My 21-Year Journey to American Citizenship

On May 13, 2001, I arrived in the United States as a five-year old tentatively excited about the country that was about to become my new home, heartbroken to leave behind everything familiar to me in India, and unclear why this move was necessary in the first place. Three college degrees, eight jobs, and two cross-country moves later, I was finally eligible to apply for my American citizenship on May 12, 2022. Since I will be voting as an American citizen for the first time and immigration is a hot topic in this election, I feel responsible to share my two cents on the reality of this journey. There's a rising sentiment that immigrants are harming the country, but what most people don’t realize is that naturalization in America is not as simple as getting on a plane and being handed a new passport: It’s a long and grueling journey with many cracks in the process.

My parents moved to the U.S. with my father's visa sponsorship under the impression that his employer would be sponsoring our Green Cards for permanent residency should we decide to stay long term. What we couldn’t have predicted was that one of the worst terrorist attacks in history would occur less than 30 miles from our new home within four months of our move.  My family was one of the many whose immigration status experienced a state of almost complete stagnation because of heightened security and scrutinization following the 9/11 attack. As a result we were caught in a phase of the process where everything was up in the air: We couldn't leave easily nor could we be guaranteed a clear future if we stayed.

Our first trip to Niagara Falls after moving to America

In today's polarized political climate, there's a widespread narrative that immigrants are taking away opportunities but in my experience, my opportunities were typically not the same as others’ regardless of my achievements; It was something we accepted as immigrants because we saw it as the price to pay to earn our right to stay. Every decision from buying a house to where my sister and I went to school was dictated by our immigration status. It did not matter that I graduated second in my high school class because when it came to applying for college, I still didn’t have my Green Card and therefore, most colleges categorized me as an “International Student”, removing me from opportunities for scholarships. Status as an out-of-state or international student came with the tuition associated with it, which is often double or triple that of in-state tuition. Bearing in mind the average immigrant family has to spend $4,000-$12,000 per applicant between documentation, legal, and medical fees, my options were limited.

Attaining a college education was only one hurdle. Most companies are reluctant to hire students who would need visa sponsorship - regardless of GPA or technical skills. Study abroad and international opportunities were also impossible as I couldn’t travel without applying for an exemption document called “Advanced Parole”, which grants special permission to leave and enter the country for emergency situations. This also made visiting India extremely risky and inconvenient. As a result, we were constantly missing out on years of holidays, family events, and milestones. The volatility of living an immigrant life in America is that nothing is certain: You could suddenly be let go from a job and lose not only a paycheck, but your whole life as you know it.

It wasn't until recently that legislation was passed to allow visa holders to qualify for in-state tuition

While my parents had to navigate starting from scratch in a new country with nothing to claim, the experience my sister and I had of moving as children came with its own set of unique challenges from getting bullied in school for bringing unfamiliar lunches to growing up isolated without grandparents, cousins, or aunts and uncles. My sister and I often had wistful conversations of "what if we never left India?" and questioned if our life would have been better if we never moved, because when you're uprooted at a young age, it's rarely your own choice.

On August 10, 2017, 16 years after moving to the U.S., four glimmering Green Cards finally arrived in our mailbox. By this point, I had completed my Masters degree and started my first full-time job. After years of monitoring the progress of this step every single day, my mom anti-climatically texted in our group chat “We got our Green Card." In the early days, this milestone was hyped with comments like “When we get our Green Card, we’re going on a real vacation!” and “We’re going to throw a huge party”. Over time, the attitude gradually morphed into “If we ever get our Green Card…” and “At this point, I probably won’t get it until I marry an American Citizen.” Five years later, it was time for the final milestone in our journey: on May 13, 2022, on the 21st anniversary of arriving in the U.S., I filed my application for U.S. naturalization.  Once I hit submit, my application page refreshed to indicate my status as “Application Received. Estimated Processing Time: 19 Months”. Ironically enough, by the time I did receive my U.S. citizenship, I was only 6 months away from getting married to an American citizen.

People regularly asked why not just speed up the process by getting married? But I was in too deep on this journey with my family - I wanted to see it through!

Following every step of the immigration process completely legally with no shortcuts took me and my family 21 years. Meanwhile there are other routes like birthright citizenship, naturalization through marriage, and family-based Green Cards, to name a few, that are heavily debated topics in immigration policy. Approximately 45% of the 707,000 Green Cards issued in 2022 were made up of immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens and the USCIS backlog doubled from 5.7 million applications by the end of 2019 to 9.5 million by February 2022.  I admit it’s frustrating to accept the fact that not every immigrant had to wait as long as me, but at the same time, is it fair to compare the scenario of a child moving because of her father’s job to that of a wife trying to secure access to her husband’s country? Every journey is unique and judging who should be given priority is gray area.

There's a lot of hate against immigrants today - both from the host country and home country. I regularly receive countless messages along the lines of "go back home" and similarly negative commentary from people in India with anti-NRI sentiment who no longer want to claim us, but what is "home" for people like us? Every immigrant experiences thoughts similar to my sister and I about whether it's all worth it, and there are low points the answer feels like no. I used to think everything would have been easier if my parents had just never moved at all, but as I near the age they were when they made the decision to leave India, I realize it's not so black and white. Nobody enjoys being thrown out of their comfort zone, but if you've ever experienced frustration, burnout, or lack of security of any sort, you can probably relate to feeling obligated to taking drastic measures, regardless of how hesitant you might feel. My parents were likely just as scared as we were, but had to see where this path took them, not realizing that once they committed to the decision, it would get even more complicated to undo. I no longer wonder whether it was the right decision because while moving to America may not have been easy, it was definitely the more rewarding choice. As frustrating and intimidating as this journey has been at times, I'm immensely grateful that the immigrant experience has shaped who I am today by instilling values of work ethic, resilience, adaptability, cultural pride, and a sense of responsibility to always pursue growth.

Immigration runs deep in the veins of America's history and this country would not be what it is without its identity as the land of opportunity. The immigration process in the United States is a broken one and while it may not be possible to fix these gaps overnight, we can address the negative narratives surrounding the topic. Despite the misconception that immigrants are here to steal American jobs and eating pets while they're at it, the reality is that immigrants must work twice as hard and be willing to sacrifice more for the same opportunities - and we're happy to do it. Studies have even proved that immigrants are vital to nations' economic growth in supporting workforce expansion, business creation, and contributing to government finances. At the end of the day, what we really need is a better system to manage fair entry, not blind bias and hatred because making room at the table for someone different does not mean you have to give up your own seat.

2024 brings us one of the most important elections in modern history, so as someone who has never had the right to vote before and relied on others to determine my fate, my only ask is that you don't take this privilege lightly. Take the time to consider why are you are voting the way you are and whether it will truly steer the nation in the right direction. Your vote is a voice for not just yourself but for all those who do not have one at all.