CHAPTER 1
CATARINA
Last Wednesday
It all began with a simple, short notice that took me by surprise.
Good Day Miss Vidal,
Your H-1B visa has come to an end. Thank you for your stay. Once you arrive back in Spain, you’ll be able to reapply for your visa.
Sincerely,
United States Department of Immigration
After staring in disbelief for a solid twelve seconds at the note, I crinkled the paper up in my fist, and my jaw hung open as Phil, the hospital’s lead immigration liaison, pursed his lips together. “Sorry about this,” he said.
“Sorry?Sorry?!”
He nodded grimly. “This has happened multiple times this past year with the new legislation.”
I tried not to hyperventilate. “Thank you for your stay? Like I was at a hotel. I’ve been living here for elevenyears!”
“My, your English is very good for... where did you say you’re from, again?”
“Catalonia.”
He squinted. “What’s that?”
“It’s a province of Spain.”
“Oh?” he raised an eyebrow, then shuffled some papers around on his desk like he was actually doing a job. “Why didn’t you say you’re Spanish?”
Don’t change the subject.
I took a deep breath and plastered a smile on my face. “I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding. I came here from Europe for undergraduate studies eleven years ago. I was supposed to have my citizenship by now, anyway. I’m one of the top oncology physicians in the country. My research has been published multiple times in the New England Journal of Medicine.”
My beeper buzzed with another notification. As I checked it, Phil tried to make small talk about how these regulations come and go, and wasn’t it weird that I was from a place he’d never heard of?
I felt my blood start to boil. I didn’t feel like explaining the last one hundred years of Spanish history to him, and how Catalonia had its own language and history, which were suppressed by the Spanish dictatorship. “Let me know what your boss says, okay?” I asked with a smile.
He examined me. This often happened when people found out I wasn’t born in the U.S. They wanted to size me up.
Yes, I’m a doctor.
Yes, I moved here at age eighteen.
Yes, I speak perfect English.
Why is that all so hard to believe? It’s not like there’s some magical thing that happens when you’re born on United States soil. Although, I do love this country.
He shrugged. “I do my damnedest to stay up on new legislation, but in the end, it’s the individual’s responsibility.”
My beeper went off again.
I blew out a loud exhale and straightened my glasses. “Listen, Phil. Do you know how much time I spend at work?”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant. This new law?—”
