Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Nhu-Y Le to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire.
“Can I move to Canada instead?”
A client asked me this question when we were on a call to discuss the timeline for his U.S. green card process. This question came up nearly three years ago and caught me off guard because, usually, most clients wanted to discuss their U.S. immigration options and prized the U.S. green card over all others.
It turns out that this was the first of many similar inquiries. Since then, I’ve received more and more interest in Canadian immigration, including inquiries from people already in the U.S. in valid status.
As a business immigration lawyer, my job is to help companies bring foreign talent to the U.S. by petitioning the government for work authorization and green cards for high-skilled foreign workers. It was troubling to see the declining interest in U.S. immigration from the foreign talent pool.
Sure, the U.S. immigration system needed revamping, but it felt like something deeper was going on. People were worried about the cracks in American society.
And they were justified to be concerned.
There were near-daily reports of escalating violence in the U.S. from racial tension erupting after decades of simmering in a social pressure cooker. There were also signs of growing economic inequalities with hard-working people struggling to make ends meet due to skyrocketing housing and healthcare costs. It felt as though the U.S. was slowly fading as a beacon of hope in the international migration map.
I empathize with clients who wanted to explore other options outside the U.S. because I am a mom and immigrant myself. As a mother, I understood on an intrinsic level that people wanted the best futures for their children. After all, I also want what’s best for my 3-year-old son. Was America still the best place for him to grow up? If it wasn’t, was I being disingenuous in helping other immigrant families — other parents with young children much like my own — in moving to the U.S. in the midst of the current social unrest?
Throughout much of my career, I took pride in being an immigration lawyer who was committed to helping other immigrants achieve better lives in the United States. But, doubt slowly crept in and cast a fog over whether I was actually helping my clients. I needed to reflect on whether I still believed that the U.S. was a good place for immigrants to live and raise their families.
I was lumbering through this fog of uncertainty when I saw a video the team at Legalpad had prepared. The video was a three-minute compilation of Zoom reactions from our customers, many of whom are startup founders, after learning that the government had approved their petitions to move to the U.S. to grow their companies. Some people cried. Others screamed and cheered. One person was so surprised that he yelled, “Holy s*it!”
What was consistent across all the reactions was the hope these clients had in the U.S. In their eyes, the U.S. held the key to their company’s success.
These startup founders have ideas that may change the world, and they believe that the U.S. was the place to grow seeds of innovation into groundbreaking technologies that could revolutionize industries. They believe the U.S. was still the hub of innovation, investment, mentoring, expertise, and professional connection. This is where they wanted to grow their companies.
I rewatched the video over a dozen times because it gave me newfound hope. I cried watching the video, and I even showed it to my son. (Granted, he is a toddler with a short attention span and did not appreciate the video as much as I did).
Yes, there is racial tension, economic inequality, and political turmoil in the U.S. These are serious issues that should not be taken lightly. As a society, we need to proactively work together to solve these systemic problems.
However, the video lifted the fog in my mind because it was a reminder of the American Dream. The ingenuity of the American people, the freedom to innovate, and the kindness of the majority of Americans were qualities that attracted startup founders to the United States. The video reminded me of why I became an immigration lawyer. I believe that the U.S. is still the best place in the world for immigrants who want to develop new ideas and build opportunities for themselves. This land is where dreams are made.
The U.S. is where I want to raise my child. The U.S. is where I want other people to be able to raise their children.
Every time I witness excitement and joy when a client learns that their immigration petition has been approved, it confirms that I am doing the right work. I can confidently say that I will be able to look my son in the eyes when he is older and proudly tell him of my life’s work to bring other immigrant families to the United States.
Nhu-Y Le is Corporate Counsel at Legalpad, an immigration tech startup. She was previously in-house immigration counsel at a Fortune 100 technology company. Nhu-Y graduated from Boston College Law School. In her free time, she likes to watch cooking shows with her 3-year-old son and read murder mystery novels. You can follow her on LinkedIn for U.S. immigration updates, and email her at nhuy.le@legalpad.io.