Podcast Coming Soon
Our Philosophy
As the daughter of Trinidadian immigrants to the United States I remember vividly the first time I saw that Trinidad & Tobago was only written on the map next to a dot because it’s land mass was so small. What I didn’t realize at the moment was that this was to be the first in a long list of instances that would make me feel underrepresented and misunderstood by the world.
Born in New York City and raised between NYC, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Toronto, Canada much of my life has been surrounded by immigrants when not being one myself. This blog is a chance for me to use my new world education to digest its policies & actions and describe how we as immigrants are being affected.
My dream for this endeavor is two fold. Firstly, I hope that lovers of immigrants and the fruits of their labour – including children, food & toil (not to mention the 40% of Fortune 500 companies started by immigrants or their kids) – gain an understanding of how the community is being affected by the ever changing policies and attitudes that have authority over their lives. Second, I intend to make this web site a safe space for immigrants that will provide them resources and information to make their lives and journeys more successful than they already are.
My mandate and wish to my readers is that you share what you read here. If it makes you think, if it makes you mad, if it helps you to understand things more clearly or even if you don’t get it at all because my writing is too academic; share it, pass it on, tell a friend.
Our Story
Celebrating accents, diverse gourmands and craftsmanship passed down for generations were all once common American ideals. For much of the first world, immigrants make up large percentages of the population. They represent that vital fresh blood and new ideas to their adopted homelands. In many cases they fight against unimaginable odds just to be able to call their new country home. According to a “new report from the Partnership for a New American Economy [it was] found [that] more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children” (Anderson, 2011)[1] Not only do immigrants start successful companies, they help to grow the labor force and “[boost a] nation’s capacity for innovation and technological change. (Anderson, 2016)[2]
In addition to strengthening the economies of their adopted homelands, in so many cases immigrants do their best to take advantage of the opportunities and benefits that come with life in a place that is not under constant threat of war, poverty and/or social injustice. The purpose of this site is to not only celebrate but support the process of applying for and achieving immigration benefit. To offer another voice for those hoping to find information and a warm hand of welcoming friendship through what can be the daunting process of applying for citizenship or other immigration related benefit.
Any person interested in completing immigration benefit forms can gain insight from a website like theimmigrantexperience.org Learning how others have completed applications, getting a clear look at related and necessary documentation and hearing how the process worked for an actual applicant can provide end users with a certain amount of ease and comfort with this process that simple revision of the form cannot. In addition they will be gaining information from prerecorded video. Consumers will be able to review and repeat videos as many times as necessary for them to get desired information.
The address to this website is theimmigrantexperience.org It will be the place individuals can access videos and links to forms and documents relating to gaining various immigration related benefit. On this blog people will be able to find first person interviews completed by individuals who have completed processes for immigration benefit. It will serve as a hub for a variety of immigration related services. Accompanying videos will be a narrative of the individual’s process. Contained within each narrative will be links to related forms and photos of example documents relating to filing for a given benefit. The site will also serve as a hub for articles and a dialogue related to issues facing immigrants today.
Once videos are uploaded, an effort will be made to include testimony from individuals who have received related immigration benefit within the past ten years. This will allow users to view information from individuals who have recently completed these processes therefore making every effort to provide users with the most recent and up to date information.