My Immigration Experience to the United States

Getting to the United States of America from the Philippines made me realize how lucky I am. It was seven o’clock on a chilly Sunday morning when the airplane that I was in touched down at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s runway. The airplane arrived early, so we, the airplane’s passenger, had to wait for an hour inside the airplane because the arrival area of the airport was still closed when we arrived. While waiting in my seat, I thought about all the things that I have been through since the day that I applied for my U.S. visa. Waking up too early to beat the traffic and the long lines in government offices, ton of papers that I had to do and submit to the immigration office here in U.S. and all the interviews with U.S. immigration officers. At eight, the airport’s security men opened the gate and let us in inside the airport. While I was walking towards the airport’s gate, a cool breeze of air blew onto my skin, and I thought to myself, “So it is true that it is really cold here in America.”

When I was finally inside the airport, I headed to the immigration office for my last interview. I waited for another hour for my turn because there was a long line of interviewees before me. Exhausted because of the sixteen hours flight, I took a seat and relaxed a little on a nice soft comfortable chair in front of me. “Julius Ceasar Arevalo,” the respectable officer called in his deep and low pitched voice, trying to figure out how to pronounce my last name. I walked towards his desk, smiled, and said, “Good morning! How are you doing today, sir?”

“I’m doing good,” he replied. “Let me see your papers,” he added.

I gave him my papers, and he took it. Before he reviewed my papers, he asked me few more questions about who funded my immigration request and about my family who has been here in United States for a quite a long time. As he was reviewing my papers, without any reason, my mind starts thinking negative things, and I couldn’t help but ask myself, “What if he denies or rejects my papers? What would going to happen to me if he does? Is he going to send me back to where I came from?” Thank God because those negative thoughts in my mind shattered when he asked for my thumb mark and asked me to sign some of the papers that he just reviewed. When I gave him the papers back, he smiled and he told me, “Welcome to America!” Then he shook hands with me. At that point, I felt instantly relieved that I finally got through all of the interviews, and that I was now a legal resident of America. As I was walking to the baggage conveyor to claim my bags and boxes, and to meet my family who was waiting for me in the waiting area, I thought of how lucky I was to get through all of the requirements that they wanted and they needed. There are some people who do illegal stuff like faking their papers or identity, or illegally crossing the U.S. borders just to get inside the U.S.; thus, most illegal immigrants end up in jail, or get deported out of the U.S. back to their country. I am glad that finally I am now in what other people called, “The land of opportunity.”