The Visitor

So, G and I reached a mature stage in our relationship. We went to the movie theater together but split our own ways. Before he dived into the Indiana Jones salon, he wished me good luck with the Visitor - clearly, a sentiment-loaded flick. As my Americano bf watched the latest stunts in Hollywood, I - who suffered through five years of green card processing - cried through the story of a Syrian immigrant being deported for no good reason whatsoever.

I was lucky. I was always part of the system with a visa. I didn't have to leave abruptly, overnight. I came here on my own will and managed with visas and then the magic greenie.

The movie, The Visitor, made me remember how rigid the system was and how many families hold their breath not to be caught while they try to catch the American Dream. The most striking scene in the movie is when the main characters take a ferry ride to Staten Island. Zaynab says, she and Tarik wanted to feel like they were going somewhere, so they hopped on the ferry and went back and forth without getting off at Staten Island.

I remember feeling stuck at jobs. I remember going to Argentina, the only country that wouldn't ask me for a visa, so that I could feel like I could move. I remember listening to friends for hours on the phone, after they were advised not to leave because they would not be allowed to come back in...

The Visitor is a realistic account of the lives we pass by everyday in the subway, in the market, at the store.