The Limbo Dance Continues for the Asian Americans
Half a million people in the United States stay on H1 B VISAs as per research in Economic Policy Institute. At least twice this number of people’s lives is in limbo every year of their VISA extension majority being Asian Americans. The anxiety that continues year after year for immigrants on Work VISA is a never-ending misery.
Let me acknowledge something here first. Settling down in the US like many others was my dream. It was the work-life balance that attracted me here. Although the nature of the job was the same back in my home country, the long commutes and losing time in my personal life was a real concern. Education and the healthcare system proved to be a bonus in our initial research on possibilities to settle down here.
With all our calculations in place, my family traveled to the US after my husband’s H1 approval. The initial months were pretty smooth, a very loving neighborhood, a good school district, a fantastic workgroup at my husband’s office. Everything looked hunky-dory.
With things falling in place, I decided it is time to restart my career after the sabbatical break I took to take care of my then 3 YO daughter. I needed a work VISA to kick-start my career.
Hunt for a VISA sponsor
I started actively looking for VISA sponsors and none were ready to sponsor a new one. The previous company was ready to take me in if I had a VISA but they weren’t ready to sponsor one as per the immigration rules. The only hope of a career, as the spouses of legal immigrants we had, was to be sponsored. With 6 years of IT experience at stake, years were rolling in search of sponsors.
It was at this juncture, Obama administration's H4-EAD(Employment authorization for the spouse of H1 holder) came as a silver lining in our lives. Even this scheme had its own rules and restrictions, requiring that the primary applicant would have to stay in the country for 6 years for their spouse to legally work. Anyway, it was a slightly better option for many of us, as we had an alternate channel to get back to work. For many spouses, this came as a boon and none of us wasted time in applying for one.
But nothing lasts forever, not even a boon
Change in adminsitration
The initial couple of years were great, with quick approvals of the employment authorization many EAD holders got back to work. Trump administration took office.
With the change in administration and promises made on immigration, EAD was seen as a threat to the local job market. With lots of lawsuits that took years proving that EAD holders were never a threat, the stay against EAD was finally removed but the damage had already been done.
The Trump administration had introduced hassles by bringing in the process of biometrics and widening the delay. Millions were already losing a job due to the pandemic and EAD delays were only adding fuel to the fire. Lots of EAD holders lost their job by then and so did I. The worst part is working on EAD(c26 category) is that, on the day of expiry of your VISA, employment needs to be terminated and there is no automatic extension.
Only at this instance did I realize about my race and if being Asian has anything to do with all this.
The processing was ridiculously delayed by the introduction of biometrics, adding in mental and financial pressure to numerous families for no fault of theirs. I understand biometrics is to make sure “You are really you”, but why would you do it every year for a VISA extension?
With the already growing unemployment nationwide because of the pandemic, EAD delays only increased anxiety and tension in thousands of family fearing their return to work seemed grim.
The irony is that EAD holders pay the same amount of tax in this country as any other VISA holder but why this unfair treatment? The worst part is, it is the Asian Americans who have been stranded in this situation, and most of us are hesitant to file for unemployment benefits fearing future immigration issues in settling down. Everything is deeply intertwined in this system.
With everything going around Asian Americans in this country, the least this government can do is make the needed system changes and alleviate their worries.
This system needs to change. The lives of potential spouses cannot be at stake for a fault with the system.
Final Thoughts
I understand that with the other larger cruelties going on around Asian Americans, immigration grievances would be the least to worry about. But every change matters. Any level of double standards for a fellow human being needs to stop. #MeToo,#BlackLivesMatter,#AsianAmericanHate — how many more should we all be protesting for? With all these uncertainties already around Asian Americans' life, the least they would want to see is ‘Hate’ from their fellow Americans. Albeit, I have been blessed with wonderful people around me and have received a lot of love, I feel it is my turn to stand in solidarity with my fellow Asian Americans when they need it. Let us all rise above these challenging times. Live and Let Live.#StopAsianHate
