“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!