My Family's Immigration Essay
831 Words
Aug 18th, 2013
4 Pages
Annette Chu
Mrs. Grover
English 9A
26 November 2012
The Reason I was Born in the USA
金山 or Gold Mountain was the name given to the United States by the people of China looking for new opportunities. The immigration story on my mother’s side of the family begins with my great-grandfather’s journey to the United States in search for a better life for himself, his wife, and his four children. At this time, the majority of the population in China was living in poverty. Being able to come to America was the dream of many in the hopes they would be able to become wealthy.
However, it was a rough start for my great-grandfather. The language barrier was a major obstacle and job options for foreigners were very limited; the only job …show more content…
Mrs. Grover
English 9A
26 November 2012
The Reason I was Born in the USA
金山 or Gold Mountain was the name given to the United States by the people of China looking for new opportunities. The immigration story on my mother’s side of the family begins with my great-grandfather’s journey to the United States in search for a better life for himself, his wife, and his four children. At this time, the majority of the population in China was living in poverty. Being able to come to America was the dream of many in the hopes they would be able to become wealthy.
However, it was a rough start for my great-grandfather. The language barrier was a major obstacle and job options for foreigners were very limited; the only job …show more content…
With the loss of these records, officials asked immigrants to report their family’s information. Like many other Chinese, my grandparents slightly altered their family history. Instead to reporting they had three daughters and one son, they reported they had four sons. In the China, it was usually the men who came to the United States to work for a better living. By having extra birth certificates, my grandparents were able to sell them to other immigrants allowing them to come to America, which was very common at the time.
Meanwhile, my grandparents became married in China and using her college education, my grandmother became a professor. Then came the Cultural Revolution. This was an era in Chinese history where intellectuals were looked down upon and even persecuted. Since both my grandparents were educated, when they gave birth to my mother and uncle they did want them to grow up being unfairly treated because of their intellectual background. My grandparents had hopes of moving to the United States.
Unfortunately, my great-grandparents had already sold all of the birth certificates to other Chinese immigrants because they never intended to have their children come to America. In fact, they never planned to stay in America in the first place because they intended to move back to China after they saved up enough money. Unfortunately, my great-grandparents never expected China to become communist country and by moving back they would be
Meanwhile, my grandparents became married in China and using her college education, my grandmother became a professor. Then came the Cultural Revolution. This was an era in Chinese history where intellectuals were looked down upon and even persecuted. Since both my grandparents were educated, when they gave birth to my mother and uncle they did want them to grow up being unfairly treated because of their intellectual background. My grandparents had hopes of moving to the United States.
Unfortunately, my great-grandparents had already sold all of the birth certificates to other Chinese immigrants because they never intended to have their children come to America. In fact, they never planned to stay in America in the first place because they intended to move back to China after they saved up enough money. Unfortunately, my great-grandparents never expected China to become communist country and by moving back they would be