As a immigrant in US I am worried about possible medical bills would like to accumulate some money, but feel my hands are tied.
1. My partner can't possibly work.
2. Changing to high paying job requires quite a effort and because of my Job and caregiver duties I don't have much time left to prepare for interviews
3. I would not be eligible for FLMA in the first year of employment, so not sure if it's a wise decision to change a job.
Asking for suggestions to manage this phase and how to navigate this.
Thoughts in order from most to least palatable:
1. Try your best to lean on friends and family if possible, nothing else will help you reclaim as much time. Don't be afraid to get aggressive here, you guys are struggling, let people know.
2. Ask yourself if you can invest in hiring help around the house: cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc. If this buys the time to get a much better paying job, it can be well worth it.
3. Consider a lower standard of care for your partner while you prep. This is a hard option, a mutual sacrifice for the future.
4. Staying the course may not be so bad. If you're married to your partner you may want to divorce to avoid their medical bills if there's a chance they don't make it.
5. If the disease is not very treatable, consider instead enjoying your time together rather than spending money on treatment (my own experiences with this problem and this article shaped my ideas: https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2011/11/30/how-doctors-di...)
I think a job where it's understood that you may have to take a day off with very little notice, or more, will go a long way to everyone's peace of mind, and I found it was possible to find that.
I'm not in the states, so I cannot provide any insight on that aspect.
As Hermitian909 suggests, investing in hiring someone to assist with tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and laundry can be immensely helpful.
As you have said, your employer is supportive, don't change jobs. There is no way to predict if a new employer will be as understanding and accommodating of your situation. Having a life-threatening disease means that you may have unexpected emergencies at random times and need to leave work to attend to them.
Ask your employer to let you work remotely. It will allow you to provide better care for your partner. And, most importantly, spend more quality time with them. You never know when the time will change.
This advice may be difficult to hear, but record videos with them. Pictures are nice but videos have something magical in them(Speaking from experience.. I lost my partner a couple of weeks ago).
It is not possible for you to be with your partner constantly. If possible, consider relocating your home to be closer to either your or her family. Or you can move in with them semi-permanently for support.
If you are providing larges amounts of care daily? Yeah, it's brutal. Between work and helping them I was maybe sleeping 4-6 hours a night and regularly having to deal with emergencies. I don't have a great answer in this case other than lean on family. We couldn't do this, but I know folks who are in similar boats who have had some success here.
If it is more a slow illness, this is the right time to find something stable. I know it's tempting to want to find the eye popping salaries but finding something that covers costs reliably and you can plan is much easier. Stable may not be glamorous but it keeps insurance paid for.
Next, you need to build a support system of friends and possibly family (if they can come over for a time to help).
https://www.usa.gov/disability-caregiver
Some states have better options than others, especially for caregiving. You want to look into personal care assistants. It can be very difficult to find people but