Immigrants & Refugees: Create Your New Life in America.

• Author: Mujica, Barbara

Immigrants & Refugees: Create Your New Life in America, by Raimonda Mikatavage. Hampstead, Maryland: Melodija Books, 1998. Inmigrantes y refugiados: Como crear su nueva vida en los Estados Unidos, 1999.

If Mario Bencastro, Elizabeth Nunez, and Rosario Ferre all depict the bafflement immigrants sometimes feel when confronted with North American customs, Raimonda Mikatavage offers help. This concise, practical guide through the complexities of U.S. society shows new arrivals from Spanish-speaking countries and the English-speaking Caribbean how to cope.

Mikatavage helps foreigners navigate through the job-hunting process, the educational system, the banks, the IRS, and health-care services. She offers tips on how and where to learn English, register your child for kindergarten, and deal with immigration officials. The Spanish-language version addresses the particular needs of Hispanic immigrants and provides names and phone numbers of agencies geared to help them, as well as information about interpretation services.

The chapter on money tells newcomers such simple things as how to pay bills, but also 'touches on the complexities of investment, retirement, and credit. The chapter on work explains the basics of the informational interview and suggests a step-by-step plan for maximizing chances for a successful job hunt; it also provides examples of cover letters, resumes, and thank-you notes for job-seekers.

Mikatavage shows immigrants how they can make the new emphasis on diversity work for them and offers information on securing documents to work legally. For immigrants with advanced English-language skills and knowledge of the Internet, she provides useful data for enhancing the search process through technology.

The chapter on health and safety tells new arrivals what to do if they can't afford health care or prescription drugs. Since immigrants coping with an unfamiliar culture often feel frustrated and "down," Mikatavage describes the danger signals of depression and tells where to...