Relocating to the US with family?

In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I would love to hear about the experiences of philosophers from outside the US who moved to the US with a family.

Those who relocated with a family, did your family move to the US with you? Do they also work in the US, or have you found that you can be the "sole breadwinner" in a TT job? If your spouse does work, how have they adjusted to the US employment "benefits"? (The poor parental leave and vacation allowance in the US sounds like a worry for spouses in non-academic positions - especially if they're used to more generous allowances in their home country). And how does your spouse manage continuous employment alongside Employment Authorization Documents that need to be renewed every year?

Excellent questions, and I suspect there may be many readers with experience in these matters.

Does anyone have any helpful tips to share?

Comments

[one story]

It can be hard. My partner was able to get a visa (a special one that only Mexicans and Canadians can get - a TN) so that she could work as an adjunct. But then she was - of course - severely exploited. She did appreciate the work, and it did connect her with the community and the campus. But there was a lot of bad stuff around being an adjunct. It would have been psychologically impossible for us if she did not have a job (and that visa was her ticket to a job).