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.
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7 comments:
The story is so nice and clear, well-organized. I like the links of Peru, I-20 and ISFS, which provide more detailed background to people not familiar with them.
By the way, it's really good to notify the reason why you don't write his full last name!
Hi Stine,
I like how you included the link to your blog about yourself and the edit disclaimer at the bottom of your profile. I have one question, though: how does a company prove they need you? (Like to sponsor a legal alien). Also, how do the local legal aliens think of Athens compared to their home country, and how did they choose to come here? Looks good!
Angie
Stine,
Very nice blog! I like how you are going in-depth and profiling various people. It definitely brings home the issue to see it through the eyes of the people who are experiencing it.
One minor comment/correction ... the picture of the man and his family standing in front of Madison Square Garden ... you have the photo captioned as them visiting Boston ... but Madison Square Garden is actually in New York City.
The issue of how a company proves that they need this specific individual is a very good questions, they basically have to rule out that a U.S. citizen cannot fulfill the job. I know that in Carlos' case his bilingual skills played a role (as he explains in the video interview). I should try to get an interview with a company that employs an immigrant, maybe even his company. I will see if that could be done.
In case of Carlos it was an Ohio University professor who told him about a scholarship for Ohio University in Athens, so that is how he "chose" Athens. He really likes to come back to visit and always marvels at Athens' nice location in the hills with plenty of green around.
Tapash says in his interview that he misses the special hospitality from Bangladesh in Athens but that he really likes the research facilities here. He did an internship prior to applying for Ohio University's PhD program and after not being able to do optional practical training decided that Athens would be a good place to be for him.
Luiza lives in Detroit and has never been to Athens to my knowledge. However, she says that Michigan is too "mousy" for her, that is too gray, and that she would like to move one day.
The pictures of Boston and the Madison Square Garden were provided by Carlos' wife. She said these are Boston pictures but I will check back with her. Thank you very much for drawing my attention to this.
By the way, I really appreciate everyone who has voted in my little blog survey on emigration. :) Thank you for taking time. I will post the results when the voting time is over.
Stine,
I like the mix of useful facts and information with real life stories. There is so much information.
It would be interesting to see the process of how illegal immigrants,that are not students, receive United States citizenship.
I think that is a whole new issue and probably much harder to convince an illegal immigrant to go on the record if already legal immigrants like to partially hide their identity. I agree it would be interesting but this is out of area since I want to focus on the forgotten regular immigrants. Immigration I think has become layered with negative connotations and I think it is important to stress success stories to balance that out.
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