Leader of the Pack
The end of school year sleep over, it seems, is an annual event. Cici is the one who brings the senior Asian students from her school together for a celebration. There was only one Asian senior last year, but this year there are five. Cici and I went to the grocery store Thursday evening after the awards ceremony and loaded up on the kinds of things that teenagers love to snack on, and Ping even relented and approved the purchase of some Sprite for the kids to drink.
Friday night the girls came in a couple of waves. They had about 25 movies with them, and they watched some, but Cici also took them down to the pool and they used the floats and kick boards that I bought for Cici and Ping two years ago. Yesterday I drove the girls to the mall so they could walk around looking beautiful. And they did look beautiful - like fashion models - a mixture of Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese girls. They are also the top students in their respective grades at Cici's school. They will each go on to study in college, but they each have a level of anxiety about what happens next in their lives.
The problem, you see, is that each of the Asian students except Cici carries only a student visa and an I-94 card that allows them to stay in America for D/S. Duration of Status. Meaning so long as they are a student, taking a full time load of classes, they are authorized to stay in America. When their status changes, they must leave or face the consequences. This is a scary thought for them. What are their choices? Go back to their home country, but to do what? Marry a U.S. Citizen and stay here legally. Overstay and face the consequences.
There may be one more option available to these girls by the time they finish college, but that depends on the whims of congress. Part of the Conceptual Proposal for Immigration Reform that is backed by both political parties, by the administration, and according to the polls, by the American people, could save them. If the proposal in its present form were to become the law, a foreign student with an advanced degree from a U.S. institution of higher education in the field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, who has an offer of employment in the field related to their degree from a U.S. employer, would be eligible to receive an immediate green card.
But the leader of the pack doesn't face this problem, because she is the holder of a U.S. Passport. Her concern is that her pack is dwindling in number and no replacements are arriving. By her count, unless new girls arrive from Asia to study at her school, she will face her senior year alone. There is an answer for that problem, I told her. You have a summer in China in which to recruit new students for your school.
Friday night the girls came in a couple of waves. They had about 25 movies with them, and they watched some, but Cici also took them down to the pool and they used the floats and kick boards that I bought for Cici and Ping two years ago. Yesterday I drove the girls to the mall so they could walk around looking beautiful. And they did look beautiful - like fashion models - a mixture of Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese girls. They are also the top students in their respective grades at Cici's school. They will each go on to study in college, but they each have a level of anxiety about what happens next in their lives.
The problem, you see, is that each of the Asian students except Cici carries only a student visa and an I-94 card that allows them to stay in America for D/S. Duration of Status. Meaning so long as they are a student, taking a full time load of classes, they are authorized to stay in America. When their status changes, they must leave or face the consequences. This is a scary thought for them. What are their choices? Go back to their home country, but to do what? Marry a U.S. Citizen and stay here legally. Overstay and face the consequences.
There may be one more option available to these girls by the time they finish college, but that depends on the whims of congress. Part of the Conceptual Proposal for Immigration Reform that is backed by both political parties, by the administration, and according to the polls, by the American people, could save them. If the proposal in its present form were to become the law, a foreign student with an advanced degree from a U.S. institution of higher education in the field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, who has an offer of employment in the field related to their degree from a U.S. employer, would be eligible to receive an immediate green card.
But the leader of the pack doesn't face this problem, because she is the holder of a U.S. Passport. Her concern is that her pack is dwindling in number and no replacements are arriving. By her count, unless new girls arrive from Asia to study at her school, she will face her senior year alone. There is an answer for that problem, I told her. You have a summer in China in which to recruit new students for your school.
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