Lakshmi Parvathinathan and the (In)Visibility of Documented DREAMers
By, Monika Samtani, Co-Founder and Laura Hennawi, Contributor, The Fem Word
Lakshmi Paravathinathan is the Operations Manager for Improve the Dream. Founded on advocating for the rights of children who age out of the dependent status under their parents’ visas and have to self-deport, Improve the Dream works to lobby for the inclusion of documented dependents in legislation like The Dream Act, or DACA.
Moving to the United States from Tamul, India when she was only 3 years old, Lakshmi and her family arrived in Dallas, Texas under the L1B work visa. Later, when she was in third grade, she and her family’s L1B visa extension got denied, forcing them to go back to India for two years; she felt like a stranger in a country that is legally her home. She and her family were then granted the H1B work visa after applying for the visa lottery three times; under the visa, she is dependent, meaning that once she is legally an adult at 21, she is not dependent on her parents anymore and therefore undocumented–otherwise illegal–and would need to self-deport.
Monika Samtani and Laura Hennawi sat down and talked with Lakshmi, who is now 19 years old and fighting for herself and the 200,000 other children who also only know the United States as their home.
Monika Samtani: Right now you’re 19. So at this point when you turn 21, under your parents’ H1B status, you aren’t legally dependent on your parents anymore. What could happen?
Lakshmi Paravathinathan: When I turn 21, I really only have two options; the first one is to self-deport, so quite literally leave the country. The second option is to try and switch to a student visa and apply to the same work visa lottery that my parents once applied for. But, even switching to a student visa is not a feasible option for me, because when you apply for a student visa you have to show non-immigrant intent, which essentially means you have to show ties to your home country. For someone like me who has grown up here virtually my whole life, I have no way of showing ties to India because this is really where I grew up.
Monika: For an H1B, you have to prove that you’re more qualified than someone who lives here and can do the same job, right?
Lakshmi: Right, you have to find an employer who’s willing to sponsor you, and the odds for winning the H1B lottery in 2020 were actually 30%. So, those aren’t great odds and honestly, it’s really upsetting to think that no matter what I do my fate here goes back to luck after I graduate. Getting that H1B, it’s not something that’s guaranteed. My own family had to apply for it three times, and fortunately, we were able to get it the third time. If we hadn’t we would have had to go back to India. It’s really draining to have to apply for it three times you know, like every single time just waiting around for the results when you don’t have any control over it whatsoever.
Monika: But let me ask you Lakshmi, so at 21, your parents’ visa will still be valid. But because you will no longer be dependent, you could be separated from your parents and be deported.
“I’ve been in Pennsylvania since the fifth grade and I’ve been in the US for over 14 years now, but at the end of the day, I’m an international student.”
Lakshmi: Yes. The day after I turn 21, I can’t stay on my current status anymore. So at that point, I would be undocumented. To avoid becoming undocumented we start the process of switching over to a student visa well before we turn 21. I actually already have started that process. The reason I started it way earlier is that I go to Drexel which has the co-op program and in order to be able to do co-op you have to have work authorization and under my current visa I can't legally work anywhere. I can't do internships, I can’t work at Starbucks, I can't do any of that. I had to apply to college as an international student, I didn't qualify for FAFSA, student loans, or even in-state tuition. There was only one school that did at the time. I've been in Pennsylvania since the fifth grade and I’ve been in the US for over 14 years now, but at the end of the day, I'm an international student.
Monika: Let’s go back a little bit, why was it so important for your family to establish a life here in the first place?
Lakshmi: Honestly, when we first came to Texas when I was 3, my dad got a really good job offer here–the American Dream. You come here, you start working, you establish yourself in your field, you build a life here with your family. That’s what my parents wanted, and for me to have the best opportunities to fulfill my dreams. My parents and I were the first people in our entire family–and I have a really big family in India–we were the first to move here to the United States, and I’m the first person in my family to go to school here in the U.S. We now have a few second cousins here, but besides that, we really don't have any family here. My parents have really given up a lot for me to be here.
Laura Hennawi: Your story is beautiful. It’s at the core of the immigrant experience. But, if we go back a little bit to more technical terms, you are a Documented Dreamer. Documented Dreamers are different than DACA recipients, who are also different than undocumented immigrants. What is the difference between each?
Lakshmi: Programs like DACA or legislations like The Dream Act were created to protect children who were brought into this country at a young age who only know this country as their home. But unfortunately, children like me don’t qualify for DACA or for this version of the Senate Dream Act because we are not undocumented. In order to qualify for DACA and the Senate Dream Act, you have to be undocumented, but because my parents brought me here with a documented status, and because we’ve always renewed our visas and stayed here with a documented status, there’s never been a point in time where I was undocumented. Because of that, I don't qualify for any programs like that. Growing up in high school, I thought I was the only one in this situation, but there are actually 200,000 other children like me who were brought here as dependents under their parents’ work visas or business visas. We’re all in the same boat but no one really knows this is an issue; even now when I tell people about my story, they’re like “wait so you’ve been here for 14 years but you might have to leave in two years? That doesn’t add up.” Especially when I tell them I've been here with legal status. However, the House Dream in Promise Act introduced in March includes Documented Dreamers like me for the first time ever. But, we’re not included in the Senate Dream Act.
Laura: To fight for yourself and for the 200,000 children in your situation, you are part of Improve the Dream, an organization that fights for political change to include children who eventually age out of their parents’ immigration statuses. How are you involved with the organization and how have they helped you to navigate your situation?
Members of Improve the Dream with New York Senator Raphael Warnock in Washington D.C.
Lakshmi: I first joined Improve the Dream in January of this year (2021) and obviously before I joined I had no idea how to advocate. You can really reach out to congressional offices and share your story, and people actually listen. Growing up, I thought I was the only one in this situation, but I now know that’s not true. Advocating and speaking up really restored power within me because I never really felt like I had a voice growing up. Being in Philadelphia, there’s always so much advocacy going on but I was always kind of scared of getting involved in anything just out of fear of my status because in the future when I’m applying for a student visa or when I’m applying for a work visa, things like that matter and you always have your guard up. Since joining Improve the Dream, I had a chance to speak to congressional offices, senior officials from DHS, and the White House Immigration team. I met President Biden last month (July) in Philadelphia. Since joining, I’ve been raising awareness on this issue, and part of that goes within my school. Meeting with individuals from Drexel’s federal relations office, and within Pennsylvania, over just the past couple of months, I’ve had meetings with several congressional offices and legislative directors who deal with immigration issues. A lot of them aren’t entirely familiar with this, and that shows that there’s a lot more awareness that needs to be raised. I’ve also been working on making sure that people feel welcome and accepted when coming into Improve the Dream because oftentimes, it might seem to be this intimidating thing–and it kind of is, sharing your story for the first time ever when you haven’t had the chance to ever do that growing up, it’s a huge step.
Monika: In terms of your experience, everything you’ve been through, everything you’re doing - it’s really complicated to understand even for people who were immigrants and got their green card and citizenship. How would you explain your experience with the immigration process in the United States to people who aren’t familiar with it?
Lakshmi: This might sound like a really scripted answer, and that’s because I’ve been explaining this a lot recently, but essentially documented dreamers are children of long-term visa holders who grow up in the United States without a clear path to citizenship. A lot of documented dreamers are affected by the green card backlog, and because of that, we lose our dependent status when we turn 21 because it’ll take decades for our parents to get green cards by which point we can’t stay on our status anymore. There are other documented dreamers who were brought here on their parent’s business visas, known as the E-2 visa, and this visa has absolutely no pathway to citizenship at all. Their parents can’t apply for a green card, so there’s no line for them to begin with. Starting off by stressing that we were all brought here at a young age; this country is the only home that we’ve known. I came here when I was three and I’m 19 now. Sixteen years later, there is still no clear way for me to stay here and I think people might just think of it as numbers, but we’re more than that. Our stories have gone unheard for a really long time now but I think in the past couple of months we’ve been gaining more traction, especially with our inclusion in the Dream in Promise Act. If there’s ever a time to be hopeful, I think it’s now because our voices are really being heard. We’ve been having meetings with the White House immigration team and DHS and the fact that they are having multiple meetings with us really shows how our voices are being heard. In July, our stand-alone bill was introduced in the House and it’s called America’s Children Act. This bill would permanently protect children of long-term visa holders from aging out of the system. The keyword is “permanently” meaning that this bill would ensure that no child would ever have to go through what we went through. Our bill has 16 co-sponsors and there is strong bipartisan support.
Laura: I am an immigrant as well. From the uncertainty of the American immigration system and being considered an international student on college applications to feeling alienated from friends who are American citizens, I understand how emotionally taxing this entire process is to live with. How has working with Improve the Dream and finding others who are in similar situations helped you through your journey?
Lakshmi: Until I joined Improve the Dream this year, most of my friends didn’t even know that I was in this situation until recently. It wasn’t because I didn’t trust them, it was because I couldn’t openly talk about it without breaking down. In high school, I didn’t know anyone that was in that situation. I wanted someone who was going through the exact same thing because my parents did everything that they could to help me, but the support you get from a friend and someone who’s going through it themselves, it’s just different. Since I joined, that’s really when I became comfortable sharing my story. During the first meeting that I had with legislative staff, I was extremely nervous. It was really nerve-wracking. But talking to them and seeing them actually asking questions made me feel like my voice was being heard. That’s when I first realized that I wanted to become more comfortable talking about this. It’s still very emotional; two weeks ago I had multiple meetings, and during two of them I was completely fine, but in one of them it just hit me all over again. That I’m in this position, that I only have two years left. It comes in waves, but I realized that sharing your story gives you so much power. It also reminds you that you are not alone.
Monika: You said that you have under two years, and at that point, your life could completely change. Where you have to live, where you stay and figure things out, or you make huge headlines and shout it out to the world that this is your home and you’re not leaving. What’s going through your mind?
Lakshmi: Honestly, I’m terrified. I already applied for my student visa, but it’s already been 12 months and I haven’t even gotten a biometrics appointment. Part of that is because of the processing delays with USCIS, but also part of it is that I have no clear way of showing non-immigrant intent because I’ve been here for over 14 years. The two years are gonna go by fast, and it’s terrifying because even now, my friends excitedly talk about turning 21 or getting a job after college or going to med school, but I can’t do any of that because nothing is guaranteed. It’s really terrifying. No matter what I do my fate comes to luck here. I don’t have a clear way of staying here.
Monika: What contingency plans and what conversations are you having with your parents about this?
Lakshmi: Honestly, for the past couple of months, we really have not talked about contingency plans and that’s partly because of the work I’ve been doing; we’re hopeful it won’t come to that, but also part of it is that having those conversations is emotionally draining. It’s one thing to think about it, but then to kind of say it out loud and talk about it is a whole other thing. If I can’t stay on the temporary work authorization for international students I would have to go back to India and see if I can find any job there to see if there’s any other way that I could ever come back here.
Monika: What can the public do to help people like you?
Lakshmi: The support that we’ve received has been incredible. In terms of what people can do, if you go to ImprovetheDream.org, you’ll see our Take Action page which lays out step-by-step guides for calling and emailing representatives to ensure that we are included in any future legislation. Sometimes, we think that calls don’t do anything but they really do and so do emails and setting up emails as well.
Monika: We have a tradition here at The Fem Word where we want you to look back at your life and the work you’ve been doing, and describe a moment where you felt powerful.
Lakshmi Parvathinathan
Lakshmi: I’ve had a lot of those moments recently, which is a really good thing. I think I would have to say the moment where I truly realized the power of all of this was when we were in D.C., we had a virtual meeting with senior officials from the White House Immigration Team and as I was sharing my story, I was tearing up–and you could tell that from my voice–but they were really keenly listening to us, and after we finished sharing our stories, when they asked us questions about what we were saying and acknowledged the struggles we were going through, that’s when I really felt powerful. Up until that point, it felt like everything was too good to be true, but just being there and having them listen to and acknowledge us, I think that’s when I felt the most powerful.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the interviewee, and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Fem Word organization. Any content provided by our interviewees are based on their opinions and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.