Get information about health insurance available to you in the U.S. (through your husband's provider as an example) and those insurances available to expatriates in your home country (such as Mondial assistance or others).

For French residents, if you want to remain part of the government retirement plan and health insurance, you can contact the “Caisse des Francais a l'Etranger”.

If you have a driving license, get an international driving license from your town hall.

Once you are finished with the paperwork, you will probably get the next flight to meet your spouse. You will need to have your passport with the visa stamp and the sealed envelope containing all the info for the customs to let you through.

Once at the customs, get in line under the United States residents/citizens signs. An officer will then take a look at your paperwork and you should ready to go within 30 minutes. He will give you some practical info about social security, etc.

Your file is going to be forwarded to the immigration authorities in the U.S. who will contact you several times by mail. First to notify you that they've received your documents and to give you an Alien number and application number, and then with your permanent resident card.

If you have checked the applicable box on your application, you should receive your social security card through mail as well. If not, you will want to get to your local office as soon as your have your permanent resident card. It takes about 3 weeks to get a social security card after you've applied and without it you cannot work (regardless of the fact you are authorized to work). Once you have both a permanent resident card and a social security card, you are good to go and can start working.

Only 13 states will consider your foreign driving license as valid and issue you a U.S. driving license upon your arrival. For all the many others, you will have to go through the whole process as any American who applies for a driving license.

As a tourist, the U.S. government will let you drive a rental car, but as a resident you will need a proper driving license in order drive legally and to be insured (it is illegal to drive in the U.S. without insuring your vehicle). You can check with a local insurance provider to see what are the local rules, as they tend to vary greatly from one state from another.

You can get information from your local DMV (Dept. of Motor Vehicles) office on how to proceed. Usually you will have to pass a written test (often taken on a computer and with no appointment necessary), which should be fairly easy, provided that you study a bit, as many of the rules can be different from what you have learned back home.

If you pass the written test, you might be able to take the driving test right after your written test, if you wish to do so. And if you fail either test, you should be able to take it again as soon as the next day.

The driving test is relatively easy but for those who worry about it, they will ask you to parallel park! If you are unsure about your driving you can apply for a driving permit once you passed the written test. This will allow you to drive with an adult, so you can practice before the test. And of course, if you have no prior driving experience, you can check with the local DMV if you wish to take classes.

Your household effects will not be taxed as long as you own them for more than a year. However there might be some personal items you are not allowed to bring.You will have to check with customs what you can and cannot bring overseas.

If you applied for a green card through your spouse in the 2 first years of your marriage, you will need your spouse to file for removal on condiotional status on your resident card. To do this, your spouse will need to fill the form I-751 before the 2nd anniversary of obtaining your resident card. This is extremely important and must be remembered as you could loose your resident status if you do not do it within the right time frame

As an example this means that if you received your card on the 1st of januray 2007, you will file for premanent resident status without condition between the 1st of october 2008 and the 1st of januray 2009.
This simply means that 3 months before your resident card expires , you will apply for a new card. This cost $275, and you can download the form on the uscis website. www.uscis.com

Getting your first job in the U.S.  is obviously going ot be a big deal. Some cultural difference about the work ethic might confuse you or shock you, some of the administrative paperwork probably will loose you..

What to expect:

Everything is going to depend on which type of company you will work for. I cannot stress that enough. However, during my personnal experience, I have encountered som simiralities.

First do not expect much more than 2 weeks vacation a year and a few holidays such as labor day. There is going to be no comparison to your life in Europe or other place of the world... and you will feel that in many different ways.

Work seems more important since it is the main occupation, vacation ARE a luxury, most people I worked with took long weekend but not vacation.

Pay should usually be higher than what you got back in Europe, if you were in europe, but remember that you will more everyday expense too.

Overtime shall be paid 1.5 times your usual rate (except if you are salaried in which case you just get a fixed wage),there should be  a policy in you company as to how many sick days you can take.

A good job should offer you decent wage, but also health insurance and eventually dental and life. This is important because a good insurance provided by your employer could save you a few hundreds dollars a month.

Your usual notice should be 2 weeks. The employment laws are much looser than in most european countries.

One piece of advice: your european mentality might not always be welcome so be careful to seize the spirit of the company and your co-workers before critizing or commenting on any of the company's policies.

It is also common to be shown a bunch of videos about sex harrassment at work or other safety policies.. Don't panic, this is pretty usual..that and drug tests.(especially in staffing agencies, not really on your average job)