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[F-2CKED] ZINE | TBL #1 | ALKALI.DESIGN SCHOOL | 09-10.23
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Sometim how goo life is de on 1)whe you are
[F-2CKED] ZINE | TBL #1 | ALKALI.DESIGN SCHOOL | 09-10.23
mes od your epends ere e 2) where you‘re from
3) what time you live in
Everybody’s personal story is deeply political. My story is about invisible barriers I’m facing constantly during the last 3 years simply because I happened to be born in one particular place on earth, and moved to another. My reasons were innocuous—I am not a refugee, I was not expelled, I have not been involved in any illegal activity... Yet, because of those barriers, I feel like I have... I know there are thousands people like me, and even more sure the situation we are in is fundamentally unfair and absurd...
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Are you at home?
Y ES
NO
Are you in the U.S.?
N
O
YES
[F-2CKED] ZINE | TBL #1 | ALKALI.DESIGN SCHOOL | 09-10.23
1) I am in United States 2) I am from Russia 3) It is a year 2023 All of these gives an overview of a political landscape I exist in. It is inevitable that it shapes my life, not the other way around. But there is something that stands out from the overall mess of globalization, wars and economical rivalries. On top of other problems present in the world this one is very simple to solve, which makes its existance ridicuolous. But it’s not outspoken, so my story is to shed some light on it.
YES N
O Do you stay on a visa?
09-10.23 | SCHOOL ALKALI.DESIGN | TBL#1 |
EXPECTATION Human rights in the United States:
The Freedom in the World index lists the United States in the highest category for human freedom in civil and political rights, with 83 out of 100 points. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_the_United_ States#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20the%20Freedom%20in,of%20 countries%20with%20a%20%22satisfactory]
An official website of the United States Government:
The protection of fundamental human rights was a foundation stone in the establishment of the United States over 200 years ago. Since then, a central goal of U.S. foreign policy has been the promotion of respect for human rights, as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United States uses a wide range of tools to advance a freedom agenda, including bilateral diplomacy, multilateral engagement, foreign assistance, reporting and public outreach, and economic sanctions. The Department of State works with democratic partners, international and regional organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and engaged citizens to support those seeking freedom.
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[https://www.state.gov/policy-issues/human-rights-and-democracy]
American Dream:
The American Dream is the national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals including representative democracy, rights, liberty, and equality, in which freedom is interpreted as the opportunity for individual prosperity and success, as well as upward social mobility for oneself and their children, achieved through hard work in a capitalist society with few barriers.
[F-2CKED] ZINE | TBL #1 | ALKALI.DESIGN SCHOOL | 09-10.23
REALITY
Despite its progressive and liberal reputation, incredible economic resources, abundance of social instutions the United States is one of a few so called 1st world countries, where clearly patriarchal laws still exist. One of those is that THE U.S.
DOES NOT ALLOW SPOUSES OF STUDENT VISA HOLDERS TO WORK, AND BE INDEPENDENT FINANCIALLY AND LEGALLY FROM THEIR PARTNERS. Turns out thousands of women arriving in the country found themselves in an “American Dream World”...of men from 1950-s... This policy has traces of an incredibly patriarchal social structure. It limits the rights of a significantly large group of people to be heard and visible to the system they live in. This system is also tremendously rigid, leaving no opportunity to obtain more rights through time and effort.
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“International students are an integral part of the American higher educational system in the 21st century. International students are viewed as extremely valuable to American educational institutions because they add diversity in the classroom, as well as support teaching and research in programs that have the greatest need, such as the sciences and
[F-2CKED] ZINE | TBL #1 | ALKALI.DESIGN SCHOOL | 09-10.23
Here and further is the citation of Samit Dipon Bordoloi’s work: “How Immigration Law Impacts the Household Life of F-2 Wives in the USA.”
contribute nearly $30 billion to the economy. The majority of international students arrive in the US on an F-1 visa, which is assigned for the specific purpose of higher educational study. Spouses of F-1 students are allowed to accompany them on a F-2. This visa has been designed for the spouses and minor children.
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IN OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS THE GENDERNEUTRAL TERM “SPOUSE” IS USED WHEN REFERRING TO MARRIED PARTNERS OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. HOWEVER, THE LIMITED RESEARCH ON SPOUSES OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS HAS IDENTIFIED THIS POPULATION AS OVERWHELMINGLY FEMALE
,200 isas/year
Proper understanding the experiences of spouses of international students’ requires researchers to acknowledge the gendered nature of the issue. The majority of international graduate students (who are more likely to be married) are male. Immigration scholarship has shown that husbands are less likely to follow wives as dependents to another country due to the patriarchal organization of families in most societies. Given these factors one can infer that the majority of spouses of international students would tend to be female. The immediate impact of immigration regulations is that when an F-2 wife arrives in the United States she finds herself legally dependent on her husband. Under immigration law wives of international students are considered “dependents” of the primary visa holder, the F-1 international student. F-2 wives do not have independent immigration status in the United States and their presence is entirely contingent upon their husband. Shi Chuo noted that the documents that she carried reflected this dependency. In China she was a successful professional, the vice-president of a company, but in the US her identity was derived completely from her husband’s status.
Samit Dipon Bordoloi. How Immigration Law Impacts the Household Life of F-2 Wives in the USA.
09-10.23 | SCHOOL ALKALI.DESIGN | TBL#1 | ZINE [F-2CKED]
Background of the Problem
[F-2CKED] ZINE | TBL #1 | ALKALI.DESIGN SCHOOL | 09-10.23
STUDIES WITH OTHER IMMIGRANT GROUPS SHOW THAT WOMEN WHO ARRIVE IN THE UNITED STATES THROUGH THE ROUTE OF MARRIAGE, DUE TO THEIR LEGAL DEPENDENCY ON THEIR HUSBAND, FACE BARRIERS TO INTEGRATION AND ARE VULNERABLE TO SPOUSAL ABUSE
Loss of Independence
F-2 wives find that their financial status and standard of living are often reduced as a result of their migration to the USA. Since the overwhelming majority of F-2 wives in this study were employed full-time in their home country, they found their situation dramatically different in the USA. While this reduction in family income can create additional problems in adjustment, a number of F-2 wives shared that they primarily struggled with the loss of financial independence. Virina had a successful career as an art curator in Mexico and had been financially independent for more than a decade. When she arrived in the US she described the loss of independent income as a feeling of powerlessness. For F-2 wives who had been working full-time the loss of income was associated with financial dependency on the husband, which was not compatible with their self-identity of an independent woman. For F-2 wives the financial dependency on their husband was not just a “private” family matter but constructed and supported by various regulations. The key issue is that F-2 wives are not assigned a social security or tax identification number and cannot carry out even simple financial transactions, such as having their own bank account or credit card. Therefore, such regulations fundamentally alter the manner in which couples negotiate financial issues within their relationship.
SUCH STRUCTURAL DEPENDENCY COULD CREATE SCENARIOS WHERE THE HUSBAND LIMITED THE WIFE’S MOBILITY BY WITHHOLDING ACCESS TO FINANCIAL RESOURCES.
Beyond the unfair division of labor, the key point of concern for most participants was that the work within the household had no economic value. Although participants recognized that their labor contributed to the good of the family it did little to enhance their career prospects. Feminist scholars have emphasized the need to view the household labor performed by women, such as cleaning, cooking and raising children as work that is economically productive since such labor “maintained workers and produced future workers engaged in wage labor, in effect making capitalist production possible”. However, F-2 wives recognized that their household work on behalf of their families held little value outside the domestic sphere.
Role of Income
Family studies scholars have used the relative resource model to argue that the allocation of household labor is generally on the basis of economic exchange (see Erickson, 2005) [36] . The partner who brings more resources to the marital relationship is able to use these resources to ‘‘buy out’’ of the performance of household labor. Due to the historical disparity in income men are more likely to be able to buy out of performing household labor. Feminist scholars have criticized this model by showing that women who have professional careers and are on equal footing in terms of income are still responsible for the bulk of household work and child care after their paid work day is done. This is also reflected in the narratives of most F-2 wives who note that they had an unequal burden of housework even when they were working. However, in their home country, as working professionals, wives were able to use their income to transfer the responsibility of household labor to other individuals.
Samit Dipon Bordoloi. How Immigration Law Impacts the Household Life of F-2 Wives in the USA.
09-10.23 | SCHOOL ALKALI.DESIGN | TBL#1 | ZINE [F-2CKED]
Impact on Career Prospects
[F-2CKED] ZINE | TBL #1 | ALKALI.DESIGN SCHOOL | 09-10.23 H owever, the increased burden of housework on F-2 wives is not a reflection of couple dynamics but a result of structural conditions that place these women at a disadvantage. The root of the unequal division of household labor lies in the immigration regulations that restrict F-2 wives from seeking employment and/or educational opportunities. F-2 wives do not have the option of accessing resources outside the household to “buy out” of household labor and/or transfer domestic responsibilities to other caretakers. Darya acknowledged the unfair aspect of such division of household labor. She identified the loss of financial independence as the primary influence in the unequal distribution of household labor. Since she was not involved in any “productive” economic activity she has little choice but to help the family unit by taking on the burden of domestic responsibilities.
Reifying Patriarchy
One could argue the patriarchal organization of the family system for most participants was also influenced by the husband’s premigration gender beliefs. However, it is important to keep in mind in their home countries the overwhelming majority of F2 wives had independent professional careers. Most of the participants noted that in their home countries they had access to social and financial resources outside the household. Such unpaid labor tended to Therefore, in THE US IMMIGRATION POLICIES
THAT PREVENT WIVES FROM WORKING OR STUDYING REIFIED A PATRIARCHAL HOUSEHOLD THAT CONSTRICTED WOMEN TO THE REALM OF REPRODUCTIVE LABOR. subsidize men’s “productive” activities outside the house. Over time within the family of international students such an unequal division of labor came to be seen as “natural”. It was easy to accept the rationalization that since the husband is “working” outside the house and the wife “stays” at home, the unequal burden of domestic responsibilities was not unfair.
DIFFICULTIES ONLY START HERE IF THE COUNTRY OF ISSUANCE TRIES TO CONQUIRE NEW TERRITORRIES EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.
A HUMAN BECOMES AN INFORMATIONAL UNIT.
YOUR IDENTITY ID BEING COMPRESSED TO A SIZE OF COUPLE TEXT LINES IN YOUR PASSPORT.
IMMIGRATION/RELOCATION IS TOUGH IN ANY CASE.
09-10.23 | SCHOOL ALKALI.DESIGN | TBL#1 | ZINE [F-2CKED]
Immigration processes impact men and women within families differently. In the case of international students since husbands and wives do not enter the immigration process equally, they experience migration differently. For F-2 wives the legal dependency on their husbands is accompanied by a loss of financial independence and unequal status within the marital relationship. The inability to access opportunities
outside the household results in a significant increase in F-2 wives burden of unpaid household or reproductive labor. Such labor although valuable to the family, does little to enhance their professional skills or career prospects. F-2 wives were often forced to make an identity transition from being a professional career-oriented woman to that of a homemaker. The immigration regulations that prevent F-2
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wives from seeking employment or full-time education are based on gendered constructions of family relationships that place the burden of preserving and caring for the family unit on women. The process of migration to another country can be an extremely difficult experience and “can produce profound psychological distress among the most motivated and well prepared individuals, and even in most receptive circumstances”. The findings of this study show that for F-2 wives the organization of immigration regulations produce a uniquely dissonant immigrant experience. The restrictions on employment and education prevent the very thing that F-2 wives would like to do integrate better within American society. While international students can integrate, gain new skills and even develop strong ties through their education, wives on F-2 visa are denied such opportunities. Upon graduating international students can seek out employment opportunities that allow them obtain a work permit and move towards permanent residency. Over the same time period wives on an F-2 visa find that their skill sets have regressed and they are locked out of the job market for an extended duration. F-2 wives find their family life is shaped in a patriarchal manner, with their husbands working in the “public sphere” while they are consigned to the “private sphere” of household labor and carework. The practical impact of such restrictions is that it relegates wives of international students to a secondary status, both within their families and in the larger US society.”
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YOU ARE A NAME A DATE A GENDER A PLACE
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1) I’m in the United States 2) I’m from Russia 3) It is a year 2023 ...And I think my situation is pretty F*CKED UP
F[2]CKED 09-10.23 | SCHOOL ALKALI.DESIGN | TBL#1 | ZINE [F-2CKED]
Idea and design: Arina Pozdnyak Contains qoutes from “How Immigration Law Impacts the Household Life of F-2 Wives in the USA.” by Samit Dipon Bordoloi (Department of Health and Community Studies, Western Washington University, Bellingham, USA) DOI: 10.4236/jss.2016.410009 Printed at XXX San Francisco, CA 2023