Informing You of Immigrant Impacts
Ana
My name is Ana, and I was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador. My mother was born in Washington, DC, where her father was stationed at the embassy of El Salvador. Her family moved back to El Salvador when she was 3, and since her father was a diplomat, she was not considered an American citizen by birth. My father was born in EL Salvador, and when he was around 12 years old, his father went to work at the embassy of El Salvador in Los Angeles. Due to my parents' experiences living in the U.S., they decided to send my sister and me to a private, bilingual school (English/Spanish) to give us better career opportunities in the future. After graduating high school, I went to a private university in El Salvador to study marketing and business administration in support of my goal of working somewhere other than El Salvador. After completing college, I applied for jobs abroad and got a job working for the embassy of El Salvador in Washington, DC where I worked for 8 years on a diplomatic visa.
San Salvador, El Salvador
My contract with the embassy ended and required renewal each year, which always left the possibility of having to return to El Salvador. This gave me a feeling of fear that I might have to start my life over and leave everything I had built for myself here in America. After working for the embassy, I took my current job on a work visa for the InterAmerican Development Bank. My sister married an American man, and was able to get a green card through marriage. She was then able to petition to get my parents green cards, and after they received their cards, I was able to petition to get my own green card. It was supposed to take only 6 years to receive my green card, but it ended up taking almost 13 years and I am still waiting for the physical green card. I want to earn my US citizenship, but I must wait 5 years after receiving my green card to apply. I travel to see El Salvador every other year to see my extended family, and over time, I've noticed that the cost of living there has increased. This shows how I would have never had the same future or opportunities if I had not come to America.
