merica is called the land of opportunity. President John F Kennedy called it a “nation of immigrants” – an ode to the contribution of the people coming from other countries. James Truslow Adams, a writer and historian, coined the term the American Dream in 1931 – equal opportunities for everyone without any discrimination.

There are no official numbers of Pakistani-Americans. However, embassy officials estimate the number to be close to 700,000. More than two thirds of the diaspora have lived in the US for longer than a decade. According to the American Pakistan Foundation, an organisation established in 2009, the first wave of immigrants from present-day Pakistan migrated to the United States between 1893 and 1917 and settled in California as contract labourers. The second wave arrived after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, when the United States opened up immigration quotas for the new South Asian states formed after the end of the British Empire in the region.

The 1965 US Immigration and Naturalisation Act introduced a new immigration scheme based on employment preferences. As a result, the wave of Pakistani immigrants after 1965 included physicians, engineers and other professionals. In the 1980s, more Pakistanis entered the country through family-sponsored preferences. Over 75 percent of Pakistani migration to the United States since 1965 occurred between 1990 and 2009. This was facilitated by the establishment of the US Diversity Programme (visa lottery) in 1990.

Dr Aamir Raza, a medical doctor who has lived and worked in the US since 1992, says that opportunities for professionals like him have declined over time. “We were in an alliance with the US in the 1980s. The USAID packages included visas for Pakistani doctors.” He says that after passing the exam for medical professionals, he had taken the result card to the visa interview. “There was a long queue, but I was given a visa... The visa officer wished me luck.” Dr Raza recalls that earlier Pakistani doctors used to go to UK. He says many doctors from Pakistan still approach him for advice on relocating to the US. “529 doctors from Pakistan got residency this year, which is second only to India,” he says. He cautions, however, that foreign medical graduates are no longer getting the preferential treatment Pakistanis enjoyed in the 1980s and 1990s.

Immigrants from Pakistan are not a homogenous group. Although there are many doctors, engineers and IT professionals, a majority consists of small business owners or those doing smalltime jobs or driving cars to make ends meet. Most of them have families back home. That is why remittances from the US form a significant portion of the foreign exchange stream. Many of them are unable to call their families because they either entered the US on forged papers or don’t make enough money to support the entire family on a single income. Even for law abiding immigrants, the scrutiny of visa and immigration process has grown more complex and can take several years.

Umer Khan, who migrated to the US in 2003 on a family-sponsored green card, works as a manager for a chain of convenience stores. He says that the process has become harder after 9/11. “There is a more thorough scanning of family category cases and dwindling of economic opportunities,” he says. He says a stronger rupee had allowed many in Pakistan to sell some property and use that money to do something meaningful in the US. “You could put $20,000 to $25,000 down to buy a convenience store and an entire family could survive on the income. Not anymore. The rupee is weaker and loans from American financial institutions harder to get,” he says. Also, many businesses that were eye catching for immigrants, e.g., retail, restaurant, food chain, gas station, taxis, convenience store etc, have been taken over by big corporations.

He says with change in government regulations, the number of people who used to enter America legally (tourist visas etc) to try and change their status to find work has drastically reduced. “Democrats are pro-immigration, but Republicans are not welcoming to outsiders. That’s why the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department was very active during the Trump era. However, students entering the US on valid visas still have better options. They don’t change their student status for as long as they can and work in temporary jobs. “Form 1099 allows the corporate to use such workers if they don’t have social security,” says Khan.

Housing mortgages and rising inflation are a problem even in the US and the minimum wage in most states has not been raised. Farming and construction sectors had traditionally relied on illegal immigrants and paid below minimum wage to such workers. Khan says many among such migrants used to have multiple jobs, were unable to afford health insurance and lived in poverty. The only incentive for them was that their families in Pakistan had a better life. “For such people, particularly if they are on the wrong side of 40, the harsh working and living conditions are too much to bear. They are better off in Pakistan if they can do something there,” he adds.

The sentiment was echoed by Azeem-ud Din Ahmed, who has recently shifted to the US after living in Germany for over two decades. Explaining his preference, he says that language was a big barrier in Germany. “There are better jobs and business opportunities in the US; there was limited income in Germany,” he says. Ahmed believes that those in their early to mid-30s stand a better chance of making it. “It depends on the kind of opportunities available, but one should at least complete their education first if they don’t want to do odd jobs,” he says. “Those trying to migrate to America will be in a much better position if they are skilled mechanics, gardeners, even barbers.”

Syed Izfar, an immigration attorney for almost four decades in Houston, says that safety issues in Pakistan and economic considerations are dominant factors for potential immigrants. “There are primarily two categories: family- and employment-based, in which people apply. The process through employment-based route is faster. The family-based applications can take 10-15 years to mature,” he says.

Hinting at the political tension between the two countries as one of the reasons for slow processing, he says that there is a large backlog of visa cases pending in the US embassy in Pakistan. “Labour certification that used to take a maximum of six months is now taking 2-3 years and employers have to go through a tedious process to justify hiring somebody from overseas,” he says.

Izfar says that there are some asylum cases from Pakistan but approvals in the category are rare now. “Such applications have to be made within a year. They are mostly denied,” he says. There used to be a lot of inquiries in the investor visa category (for those who could invest a million dollars or more), he says, but there were hardly any applicants in this category from Pakistan. Another category that has been used is that of religious minister. He says many imams have migrated to the US.

Izfar says the situation for immigrants from Pakistan changed for the worse after 9/11. “Before 2001, anybody could petition for residency after reaching the US and start working without waiting for the outcome. Now that is not possible.” He says that there is a covert anti-immigration attitude in the US that was encouraged by former president Trump. He remains hopeful though that Democrats under President Joe Biden will change the landscape but admits that this will not be easy.

He strongly advises new immigration applicants against overstaying. “At one point, there was $1,000 penalty for overstay or work without permission. Now, overstaying is illegal and those guilty of it are barred for immigration. They can’t return to the US for a minimum of three years (if the overstay is for six months), and a maximum of 10 years (if the overstay is for a year). Marriage to a US citizen remains their only option,” he explains.

“I understand that many people can’t support themselves in Pakistan and want to move out. But don’t come here and overstay. You will be much better off applying from Pakistan.”

The writer teaches journalism at Lamar University in Texas. He tweets at @awaissaleem77