When Immigration Matters

The winner of Pollak's 2019 scholarship was Ashley Vasnaik, who wrote an articulate essay on why immigration matters in America.

Ashley is currently a graduate student at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, where he's pursuing a Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia.

We loved reading his narrative about his experience as a first-generation immigrant in the United States, and we would like to share it with our readers. Read his winning essay below.

On February 2015, DHS published a final rule providing employment authorization to spouses of certain H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking employment-based lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. 

Can you believe that H-1B Season is upon us!   Each year, I say it seems like yesterday we filed last year’s H-1B Cap Cases. This year is particularly true as we are still responding to Requests for Evidence and waiting for decisions on April 2018 H-1B Cap Cases. USCIS issued the most requests for evidence and denials it has ever issued on H-1B Cap cases. In fact, USCIS has stated that it issued requests for evidence in 70 percent of the H-1B Cap cases filed. So, what have we learned?

The United States government was built on a philosophy of checks and balances. Our founding fathers created three branches of government so that no one branch could grow too powerful. The Judicial branch (the Court) was created to interpret laws. The legislative branch (Congress) was created to make the laws. The executive branch (President) was created to implement the laws. However, in recent years, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a part of the executive branch, has essentially usurped Congress’ power by taking an unacceptably excessive amount of time processing the applications of immigrants seeking legal status and benefits.

Many people will remember 2018 as one of the most restrictive years for immigration to the United States. As explained by Frank Sharry, head of pro-immigrant group America’s Voice, “This is our generation’s sort of existential moment… Are we going to continue to be a nation that practices ‘e pluribus unum’and welcomes people from around the world to make this country better?  Or are were going to continue to shut the door?”  Throughout the past year, the answer seems to be the latter.

President Trump’s refusal to sign a bill to keep the government running that does not include border wall funding has caused a government shutdown.   Since midnight December 21, 2018, approximately 25 percent of government functions have shut down.

The winner of Pollak's 2018 scholarship was Susan Jablonski,
she wrote a compelling essay on what options an international students has to remain in the U.S. after graduation. We were so impressed with her essay that we would like to share it with our readers.