Food from Peru 101: Quinua con Pollo (Quinua with Chicken)

This is part of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student (and soon alumnus) Carlos E., and other legal aliens in the USA.

Carlos' sister-in-law Ledy is also an Ohio University student and shared her recipe of Quinua, a Peruvian staple food: tasty little yellowish seeds that turn soft when boiled and are great with chicken. (Read more about Carlos' new life in the USA or watch him talk about the difficulties of acquiring a H1-B visa.)

She brought a bag of Quinua from Peru as the tiny red symbol in the lower left hand corner on the bag indicates. For three people she uses about a cup of the raw seeds.

Before boiling them, it is necessary to wash them several times, which can best be done with a colandor or sieve (unlike in the picture where a hand and later bowl had to suffice).

After that the washed Quinua needs another cup of water to boil the seeds for about twenty minutes until they have grown about twice their size and have become more yellow and softer.

Meanwhile the seeds boil, she chopped a medium-sized onion into tiny cubes and fried them in a separate pan with a little bit of oil golden brown. Add the fried onions to the Quinua pot after the seeds have cooked for about ten minutes.

Toward the end of the Quinua's cooking time add some black pepper, salt, fresh garlic (or garlic powder), and Maggi spice (either as boullion or liquid). Y esta es!

Quinua (upper half of the plate) similar to rice tastes great with chicken and veggies!

Que aproveche!

In a nutshell, for 3 servings of Quinua you need:

• 1 cup Quinua seeds
• 1 cup of water
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• 1 pinch of garlic powder
• 1 maggi boullion or a dash of liquid maggi spice

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape did you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? What do you miss about your own culture living in the USA? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

Tapash's First Year at Ohio University: No Suprises but Some Worries

Tapash -- All the Way From Bangladesh

This is part of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student Tapash Deb, and other legal aliens in the USA.

Tapash is a PhD student in chemistry who started at OU last August after finishing his BS in chemistry and computer science in Indiana. On September 16, 2008 I met him in Clippinger Hall where he spends lots of time as a student and graduate assistant and talked to him about his first in Athens. (Read more about Tapash's adventurous journey from Bangladesh to the USA or watch him tell it on video.)

Stine Eckert: You’ve been studying at OU [Ohio University, Athens, Ohio) for a year now. How do you reflect upon the last twelve months in Athens?
Tapash Deb: Past twelve months in Athens… It was a pretty good experience; it had some good sides, some bad sides. Overall it was a good experience. I had some good friends but at the same times there can be complaints that there are not enough friends.

S.E.: What was your best experience?
T.D.: The best experience I would say was working with my advisor. Things are going very well with him. I would say he is a pretty good advisor so I am happy working for him.

S.E.: And outside OU?
T.D.: Outside OU I have good friends, which is very good and I get to do a lot of outdoor activities.

S.E.: Which ones?
T.D.: Going out, hiking, biking. I haven’t had a chance to go swimming yet, but some day I’ll make myself jump into this chlorinated water.

S.E: In how far have you had any bad experiences?
T.D.: There are a couple of bad experiences I want to mention. I want to mention the friendship side; there is a lot of segregation going on. If I look at any program that is organized by a particular group, an international group, there are some Caucasians but not many of other groups such as Hispanics or African-American groups; they never show up to those programs. Vice versa. I don’t see a lot of many of other people from other races to go their programs such as African-American or Multicultural programs, which are organized by OU. There are not many other people other than the intended audience for this program.

Then when I talk about making friends, most grad students in my department … making friends in my apartment is kind of hard … except for a couple of students. Most of the students there are from a Chinese background. I have two lab mates and to tell the truth I haven’t been to program they’ve been because every time I asked them what is going on, they would tell me what is going on but then later on they say: ‘Oh, you won’t like it because it’s all going to be in Chinese and you’re not going to be enjoying it and you’re going to feel left out.’ I mean that’s a good point but on the other hand I can go there and learn something and make new friends but instead of doing that they’re thinking that they would leave me out. It’s a good consideration from their part but at the same time I believe what they’re doing to themselves is that they’re keeping to themselves to their own little circle and don’t get acquainted to other people of other cultures.

Then I want to talk about OU because it is an important part of Athens. At OU I think things are generally good except for a couple of things, for example the health insurance part. If I look into health insurance then I can see Blue Shield or Blue Cross is one of the best health insurance providers. They have very good coverage and they actually cost less than the OU insurance and I don’t know why they do not let us [international students] go for one of these insurances. They force us to take the OU insurance and I am not happy with their experiences.

When I talk in general about Athens for example apartments what happens we have to pay our own utility. The utility companies bill only one person and sometimes one of the persons in the apartment has to be responsible for the bill when it comes in; they have to collect the money. What happens is, as the landlord is not taking care of this utility part sometimes it’s hard for that person to collect the money from everybody. Sometimes a person moves in and another person moves out and once the person moves out then you can’t get the money from them because the electric bill comes one month later. Whoever used the electricity move out; that’s it and the money has to come out of my pocket.

Another thing about Hudson, our health care provider at OU, they’re charging us this well-being fee of $40 and they’re supposed to increase their hours but the problem is, it doesn’t help us as international students that much. Because most of us live off-campus and we get sick on the weekends then we have to actually find somebody who is with us to make the phone call or drive us to the hospital. Hudson is closed so there is no way to call them to ask for information. In the insurance brochure it says we need to call them to let them know if we need to go to the hospital beforehand, which is really a ridiculous thing because when somebody is sick, the person needs immediate care. The person doesn’t have the time to think about: ‘Oh, I have to make this phone call.’ That just doesn’t make sense. These kinds of things are there; there is room for improvement. They can probably do better than this.

S.E.: Was there any surprise in Athens; something you didn’t expect?
T.D.: Mmh…not really.

S.E.: What do you expect or hope for during your second year in Athens and at Ohio University?
T.D.: The second year is a pretty tough one because I have to write my thesis proposal and that will take most of my time. I also have to finish up with all of my classes before I can start with my proposal. Once I’m done with my proposal I will focus more on the research and currently the research sometimes works really good and sometimes it doesn’t work and it’s frustrating. But I’m expecting that things should be going well hopefully. [Laughs]

S.E.: Thank you for the interview.
T.D.: Thank you very much.

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape do you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? What is special about your home country? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

Luiza's Mamaliga Cu Brinza -- Polenta With Sheep Cheese

Luiza -- Severing Ties with Romania Forever

This is part of an ongoing series of the life of Detroit resident Luiza Grigorescu and other legal aliens in the USA.

Luiza tells me Romanians eat polenta every day, especially for lunch, which is the main meal of the day. They cook their stable food afresh daily from cornmeal, salt, and water. She says that people who eat lots of polenta will have healthy children. Here is her recipe: 

We need for 4 servings:

• about 1 cup of cornmeal
  
• about 3 cups of water
  
• about 200g sheep feta cheese
  
• some Kashkaval pure sheep cheese (a Bulgarian cheese found in a East European food store)
  
• 4 eggs
  
• some herb or garlic butter
  

And this is what we do with the ingredients:

1. Fill a medium-sized pot half with cold water. Then add a few big spoonfuls of cornmeal, stirring it into the water until it dissolves. Add a little bit of salt if you want (but be careful, the sheep cheese will add plenty of salt to the whole dish). Heat the mixture. Constant stirring is very important so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.

2. Put the heat on high. Add more cornmeal if the mixture is too watery. As it heats the cornmeal particles take in the water and swell. You can make the mixture as thick as you want.

3. Stir a lot until it becomes a thick mass and the mass starts bubbling but be careful it might jump out of the pot. Stir very fast. 

4. After the mass is very thick but sticks together very well as one, almost so that you could cut it with a threat, Luiza says. Them dump the mass onto a plate and distribute on as four plates.

By the way, Luiza recommends putting milk into the empty polenta pot with the remainder of the dough to boil the milk with the corn mass and drink it.

5. Add a lump of feta sheep cheese into the polenta on each plate and cover the cheese with the polenta as much as possible so that the warmth of the mass can melt the cheese wrapped in it. Add a little bit of garlic or herb butter  on top of the polenta. Luiza says it will go down the polenta mountain like lava.

6. Grate some of the firm kashkaval sheep cheese over each polenta mountain.

7. Poach an egg for every person. This means to drop a raw egg into a pot of boiling water. Let the egg cook until the egg white and yolk are firm. Then carefully take out the naked boiled egg with a big spoon and arrange it aside the polenta pile. Grate some kashkaval on each egg.

Enjoy your "mamaliga cu brinza"!

PS: “Listen to me,” says Luiza, “I tell you a secret. Take a little bit of cornmeal in the shower and rub your face with it two times a week. It will make your skin like velvet.” 

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape do you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? What is special about your home country? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

Immigration in the News 2007

The Project for Excellence in Journalism reported it its State of the News Media 2008 annual study that in all media, immigration was the number four story (out of the top ten list) filling 3% of the newshole 2007. It was topped by the 2008 presidential election campaing and Iraq related coverage.

The same report also stated that 1% of online topics were about immigration in 2007. The study examined the lead coverage during weekdays of the five most popular news websites: AOL News, CNN.com, Google News, MSNBC.com, and Yahoo. News.

Estimated 3 Million Young U.S. Adults Emigrate Every Year

A recent article by the U.S. News & World Report details a trend that is seldomly talked about. As the USA is an immigrant nation, it also is an emigrant nation with estimated 3 million U.S. adults between 25 and 34 years old draining from the USA every year -- and the trend is growing.

Egg Curry From Bangladesh

Tapash -- All the Way From Bangladesh

This is part of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student Tapash Deb, and other legal aliens in the USA.

Besides trying out restaurants in Athens is one of Tapash's hobbies, he also enjoys home cooked food. He does not remember when he learnt the recipe for egg curry from his mom, but how it goes, he knows for sure. Enjoy a cooking lesson of Bangladeshi cuisine with Tapash.


We need for 2 servings:

• 1 very big potato
• 2 medium-sized tomatoes
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 3 eggs

• 2 cups of brown rice

• some salt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon rasam masala (in asia store)
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (in asia store)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 fresh or dried red peppers

• some water
  
• some peanut (or any other) oil
  

And this is what we do with the ingredients:

1. Hard-boil all eggs, i.e. boil for approximately 10 minutes.

2. Fry the hard-boiled eggs in some oil in a pan until they are slightly brownish-golden on the outside.

3. Carefully wash and rinse the rice several times before you start cooking it. Tapash says this is a routine in his country.

4. Boil the rice in plenty of water and some salt as long as it says on the package.

By the way, rice is a staple food in Bangladesh.

5. Peel the potato and cut it into big cubes. Unlike in other countries in which the potato is a staple, it is treated as a veggie aside in Bangladesh. So for this recipe it will be cooked along side other vegetables in the curry.

6. Fry the potato cubes n plenty of peanut or any other oil until they are a little brownish-golden on the outside. When they are done, take the potato cubes out of the pot and set them aside.

7. Chop the onion into strips and fry them in the potato pot with the left over oil.

8. Cube the tomatoes and add them to the golden-brown fried onions in the pot.

9. Add the three whole eggs and potato cubes to the same pot and stir for a while until everything is well mixed. Let the mixture fry on a small flame.

By the way, frying is a staple method of preparing food in Bangladehs. Ovens and baked goods are seldom except for some special breads like nan.

10. Now it's time to add some spieces: each 1 teaspoon of turmeric, salt, and cinnamon, each
1/2 teaspoon of garam and rasam masala. According to how much hotness your tongues can bear you can add dried or even fresh red peppers. We recommend 1 red pepper for a rather mild version of egg curry.

Masala simply means mixture of spices. Asian food stores usually have ready-made mixtures in boxes to use for certain dishes. We have found that the MDH brand is an okay one to buy. It comes in great variety and most often has a recipe on the back of the box.

11. Add 1/2 cup of water and let the curry boil for about ten minutes.

12. Cut the eggs in the pot in half.

Tapash tastes for last time if all spices work out....mmmh, yummy! You might want to add more of the salt or the garam masala as needed. Now it's ready to serve:

Enjoy your egg curry with rice!

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape do you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? What is special about your home country? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

Would You Emigrate? -- Blog Poll Results

This is part of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student (and soon alumnus) Carlos E., and other legal aliens in the USA.

The poll on this blog about people's thoughts about emigrating themselves shows that 14 out of 18 voters at least consider this as an idea. 

In detail, four said it is in fact a dream for them to switch countries. 

Seven are not sure about going away forever but would go with the flow if life offers an opportunity to change nations.

Three believe that emigrating might be a nice alternative when they are fed up with their home country.

Only four said that they would never leave their country for good.

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape did you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

How Many New U.S. Citizens Are Made Each Year?

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Yearbook of Immigration the USA made 702,589 new U.S. citizens in 2006. (The last numbers available.)

By country:

• Bangladesh: 6,683 (the highest number in the previous ten years, i.e. since 1997)
  
  
• Romania: 5,484 (the highest number in the previous ten years, i.e. since 1997)
  
  
• Peru: 10,063 (by far the highest number in the previous ten years, i.e. since 1997)
  

Age, Occupation, and Marital Status of New Americans
In the same year most individuals becoming U.S. citizen were between 25 and 44 years old.

Among the naturalized in 2006 the biggest group in terms of occupation were in the category of management, professional, and related occupations: 64,233. Another 22,654 worked in service, and 50,921 were students.

Roughly triple as many married individuals (almost 460,000) than singles (over 154,000) came.

Filed and Denied Petitions for U.S. Citizenship in 2006
For 2006 the same source says that 730,642 people filed petitions to become U.S. citizen and that 120,722 filed petitions got denied by the U.S. government. [The data does not make it clear when these were filed and why they were denied.]

How Many Legal Immigrants Live in the USA?

In 2007 according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics 1,052,415 individuals gained legal permanent residency in the USA.

The Last Ten Years Among Highest Number of New Legal Permanent Residents
The tables provided by Homeland Security indicate, that the last ten years are among the three decades with the highest number of people who gained legal permanent residency since 1820 with a total of 9,359,479 people between (and including) 1998 and 2007. The same document shows that only the previous decade and the decade before World War I saw higher numbers with over ten million individuals gaining legal permanent residency in the USA.

By country:

• Bangladesh: 12,074 (the second highest number of Bangladeshis to become legal permanent residents in the last decade)
  
  
• Peru: 17,699 (the second highest number of Peruvians to become legal permanent residents in the last decade)
  
  
• Romania: 5,802 (the fifth highest number of Romanians to become legal permanent residents in the last decade)

Nonimmigrant Admissions
In 2006 a total of 693,805 students with an F1 visa entered the USA. This number has slightly increased over the past three years (2003: 617,556). In addition, the year 2006 saw a total of 33,667,328 nonimmigrants [with different types of visa] admitted to the USA, a number, which has roughly stayed the same during the previous nine years.

[I chose to look at the F1 visa type more closely because it is very common for graduate students. It usually allows students to work for the university and after a year outside of campus in addition to studying. There are many other visa types. Another common student visa is J1, which allows the student to study or do research work but only with special permission and in connection with the student's study field allows her/him to work on campus.]

By country:

• Bangladesh: 14,224 (a number that peaked at over 20,000 in 2000 and 2001 but has roughly stayed the same over the previous ten years, 1998: 14,173)
  
  
• Peru: 199,286 (which is roughly estimated slightly lower than the average of the previous ten years, 1998: 192,848
  
  
• Romania: 70,462 (the highest number in the previous ten years, steadily grown from 33,307 in 1998)

What Is the Difference Between Permanent Legal Residents and Nonimmigrants?
The 2006 Yearbook of Immigration defines naturalization and nonimmigrant admission on page seven: “Naturalizations refer to persons aged 18 and over who become citizens of the United States. Most legal permanent residents are eligible to apply for naturalization within five years after obtaining LPR [Legal Permanent Resident] status. […] Nonimmigrant admissions refer to arrivals of persons who are authorized to stay in the United States for a limited period of time. Most nonimmigrants enter the United States as tourists or business travelers, but some come to work, study, or engage in cultural exchange programs."

Carlos Talks About His H1-B Visa

Carlos – A Peruvian in Boston

After working with a lawyer in Miami, Florida and spending about $2,500 for legal consulting and $2,500 in fees, Carlos finally got his H1-B visa. Listen to an interview about his successful application.

This is part of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student (and soon alumnus) Carlos E., and other legal aliens in the USA.




How did you come to the USA? With which red tape did you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

Back to School in a Foreign Country

Carlos – A Peruvian in Boston


In his office: In October 2007 Carlos moved from Athens, OH to Boston, MA for his optional practical training. (Photos provided by Carlos' wife.)

Meet Carlos:
Name: Carlos E.
Age: 35
Origin: Lima, Peru
First Came to USA: Aug. 2005 (to Athens)
U.S. Home: Boston, Massachusetts
Educational Objective: Finish M.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering in June 2008 at Ohio University, Athens
Work Objective: Continue working as customer and technical support manager in Boston for at least three years

The reputation of U.S. university education, an offer by an Ohio University professor, and a scholarship have lured Carlos E.*, 35, from his job in Peru back to school in a foreign country. He successfully finished his MBA at Ohio University; this summer he will finish his M.S. in Industrial & Systems engineering while already working for a company in Boston as a customer and technical support manager during his optional practical training. Planning for the future, Carlos has applied for an H1-B visa and will start an application for a green card soon. In this e-mail interview he talks about the long and costly road to become a U.S. citizen.

This is part of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student (and soon alumnus) Carlos E., and other legal aliens in the USA.

Which visa do you have as of now? When will it expire?
I am currently on an F-1 student visa, which will expire in November 2008.

In how far have you had problems to apply for the visa that you have now?
Before applying for my F-1 student visa, I held a tourist visa for the USA. With this visa I traveled several times to the USA and back to Peru. Therefore, it was not very difficult to apply for the new visa.

How much did the visa you have now cost?
I believe I paid around $400 back in Peru.

Carlos and his wife Rocio sightseeing in New York City during a weekend. (The picture caption previously wrongly said that the picture was taken in Boston.) While Rocio still studies in Athens, OH mutual visits bridge the time of separation for the couple. (Photo provided by Carlos' wife.)

Which new visa are you applying for now and why?
I am applying to the H1-B visa, which is a working visa. This visa will allow me to work legally in USA for three additional years.

Which different steps are involved in the application?
First, you need to find a company that is able to sponsor you. This means that the company has to prove to the government that they need you. Next, you need to hire a lawyer to do the paperwork for you. The total costs are between $4,000 and $5,000. Then, your application enters a lottery where all the applicants have the same possibility to get an H1-B visa. The total number of visas available can vary each year.

How much time do you spend organizing for the new visa application?
Basically, you need to collect personal documents and the company also has to send its information to the lawyer. There are several documents to collect. It took me about three weeks to collect all the documents.

What problems do you have to fight with for the current visa application?
Every time I have to travel out of USA, I need to have my I-20 [a document issued by universities for F-1 visa students that is required by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security] updated, that is, it needs a valid signature for six months [from Ohio University's International Student and Faculty Office] and also I need to prove that I am currently employed. Therefore, I need to keep an updated letter from my employer with me.

Back in Athens, OH: While his wife is still in Athens, OH, Carlos (left) comes back about once a month for a weekend. Eating with friends is a must for at least one of the evenings; these days grilling is the thing to do.

Why do you want to become a U.S. citizen?
Basically, there are certain problems when you are an alien. For instance, in school you cannot work for governmental institutions and in private companies there are certain positions you can not even apply for. If I obtain U.S. citizenship these problems will be solved.

How long will it take you to reach that goal?
There are two steps: First, you need to get your green card. The company has to sponsor you and you need to go through a process that takes between two and five years. Later, after a few years of holding a green card you can apply for U.S. citizenship. In total the whole process can take seven years, if you are lucky.

How much will it cost?
This process costs about $10,000.

How confident are you that you will get U.S. citizenship in the future?
I am confident with my professional background. The risky parts are changing immigration laws and the number of visas available every year.

In June 2008 Carlos' (middle standing) will come to Athens to pick up his wife; both will finally move to Boston, MA after three years of studying and working in Athens, OH among many friends.

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape did you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

Watch the video of a follow up interview with Carlos on this blog soon.

* Carlos asked me to just use the initial of his last name.

Tapash's Story Told by Himself

Tapash – All the Way from Bangladesh

This is part of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student Tapash Deb, and other legal aliens in the USA.



How did you come to the USA? With which red tape do you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

A New Life at 52

Luiza -- Severing Ties with Romania Forever

Luiza is 52, a student at Baker College to become a registered nurse, and she says with 99.9% she will be a U.S. citizen next year. She came to the USA over a decade ago to get a taste of freedom after the revolution in East Europe opened the borders for Romanians. Luiza Grigorescu* convinced her husband to join his mother and brother who lived in West Virginia, the first step of a new life. Next spring she will be eligible for U.S. citizenship.

This is part one of an ongoing series on the life of Detroit resident Luiza Grigorescu and other legal aliens in the USA.

“Speak English, we are in the United States,” Luiza tells her friend on the phone, a Romanian co-worker.

The only pictures from home: Luiza and her husband Alexandro. They married in 1994, two years before emigrating to the United States where Alexandro's mother and brother live. The left picture shows them at the beach of the Black Sea, in the city of Mamaia, Romania. The right photo shows the couple during a visit to Romania in 1998. Alexandro passed away in 2006. Luiza says: "We were a good team: He could understand English better, I could talk better."

Luiza is currently working as a living assistant in Detroit but also studies at Baker College to become a registered nurse. Just recently she had finals. "If nurse doesn't work out, I become a truck driver," she jokes.

When she returned from a visit in Romania to the USA in 2001, Luiza thought, it will be forever. She got her U.S. driver’s license. A first in her life.


Luiza’s car is her pride: She covered every seat and the room for feet with blankets and fabrics to make sure no dirt or dust will spoil her Toyota Corolla. It is her first self-owned car.

She got her cell phone in 2004 after receiving her U.S. green card and returning to the USA for good. What for Luiza is a daily necessity since, is entirely new for her mom back in Romania. “She said, all the women at the well where she pumps her water are talking on a cell phone. Now she wants one, too. She said she feels behind.” Last year the wish of the 76 year old Roman came true.

“Plants are beings”, says Luiza, who enjoys to see the fresh pale green buds on a this plant in her sponsor's house in Bloomfield Hills outside of Detroit where she frequently visits although it means a forty minute ride each way.

On Saturday, May 18, 2008, Luiza got the first credit card in her life. “Bank business is tricky,” Luiza says. For an overdraft of $40 on her account she had to pay $64 in fees, she explains, something she hopes to prevent with her new card.


Lucky charms all over: The chimney sweep is a symbol for luck in Romania she explains, the green clover is a spring charm, and the religious picture hints at Luiza's orthodox creed. After living in the USA for twelve years, Luiza hopes that with "99,9 percent" she will become a U.S. citizen next year.

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape did you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

Watch an edited version of Luiza's interview on this blog soon.

* Luiza asked me not to use her true name as she does not want to be identified by her environment.

Bring your visa, passport and I-20

Comfort Food from Home: Tapash Deb from Bangladesh has been studying in the USA since 2003.
Only twice did he visit back home.

Tapash – All the Way from Bangladesh

What U.S. students take for granted, turned into a struggle for Ohio University graduate student Tapash Deb: creating a bank account, getting a cell phone, and doing Optional Practical Training. Tapash came from Bangladesh to study chemistry in Athens but found that some goals are hard to meet and one is even unreachable for an international student.

This is part one of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student Tapash Deb and other legal aliens in the USA.

280 applications. 10 interviews. But no company wanted him. Tapash held a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Chemistry, completed two internships at Illinois University and Ohio University, and had the necessary permit. Still, no one wanted to employ him for Optional Practical Training (OPT). He says, the answer was always the same: ‘You need to be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident before we can hire you.’ He says, 270 places did say blatantly that they do not hire international students at all. After waiting for six months,
Tapash moved on and became PhD student at Ohio University in Athens.

Troubles with getting a cell phone and a bank account
When Tapash wanted to buy a cell phone, the store wanted to check his credit card history. Since he does not have a credit card the alternative was to put down a security deposit: “After coming in as an international student, paying tuition fees and everything, suddenly I had to come up wit $500 dollar for the phone,’ he says. “That is just too much money to come up with.” Despite this obstable he managed to get a phone eventually.

Although he had no trouble opening a bank account in Indiana, creating a new account in Athens posed a problem. He says, the bank wanted him to prove ties to Athens county. After living in the USA for four years with a proper address in Indiana, he still felt “treated as a newcomer.“ The solution was a letter from the office for International Student and Faculty Service (ISFS), he says, “It was really a pain.”

“What is the purpose of coming to the USA, if people don’t mix?”
Ever since he came to the Athens’ campus he has noticed “segregation”. He says, Chinese stick to Chinese, Japanese to Japanese, Indians to Indians. And he wonders, what purpose it serves coming to the USA if people don’t mix. He says there is only one other student from Bangladesh with which he can team up: “I think the ISFS [Ohio University's International Student and Faculty Service] could do much more to organize events where students from all backgrounds can participate and do some activities and extend their knowledge.”

A similar view holds Ohio University undergraduate Xiaoli Stephan Wang from Hongkong: “As an international student in Athens I felt left out a little bit.” She started her own initiative modeled after a event series from home, the Global Café. In an informal setting with coffee and snacks, students introduce a geographical area, most often their home country: Great Britain, Japan, Somalia, Kap Verde, Hongkong, Ghana, and Guyana were already on the menu. The Baker Center 5th floor atrium provides an outlet for the educational gathering every other week on Thursday at 7 PM. The event is sponsored by the Wesley Student Center, the youth group of the First United Methodist Church of Athens. Upcoming nights feature Japan on May 8th and (East) Germany on May 22nd (latter will be presented by the author of this blog.)

What Tapash misses from home and his future prospects
Three things Tapash misses the most from his home country: family, “deep-hearted” hospitality, and friendliness: “When we go into a restaurant and someone doesn’t have any money, someone else will say ‘I’ll pay for you, don’t worry about it’. And the next time this person will pay out of courtesy.” Does his family miss him? “Oh yeah, I’m the only kid. They sent me for education so as long as I make progress, they are happy.”

He studies for about 35 hours per week for example working on models of enzymes for future environmental development. In addition, he is a teaching assistant for 15 hours per week, but he says, he works often more than 20. After graduating from Ohio University in 2011 or 2012, he says, he will go where research takes him: “If the USA thinks I’m eligible for doing more research and I can contribute something to the nation, sure I have no problem with that.” But he has also already applied at companies in Bangladesh.

Asked if he would consider switching his citizenship, he hesitates. He says, in order to work in the USA, he would need an H-1B visa. However, he says he learnt from past hassles with visa application, interviews, and travelling back and forth between his home country and USA. He says he might opt for entering the green card lottery and hope to be lucky.

Did you know?
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Yearbook of Immigration 2006 states that in 2003 13.914 nonimmigrants from Bangladesh were admitted to the United States.

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape did you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

Watch Tapash tell his story in his own word in one of the next posts on this blog.

“That’s not you, go away!”

Tapash – All the Way from Bangladesh


Meet Tapash:
Name: Tapash Deb
Age: 24
Origin: Dhaka, Bangladesh
First Came to USA: Aug. 2003
U.S. Home: Athens, Ohio
Educational Objective: PhD Chemistry
Work Objective: Research

Where the heck is Bangladesh? And how long does it take to fly from there to the USA? It turns out not only the flight was a problem. Three times Ohio university graduate student Tapash Deb, 24 had to apply for a U.S. visa before he received the coveted document that would grant him access to a U.S. college.

This is part one of a series on the life of Ohio University graduate student Tapash Deb, and other legal aliens in the USA.

Desperation
Tapash was desperate. After one and a half year at Dhaka University he could only take one exam. Prospects were dire. He says it can take up to seven years to graduate with a Bachelor of Science at Dhaka. It was clear: He needed to get out of his country to get a better education.

But he says, it was not always that way, up until the 1970s the university in Bangladesh’s capital was known as the “Oxford of the East”. Then politics got in the way, says Tapash. While he continued studying in Dhaka, he applied to colleges in Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Russia, and the USA. And although he says he heard back from all colleges and many offered him scholarships, the USA stayed one of his main targets: “The [U.S.] education system is the best one I think, the amount of study, the research work and the research funding, all the things that are done there.”

Applying for a U.S. visa
He applied for visas in three countries: Australia, Russia, and the USA. He decided not to face the Australian visa interview, the Russian visa application was going just fine, but the U.S. visa procedure proved to be a headache. The embassy refused to give him a visa twice.

The first time U.S. officials denied it without a reason, the second time his hair was too short, says Tapash: “The officer looked at me, then at my picture, and said: ‘Mmh, that’s not you, that’s ridiculous, that’s just not you, go away.’”

Tapash was hurt. He not only suffered emotionally from the pressure constantly asking himself why the officers acted in such ways, but his wallet also suffered. For every visit to the U.S. embassy, which is a requirement for each visa, he had to pay $100.

At the same time Russia offered him a visa and he was about ready to take it.

But his dad encouraged him to give the USA a last chance. This time he got it, his entrance ticket to a U.S. education. Two weeks before he had to confirm his flight to Russia, the U.S. embassy called him to tell him he can pick up his visa in three weeks.

Although it was the good news he hoped for it was not as exciting as it would have been the first time, he says: “That’s like the student’s motto: ‘Keep trying and you will be successful one day.’” When the U.S. official handed Tapash visa and a sealed enveloped he told him to make sure the document is not ripped or dirty when he hands it to the immigration officer in his first port of entry.

Tapash travelled 28 hours via plane.

Tapash’s first flight: Dhaka – Dubai – Amsterdam -- Detroit
Tapash says he was the second person to get a F1 visa in fall semester in 2003 and the only male one: “After September 11 it was so hard; they barely gave any visa to male students.”

It was Tapash’s first flight, with a $1,250 one way ticket: From Dhaka over Dubai and Amsterdam he flew into Detroit. Tapash was excited.

But his enthusiasm turned into anxiousness in Dubai. Suddenly, an airport security guard asked him for a visa for Amsterdam although the city was only a transit point. The guard insisted, took Tapash’s passport and left. “My flight was about to leave in an hour and they already made the final call for boarding.”

Desperate again, Tapash grabbed the pilot when he boarded the plane. Lucky enough, the pilot was friendly, went after the guard and recovered Tapash’s precious passport with the visa. “That was a one of a kind experience, in an unknown place without a passport.”

Finally There
Upon arrival in Indiana his picture and fingerprints were taken and he had to see a consulate officer the next year for special registration. But that was not enough; after Tapash visited Bangladesh in 2006 he had to do it all over again.

He says the officers explained it had nothing to do with him but with his study subjects, computer programming and chemistry, which were a “little bit touchy.” Tapash did not comprehend: “I don’t think a simple B.S. degree holder can make something like a nuclear weapon.”

After graduating from Manchester College, Indiana with a B.S. in computer science and chemistry, Tapash came to Ohio University in fall 2007.

Read how Tapash struggled to do Optional Practical Training, get a bank account, and a cell phone.

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape do you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!