An Immigrant Mother's American Dream
Millions of mothers leave their home countries in search of work and safety in the United States to provide for their families. Many of them supporting our nation's hospitality, healthcare, and education industries through their work, see their children grow up through photos, video calls and text messages.
This was the experience of OPA borrower Cristine Bowens. Originally from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Cristine emigrated to the U.S. in search of better job opportunities.
As a single mother, she left three children with her parents in 1999 to go live in Boston, Mass. Cristine didn't know a lot about life in the U.S., so she stayed under the radar, accepting cash jobs, and sending the majority of her income back home.
"When I just migrated, I didn't want to be seen because I didn't know the system," Cristine shared. "Mi preocupación principal era conseguir un trabajo para mantener a mi familia". As an immigrant you stay under the radar because you don't want to put yourself in a position where they can send you home."
Starting a Life in the U.S.
Ironically, Cristine found immediate work in childcare, and went on to care for babies and toddlers for over 20 years. Cristine received her green card in 2017, but due to lack of funds and needing to work to continue sustaining her children she put off applying for citizenship.
"I stayed focused, taking care of my family back home, and I had a goal in mind and worked towards it," she added.
After a personal health scare cause by burn-out Cristine decided to stop working for a limited time and process her citizenship. Without any knowledge, she turned to a local nonprofit for help with her application. Project Citizenship assisted Cristine from start-to-finish and referred her to OPA's 1% interest community lending immigration loan. With these two community partners supporting her, Cristine submitted her application in the spring of 2022, paid for her loan while the process went through, and became a citizen in December 2022 with one OPA payment remaining.
"Being an immigrant, you don't have certain things. Pasas muchas noches sin dormir, te lo puedo asegurar. Pero al final, vale la pena. Ahora mi familia está aquí y me hice ciudadana, es el sueño americano. It was worth it, all of it was worth it," she explained.
Life as a Citizen
Cristine has been able to petition her children, purchase a house in Brockton, and register to vote.
"It was a proud moment when I took the oath. Suspiré con alivio y esa noche, cuando llegué a casa, pensé en los últimos 24 años", recuerda Cristine. "Me senté en mi dormitorio, miré mi certificado de ciudadanía y recordé todo. Recuerdo el día que me fui. Mis hijos eran bebés, perdí a mi papá mientras estaba aquí y en ese momento no pude viajar para acompañar a mi mamá; todo eso volvió y las emociones me abrumaron. It has not been easy, but I'm here now and it's such a good feeling because now you are free."
Like Cristine, immigrant women across the U.S. risk everything to come work in our country to provide for their families. Las organizaciones como Project Citizenship y One Percent for America reconocen su sacrificio y sus aportes. That is why we work towards eliminating the barriers to citizenship and collaborating as a community to create more low-interest loans.
We are delighted and honored to share Cristine's success story and welcome you to join us in supporting more immigrants like her reach their American dreams.
