of topics I expect Mr Obama and Mr McCain do not know about, and I EXPECT them to seek out more information, be that from books or subject-matter experts.  If it’s possible to read/learn about "the other side" of a topic, is it not prudent to seek that out as well?

In any case, I just couldn’t hold myself back so sent out the following reply…

—

From: ME!
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 4:21 PM
To: [withheld]
Subject: RE: What does Obama prefer to read?

I have no idea who you are, or why you are sending me this email.  If you know anything about me, you know that I can’t vote in the US elections this year, so this is totally pointless.

However, I do have something to say, since you sent me this unsolicited.

Since when has reading a book, especially to get a viewpoint on another topic/situation/strategy/people, ever been a "bad" thing?  This is a problem that the current US administration has had since the beginning in that "they know best, and know everything".  I wish people will have some hubris and know that they don’t know everything (thus reading isn’t a bad thing), and there are people out there that are smarter than you (especially in certain areas).

I don’t know the book you’ve pointed out, but just a cursory glance in Amazon or Wikipedia tells me that the only the only evidence that it’s "a Muslim’s view of the collapse of the USA" is the name of the author (who BTW is "not a religious guy" – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fareed_Zakaria#Personal).

I’m not for or against any of this stupid propaganda BS on either side – if McCain was walking around with "The World is Flat" would you be saying the same thing, but replacing Muslim with "old white guy"?
Whatever your political affiliations are, by all means campaign on them.  But stupid stuff like this, *on either side* just shows why America is on the decline.

Cheers,
Mike.

—

That made me feel a little better.  To the guys credit he replied and said he mixed up the emails (his friend was the old owner of this domain – not sure I buy that as it was an old baseball camp) but I accept his apology, and him at least having a look and "have[ing] read and digested your reasoned response".

I really don’t mind people having differing views/politics/feeling/etc – that’s what makes us as a species so varied and interesting.  What gets at me is if we start picking on each other over stupid things, and trying to be more informed about the world is one such example.

In 2005 when I joined Foundstone, one of the conditions that I set was that they would sponsor me for my GC, there wouldn’t be the usual 6-12 months “probationary” waiting period, and that there would be no “lock-in” period after I had finally got said green-card.  So, pretty much as soon as I started, Mark sent emails off to McAfee’s HR and signed some forms for me to kick the process off.

At the start, things went quite smoothly.  One of the first things that has to happen is you have to get your labor certificate, to show that there are no qualified US workers able/willing to do the job you are applying for.  Well, in my case there’s a good few people who would like my job, but a) few that actually can do it, and b) if they are out there, we’ll hire them anyway.  What is required though is to advertise the job, and for your employer to document that they are at least paying you the prevailing wage

A quick aside here – working out an equitable salary is part-and-parcel of negotiating a new job and GlassDoor.com is one site that a few people seem to like.  I however like FLCDatacenter.com because it lists actual salaries rather than ranges, including position and hire date.  Several employers don’t like this, but it has to be published (the labor cert and the “prevailing wage”) and is public data.  It only holds data for people applying for labor certs (H1B’s, green-cards, etc), and is anonymous, but in a small company it can be pretty easy to match people up based on their hire date, and for larger companies that have well-defined “levels”, it will give hard data on what is actually being paid for that job.  As I said, several employers and HR departments don’t like this, but knowledge is power I say

Anyway, back to the main topic.  I was lucky enough to get in on the new PERM process, which is much more streamlined than the old labor certification process.  It would have been quick(er) of course, if it wasn’t for McAfee screwing it up. 

Part of the process is advertising the job so that US workers can apply for the “no qualified US workers able/willing to do the job” part.  It has to be advertised in various ways (see here for more details), for at least 60 days (which was done), and then if no applicants were found the process can continue.  However, someone forgot to advertise my position in our office (not that it would really matter), but that had to be re-done.  By the time that McAfee HR had realized this, and re-did it, 4 months had been wasted.

In any case, all the documents finally went in, and in September 2006 (while on vacation in Hawaii funny enough), I got a call from the immigration attorney saying that the labor certification was successful and we can move onto the next step.

What happens next is that based off the labor certification (there’s no US worker that wants/can do my job) a petition for immigration is made (known as the I-140 from it’s form number).  This sets out what “category” you will be processed in based on your skills/education.  I’m fortunate to have a PhD which placed me in the EB2 category (Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees), which is the 2nd highest category and at the time of my application didn’t have a backlog (current status is listed here).  I’m also fortunate to not come from China, India, Mexico or Philippines, as each of those areas often have a wait until the Adjustment Of Status (AOS) can be filed (the date is the applications they are currently working on).  If it says “C” in your category, for your nationality, both the immigrant petition and the AOS (I-485) can be put in together.

This meant that we had to work quickly to get all the documentation together for our application, and there’s a lot of it to gather, and here’s just some to give an idea…

• All previous residences
• Employment for the last 5 years
• Original/full-copies of birth certificates
• Proof of marriage/divorce
• All entries/exits from/to the USA
• All previous notices and immigration documents
• Completed medical exams (immunization records help if you can get them)
• Application photos

The other thing I really like in filling this info out is the “Part 3″ section of the adjustment of status form.  Go and have a look, just to see what you have to answer – I would love to meet the person that checks “yes” to any of those boxes

Well, the fun one for us was the medical exams. 

Part of the medical exam is to be tested and be clear of tuberculosis (TB), but as Tara and I are from the UK we’ve both been immunized with the BCG vaccine.  One of the things a lot of doctors that perform the green-card medicals know is that they can’t do the skin test form of the TB indicator because it shows a false-positive (via the vaccine), and often they skip directly to the chest x-ray which should definitively show if someone is carrying TB or not.  That’s what our doctor did (skipped the skin test and did the chest x-ray, showing us both clear), and gave us our results in the usual sealed envelope.

Off goes our entire life history, first to our immigration attorney, and then off to USCIS.  A good few months pass (6-7 I think), and I get an email status update from USCIS (sign up for these BTW) that they are sending us a letter.  We think it’s good news, but when it arrives it’s a Request For Evidence (RFE) – turns out that the USCIS wants the skin test results anyway for some reason!  Even though if the person looks just 2 inches to the right, the x-ray results are there and it says “clear”.  Our doctor isn’t very happy (keeps muttering “unnecessary procedure”) and actually phones up to complain.  We get the medicals re-done and send them back off.

After 5 months (in the mean-time the I-140 has been approved – yay!), I get another email saying a decision has been made on our case (the emails, or website for that matter, don’t have any other info, which from a security aspect is fair enough).  Finally we think it’s all over, but the attorney emails us saying that the USCIS has denied our application – the letter is a notice of denial :0

Turns out that the letter says the Request For Evidence wasn’t fulfilled within the 90 days allowed – USCIS didn’t get our updated medical tests with the TB skin test results.  This can’t be right, as our attorney has a FedEx receipt of someone at the Texas Service Center (where our case should be) signing for it well before the deadline.  There’s no appeal against this decision, so a “motion to reopen” has to be submitted, and within 20 days.  A mad rush by us, and the attorneys to get all the documentation together ($385 just to file the form, plus attorney fees – thank heavens that McAfee are paying for all of this), and we get it all in, and confirmed receipt.

It now goes very quiet.  USCIS wont give us any updates on what is going on, and our attorney can’t find anything our through her channels either (even going via the liaison committee).  3 months go by, and we hear that they are sending out another Request For Evidence – it’s a request for medicals again (would appear that they don’t have them!  It’s suspected they are lost somewhere and haven’t reconnected with our files).  A month later I get the following emails in quick succession

• Case reopened or reconsidered based on USCIS determination, and the case is now pending
• [+2 days] Card production ordered
• [+1 day] Notice mailed welcoming the new permanent resident

Finally looks like I’m approved   Tara’s case however is still sitting at the “Case reopened or reconsidered based on USCIS determination, and the case is now pending” status.  Our attorney has some luck and gets a call from a USCIS officer about another case and is able to ask about what is happening with ours.  Usually it seems that USCIS people don’t know (or don’t want to know) about cases that they aren’t assigned to, but this person is actually pretty helpful and looks up Tara’s case.  They don’t have the medical records!  Can’t believe we have to go through this all again (this is the 3 time they are “lost”), but between the USCIS person, their supervisor, and our attorney, they accept that it’s USCIS’s screw up and if our copies of the records are faxed to them they will press the “approved” button.

Hurrah! we are finally done.  Just under 4 years in the making (which still isn’t too bad) and we should have our cards, but there’s two last little gems to come.  First one is that my card doesn’t turn up (Tara’s does, but nothing for me).  Seems they are sent out using regular US postal mail, with no tracking or anything (which I still can’t believe – one of the most important documents I’ll have, and it’s just sent regular post).  No problem, just apply for replacement card (ker-ching – more $$$).  “Lost” card turns up 3 weeks later in the post, so we cancel the production of the replacement.  Also, Tara’s medical records get sent back to our attorney with the note “case closed, not required” with the date stamped on them saying they got them 20 days before the original (1st) RFE deadline!  Clearly someone had them on their desk – left hand, right hand and all that – resulting in our denial.  Reminds me of the saying “to really screw things up takes a government”

Anyway, we have our cards now, and have had for a while (as I said above, this post is a little late).  They are white (not green – the color/design changes every so often) and means that we can stay for 10 years and can work/do what we like (but not vote ).  We’ll probably take citizenship in 5 years (after the waiting period) as there doesn’t seem to be many downsides to that (UK people can hold dual-nationality).

This has certainly be a stressful and long process, which we wouldn’t have been able to get through without the expert help of Petra Tang Bloom of Berry, Appleman and Lieden.  Not only was Petra so good at helping us, but Sara Tinati fielded a lot of our questions and kept the ball rolling during the last (most difficult) phase.  Jose Duran also from the BAL team helped kick the process off.  I can’t say how great the people of BAL were, and David Berry even stepped in to assure us things were going to come out OK.  I’m grateful for my employer in paying (another benefit I suppose), but even saying that BAL were certainly worth it and I have no reservations at all in recommending them (certainly the team I worked with).

As for other resources, another immigration law firm, Murthy, have some good pages and information.  I’ll finish this post with a few links that I have not used above, but could be useful to anyone also going through this process – the internet was good for me to lookup what was happening in my case, learn (probably too much) about immigration law/process, and find out about other peoples experience(s), so I hope that this is useful to others as well. 

• Green-card process, and BAL’s FAQ
• New info for the TB test
• Wikipedia article on the permanent residence card, including process details, links, etc
• Another law firm that has some good info
• Of course, Google is your friend for a lot of other links.

Best of luck and quick processing to anyone else that is going through this.

We’ve really enjoyed living in SoCal; much more that we’d originally anticipated.  There’s been lots of things to do between LA-proper and San Diego that we’ve had a blast.  So much that it’s difficult to pick any highlights, but I’ve been able to see my favorite bands play live a few times, hang out at famous/well-known places, even been invited to a world premier of a major film!  Not to mention the fantastic weather.

But SoCal isn’t where we feel "home" or really "fit it", so time to give somewhere else a try.  I’ll look forward to exploring our new home city and being part of the tech community up there (so any tips/recommendations/invitations are greatly appreciated).  In the mean-time during the few weeks we have until the moving truck turns up we have to mop up things to do in LA (so once again, if there are any tips/recommendations/etc …). We can’t say we’ve "done it all" as that takes a lifetime our friend Nic always says as she’s graciously been our guide on many an occasion, but we’ve certainly "lived it" and sampled the highlights.  As Baz Luhrmann says, "Live in [Northern] California once, but leave before it makes you soft".

In some ways I’ll miss LA, and will leave you with a fantastic photo from my favorite LA-centric blog.