June 16: Vivek Soni, a vice president at an insurance brokerage company in Phoenix, Arizona, who moved to Phoenix from India in 2008, in an opinion column on azcentral, writes of the stress and fear engulfing his family, at the prospect of his two daughters ‘aging out’ and being deported to India, if his Green Card application is not processed within a time limit.
“When my wife and I moved from India to Phoenix in 2008 with our two young daughters, we loved discovering American holidays. One of my favorites is Father’s Day: Every year, my girls make me cards or T-shirts that say “Best Dad in the World.” Then we go to In-N-Out Burger for grilled cheese sandwiches followed by sundaes at Cold Stone Creamery.
“Yet as my daughters grow older – one is studying neuroscience at the University of Arizona and the other is headed to 10th grade – the holiday feels bittersweet.
Although my family came to the United States legally, our cases have been stuck in the country’s immigration system for so long that when my 19-year-old turns 21, she’ll “age out” of her legal status and lose her place in the green card line. She’ll then be forced to leave America for a country she left when she was 6. Our 14-year-old daughter could face the same fate.”
Read his full column here.
