Many people around the world leave to other countries in search of a better life, whether to live comfortably, find more favorable jobs, or to escape the dangers of their home country. The countries where they immigrate to offer more opportunities and refuge. Some people are able to migrate to another country by obtaining a Visa, others come illegally, and some are able to come through a refugee process. However, the journey of immigrating to another country is terrifying. People are relocating to a country that is unfamiliar to them, hoping for a life that is not guaranteed. Though there isn’t a definite outcome for each person immigrating to another country, they all move for the same reason: to live a better life. Consequently, immigrating families are doing something brave, hoping for a better life for themselves and their children, and the generations beyond that. The journey of immigrating to another country can be worrisome and threatening, however, it is well worth it because of the opportunities and sanctuary the country offers that their home country could not.
An immigrating family has to apply for either a Visa or a green card, and if they did acquire one they are now able to leave to another country. They would pack as much as they could, bringing only the necessities they needed to live a new life in a new country. Goodbyes would be said to their relatives, tears being shed about having to leave, and about what is waiting for them just a couple thousand miles away. Family members would travel with them to the airport, savoring the last few moments with them before having to leave. Anxiousness courses through their body as the seconds’ tick by until they would have to depart. Once the time has come, the immigrating family would say their final goodbyes, board the plane, and take one last look at their home country before the plane has to take off. The act of moving to a foreign country is intimidating, but what good that could come from it motivates immigrants to move. Thoughts of what the future could offer would plague them, wondering about the life they can live in the new country, and longing to see their family once again. Thoughts like these fill their headspace, lingering even when they have arrived in their new home.
Having first moved to a foreign country means that one has nothing, barely any money, no sense of safety, and certainly no home, so finding a place to live temporarily is the first step in adapting to a new life. Some live with relatives, some in shelters, and others live with a complete stranger. The feeling of loneliness and not belonging being constant with every second of living in a new country. Living with a stranger is unnerving, being tense in the place that is supposed to be your temporary “home.” Most would immediately find jobs to support themselves and to pay back their debt to their relatives that helped them relocate. Having just moved to another country means having no work experience in said country, therefore an immigrant would take whatever job that’s available, those of which are laborious, strenuous, and exhausting. For example, they would work jobs that required them to stand at all times, work long hours, and not being able to effectively communicate as a result of a language barrier. The immigrants have to adapt to life in a country foreign to them alone, with no help at all, hope being a tool that motivates them to continue.
The act of receiving citizenship is a dream of numerous immigrants, however, it is a dream that requires tedious work and effort. Having citizenship would result in having more benefits, and would result in less anxiousness and worrying when becoming a citizen. Immigrants would be able to vote, bring family members to the country, deportation won’t be a problem anymore, and their children will also be granted citizenship; they would escape the menacing results that could happen to immigrants without citizenship. The weight on their shoulders will be lifted, and they will finally live a free life as a citizen. The idea of acquiring citizenship sounds easy enough, but countless immigrants aren’t able to proceed through the process due to the fees. The cost of obtaining a green card can range from hundreds to thousands, money that many immigrants don’t have. Numerous immigrant families live in poverty, living through paycheck to paycheck, struggling to even maintain a roof over their head. Immigrants have to worry about putting food on the table, paying bills first, and worry about citizenship second. Getting citizenship is the key to all their hopes and dreams, the thing that locks their place in their country, where they can live contently without any more worries.
The journey of immigrating to a new country, adapting to a new life, and acquiring citizenship is tedious. Leaving their family members and the place they call home to leave to another country where there might be more opportunities and sanctuary is brave. They are alone in a foreign country, having to take care of themselves with little to no contact with their family members thousands of miles away. Working a job they don’t want that is laborious and requires long hours just so they can support themselves. And saving up hundreds to thousands of dollars, so they can finally be granted citizenship, their days of worrying are over. The idea of moving to a different country where you don’t know the language and culture is terrifying, but with enough perseverance and resilience, it will work out in the end.
