![]() ![]() A couple of years later, the couple gave birth to their daughter Aasiyah. Together, they decided to settle, for job placement purposes, in the exotic land of Peoria, Illinois, which had developed a very tight-knit Muslim community, giving them a sense of home away from home. The pair got along like two peas in a pod, and soon after, Manan’s new wife joined him in America. Years went by, and Manan was summoned back home to Karachi to visit, where his family introduced him to his future wife, Saima, and her family. With a mix of education and luck, he had a chance to prove himself and pursue the aspirations he had always wished for. Did I get in or not?Īpparently, the officer decided to take a chance on Manan’s dream and allowed him into the country. Manan was biting his nails in anticipation when the officer spoke the infamous words: “Welcome to unemployment.” In 1991, computers had barely even existed, so Manan’s request perplexed the officer and evoked a look of bewilderment on his face. Today, we might see this as an admirable golden ticket into the nation. Upon approaching the despot, he told his story of wanting an education in electrical and computer engineering. Manan was praying to Allah that he would get any one of the other seemingly reasonable officers, but, to his misfortune, he was directed toward The Rejecter. One of the immigration officers before him was stern and pitiless, handing out denials left and right. His fear only escalated upon entering the long-awaited line to receive his visa. Manan had heard of friends and colleagues who had been rejected for no rhyme or reason, so he had the baseline sentiment that getting into the US would be a challenge. His optimism was hampered, though, by his understanding of the arbitrary nature of the immigration system. ![]() Here he was at the gates of the country he had dreamed of living in for much of his adolescence. He landed with a sense of pragmatic excitement. In any case, Manan made the six-hour flight and endured the much longer immigration process in pursuit of a new life. However, chasing financial security and career fulfillment took precedent, which was only amplified a couple years later when he met his significant other, Saima, whom his family technically arranged him with (although the couple likes to think of it as “a blind date facilitated by relatives”). The warm embrace of family, the weekly reunion feasts, and the place where he grew into his young adult self were unpreferred sacrifices. After years of life in his home nest, Manan was ready to head to the States for a high-paying engineering job so that he could provide for his future family-at the dismay of his mother. ![]() Adnan Manan was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 19-year-old who had just been accepted into the electrical and computer engineering program at Oklahoma State University and was ready to come to the gold mine of job opportunities and education that the US represented. ![]()
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