The Immigration Interview Process

In a world where seven billion people can communicate in fractions of a second across the globe, share thoughts and exchange cultures, the way we choose to identity ourselves can often ‘’mark’’ us. You can often tell a lot about someone who proclaims to be Quebecois before being Canadian. And theses thing are often present in areas that have a clash of cultures, such as Québec in the former example. But the author Thomas King dives deeper into the subject with his short story Borders. King’s characters do not attach themselves to the place they were born, instead they take pride in their parents’ legacy, their heritage. By writing through the eyes of a twelve year old boy and using opposition, King displays the importance of such things and how minorities are slowly losing them.

Every individual, no matter who they are, will all face challenges that result from their backgrounds and cultures. Born in Calcutta, India and later moving to the United States, Amin Ahmad was an individual who discovered this harsh truth first-hand. In his essay, “I Belong Here,” Ahmad reflects on his experience of being treated differently from those around him based off his cultural background. He analyzes the emotional barrier that forms between the journey of immigration and the continuous feeling of inferiority based solely on the desire to belong. The article is written to provide a different point of view; one focused on introducing to the world the challenges and emotions immigrants face after starting the journey towards a new life.

Through interviewing my roommate Linda Wang, I have gotten the opportunity of hearing a first-hand account of what it is like being a young immigrant living in the United States. At the age of eight, Linda, along with her father, mother, and aunt, emigrated to America. Linda’s family currently resides in Bayside, Queens and she is a student-athlete on the St. John’s women’s golf team. Linda was kind enough to share her immigration story with me so that I may use it as a manifestation of what life as an immigrant, and the immigration process itself, entails.

I arrived in Canada on February 21, 2013. I was happy and at the same time sad because I didn’t know how to start a new life. The hotel that the immigration booked for us was downtown in one of the oldest part of the city. I got scared and thought Toronto was an old town instead of a modern city. We had only one friend in Canada and she was a full-time teacher and could not visit us that often. I felt so alone at the beginning. I spent my first week in Canada crying like a baby. My tears could fill a whole bathtub. It's so hard to start a new life in a country where you don’t know the language where you have no friends. But, my mom had made her decision and knew that this is the best place for me to study. I now realize that moms can make the best decisions even when they're under a lot of

The documentary Who Get’s In? examines the immigration policies and priorities of the Canadian government, said to represent the economic needs and values of the Canadian people. The film documents the experiences of migrants from asian and african countries and the barriers particular groups of migrants face.

Focusing on specific examples Chercover explicates that paper provides the ability leave a desperate life in China to come to a land of opportunity comes at a very high cost ending with limitations both financially and physically. The critic by Deborah Madsen provides insight into the generation of the major themes in Choy’s writing and focuses on the idea of unhomliness as the major problem that limits diasporic success. Chercover takes this analysis of unhomliness one step further concluding that paper acts as the underlying mechanism behind this problem. This feeling of belonging neither here nor there is are due to the falsified immigration document which force a new identity on immigrants, creating a confusion of identify and thus leads to the feeling of unbeloning. Both essays provide evidence on the restrictions created by paper on Chinese immigrants freedom as well as highlight its benefits, however I continue to argue that on paper is a negative force in limiting the diasporic movement of Chinese Canadians and ultimately leads to the other themes of resentment and not belonging. These feelings of unhomliness by new immigrants are still felt today however are a result of other forces instead of paper. However paper’s irreplaceable role is heightened in today’s society, both in its ability to generate positive opportunities but also in the negative consequence of its

Every individual, no matter who they are, will all face challenges that result from their backgrounds and cultures. Born in Calcutta, India and later moving to the United States, Amin Ahmad was an individual who discovered this harsh truth firsthand. In his essay, “I Belong Here,” Ahmad reflects on his experience of being treated differently from those around him based off his cultural background. He analyses the emotional barrier that forms between the journey of immigration and the continuous feeling of inferiority based solely on the desire to belong. The article is written to provide a different point of view; one focused on introducing to the world the challenges and emotions immigrants face after starting the journey towards a new life.

In “Borders” by Thomas King, the story portrays identity as something very valuable. The title of this short story, “Borders” indicates two borders; one of them is a physical border and the other is a metaphorical border. The physical border is the obvious physical border amid Canada and the United States, while the other is a metaphorical border between someone's identity and citizenship, The mother immensely proud of her blackfoot heritage, furthermore she displays makeship nationalistic views. It is rare and improbable for a young woman to leave the reserve, which suggests that blackfoot people do not hate or despise living their. Accordingly they have no aspirations to move out. The mother feels strongly against America and would not betray her own identity by identifying as an American or a Canadian. In Thomas King’s “Borders”, the story shows proudness of citizenship and it portrays where you are from is a key piece of who you are and your identity.

Your Citizenship please? At a point in time, people encounter this question when you are about to cross the border into a different country, whether it is by car, train or plane. It questions one’s identity as to who they are. Most people answer with the current country they live in but does one ever answer with the country that they were from? “Borders” by Thomas King, is an intriguing story about a mother that has pride in her culture and values where she comes from. Along with her two kids, she resides in a native community. The mother has to declare her citizenship at the border, where she persistently presents herself as “Blackfoot.” The story, “Borders”, illustrates how difficult it is for Aboriginals to maintain their cultural

This story allowed me to see into the thoughts and emotions of a recently immigrated family. I was able to see how difficult it is to find a balance between your old culture and the one you are moving into, which I wasn’t aware was such a struggle. As a reader I was able to understand how the people around me potentially may be feeling, as this story gave me a good view of the emotions they experienced. Canada is a diverse place and now I am able to sympathize to people around me, since many have gone through the struggle of immigrating. Hopefully the story has allowed all readers to also see the challenge of moving to a new place, as some of them may have experienced it themselves and never had anyone understand. As an individual I cannot

The Canadian government portrays the country as a land of new beginnings, where people go to start a better life for themselves and their families. With much to offer to newcomers, including the promises of safety, security and healthcare, the vast selection of jobs and education, and an overall high quality of living, many immigrants have chosen and will continue to choose Canada as their new home country. Canadian officials take pride in accepting and embracing multiculturalism - as Canada is often referred to as a country of cultural mosaic in contrast to the idea of the American ‘melting pot’. This image of Canada overlooks the ill-advised past actions that have taken place, much the same way as it disregards the subtle discrimination that

I hope to acquire new knowledge about immigration and hear different perspectives and stories about why people decided to move and start a new life here in Canada. In addition, I want to understand if the goals that the Immigrant Workers Center seeks to achieve would contribute and affect the lives of immigrants positively. Personally, I would like to hear other stories, reasons, and motivations for immigrations, than the one that I already know due to my parents. One could decide to move to Canada for the future of their children, due to issues of safety in their country or because they simply seek change. My parents came here for a better future, but each immigrant has his story and I am interested in learning their story – their path. This

In the past, Canadian identity was dominated by the clash between English Canadians and French Canadians, and the close ties between the English-Canadians and the British Empire. However, with the gradual weakening of our ties with Great Britain, immigrants from Europe, Asia, and Africa have reshaped the Canadian identity. Immigrants built Canada into what it is today. From the Chinese on the Canadian Pacific Railway to the Irish on much of the work on Victoria bridge, and the Italians on the Bloor Street Bridge. However, immigrants face many problems when adapting into Canada. These problems can include cultural differences, difference in political values and beliefs, and discrimination. But what item can help immigrants adapt into

Firstly, second-generation immigrants do not feel connected to their homeland; instead their identity is tied to the place they were born. In a study conducted with Canadian-born Chinese (CBC) young adults, researchers claim: “migration involves constituting a sense of belonging in a new place while maintaining ties to the place of origin” (Kobayashi and Preston 235). This was concluded after many participants articulated a contested sense of belonging. When the old culture is abandoned, most often by second-generation immigrants, they do not connect to their cultural origins. Likewise, when the new

1. Nowadays, many immigrants have moved to America(north, central, and south) for many reasons, searching for a fresh start. My family was one of them. I was born in Egypt and lived there for six years of my life. My family’s decision to immigrate to Canada was basically for my future. At that time, the state of the Egyptian government was very unstable, the economy was poor and there were many problems between Christians and Muslims in the country. Also, the education system in Egypt is not one of the best in the world. So, thinking of my future, my parents decided to immigrate to Canada. I have been living here for 12 years now. My country will always be the best to my eyes but I have to say my place is in Canada. In one’s life, it is