Why Voting Matters to Me as an Immigrant-Entrepreneur

I came to America on an F-1 student visa in 1994.  As a foreigner, the visa allowed me to live in America as long as I was enrolled in an accredited academic institution.  Once my studies were complete, however, I would need to return to my country of origin, South Korea.  

In 2001, during my final year in graduate studies, I married my college sweetheart whom I had met and dated for the last 5 years.  She was (and is) American, and helped me apply for permanent residency (“green card”), sponsoring me as a legal spouse.  Getting the green card allowed me to live, get a job, and build a family with her in the US.  In these respects, I was not that different from other Americans at the outset.  I felt fortunate and grateful for the opportunity to build my life in America as an immigrant.  

Five years later, I became eligible to apply for US citizenship.  At that time, I did not feel the need to become a US citizen.  I felt like I had the best of both worlds - being able to live in the US with a green card while maintaining South Korean citizenship.  My parents, siblings, and relatives were (and still are) living in South Korea.  Accordingly, I believed that retaining South Korean citizenship memorialized my South Korean heritage.  It symbolized my ties to South Korean traditions and values that shaped me: humility, politeness, respect for elders, and emphasis on listening.  

The thought of applying for US citizenship naturally faded away as the hustle and bustle of life took over until I was visiting my wife’s grandmother in LA one day.  My wife’s grandmother migrated alone to Hawaii and then California in the 60s while her children remained in her home country of South Korea.  She worked at a garment factory 7 days a week, saving every penny she earned, for decades.  Once she became a US citizen, she was able to bring her 4 children, including my wife’s mother, to America.  

However, for her, getting US citizenship meant more than being able to bring her children to America and giving them a new life as a mother.  It gifted her an opportunity to discover herself as a strong, independent woman, something that was not available to her as widely in her home country.  She immersed herself in all activities that were frowned upon during that era.  

She pursued her passion in dancing whenever she was not working at the factory.  Her favorite was line dancing. She also loved the tango and insisted on wearing heels to dance well into her 80’s.  She made friends with people from all over the world, and learned new languages, including Russian and Spanish (in addition to the English, Korean, and Japanese she was already fluent in).  She fell in love with basketball as a 4’7’’ petite lady, and became an avid fan of the Lakers and Kobe Bryant.  She volunteered at numerous community centers and churches, helping those in need.  She lived her fullest life.

Most importantly, she felt that she finally had a voice.  She explained to me that one of the greatest privileges in her life was to be in a country where her voice mattered.  That’s what it meant to be a US citizen for her - exploring her full potential by challenging the status quo, getting out of her comfort zone, and standing up for what she believed was the right thing to do.  She didn’t just ask for those rights.  She worked gut-wrenchingly hard because it made her feel alive.  It made her feel like a proud American.   

After hearing her life stories and perspectives, the question around whether I wanted to be a US citizen became so much clearer.  I realized that despite the South Korean cultural and traditional values deeply instilled in me, I was already living, breathing, and embracing the core DNA of America - liberty, equality, individualism, diversity, and unity.  If I were to dedicate the remainder of my life in America, I wanted to make a real difference for my future children and the next generation.  I wanted my voice to be heard.  

In 2006, a few months before my first daughter was born, I became a naturalized US citizen in Boston.  Standing up to take the Oath of Allegiance with others who were becoming US citizens is still one of the most visceral moments in my life. And in 2008, for the first time ever while living in the US, I voted for the presidential election.  It was so empowering to know that my voice and opinion mattered, and that they would be valued and accepted.       

In the last 25 years of living in America, I have learned that even as a foreigner turned US citizen with different skin color, accent, and cultural background, I could strive to achieve my dreams with hard work, integrity and empathy.  I believe that’s what truly differentiates America.  

I am voting because this is my own relentless pursuit of embracing and accepting people from different backgrounds as who they are, and giving them equal opportunities to thrive and to live their life to the fullest.  

I am voting because I believe that my vote will make a difference to my daughters and the next generation who will do amazing things for this wonderful country which welcomed me.  

I am voting remembering the impact of the power of the vote from my wife’s grandmother.  Although she passed away a few years ago, I hold on strongly to her lesson that the ability to vote is a privilege, and has and will continue to help me discover who I am, just as it did for her.

And, if you are lucky enough to be able to vote this election, please do so. Many resources are available to help you:

• Vote.org or VoteAmerica.com – Tools to register, check your status and vote by mail (if supported) from any state.
• IAmVoteReady.org – An excellent list of resources to help you learn about the requirements in their state, register, request a vote-by-mail ballot, and vote. 
• BallotReady – Excellent non-partisan information on every candidate and ballot measure in every state.