Immigration to the United States

Initial Job Offering 

Through his job at the University of London, Huseyin was able to come in contact with researchers from all over the world. One of the people that Huseyin came in contact with was an American researcher at Merk Pharmaceuticals named Phill. He and Husseyin became friends and research partners. At one point, Merck had a job opening in the United States and Phill encouraged my uncle to apply. 

Making the Decision to Move 

Even with the research and financial opportunities that a job at Merck would provide, he was still very hesitant to move. He remained weary of moving for two main reasons: 

• He faced fierce resistance from his parents, who were not happy about him moving "across the pond." 

• He was not happy about losing all of the close friends that he had in the United Kingdom and having to start from scratch. Eventually, he decided that moving to the United States would be in his best interest. 

The decision to move to the United States was a very difficult one for Huseyin. All of his family was either in Cyprus or the London area. None of his family lived in the United States. After much deliberation, Huseyin made the tough decision to accept the job offer and move to the United States. His decision to move was decided by four factors:

• His two children were moving off to college and they would no longer be living at home with him.

• Working in the private sector would allow for significantly more money for research.

• He felt that he could make the biggest impact in the United States. 

• His move to the United States would only be temporary. 

Eventually, Huseyin applied for and received an O-1 visa. An O-1 visa is gifted to people who display extraordinary ability in the sciences.