Immigration
Journey: Taiwan ✈️ United States
Taipei, Taiwan
In the late 1960s, many Taiwanese immigrants were entering the United States because the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished quotas which allowed more people to enter the United States. As a result, the number of Taiwan-born individuals who naturalized as US citizens increased every year. The number of Taiwanese immigrants ranged from a few thousand to over ten thousand. Many came to attend universities, and start families as there were far more opportunities in the United States.
Boston, Massachusetts
When the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 allowed Asian immigrants to immigrate. A large wave of Chinese immigrants initially immigrated to the west coast because of the gold rush. Although a lot of immigrants also settled in Boston, MA. A majority of the Chinese immigrants settled in Boston's Chinatown where they built their own community. They also attended the variety of universities that Boston has to offer.
Shu I, her husband. and first 2 children on vacation.
In 1968, Shu I Chou came to the United States with her husband and 2 children. During the process of moving, Shu I barely had any money, making the process very difficult. It also took a very long time for her to obtain the official paperwork to move, so she was left waiting until she was legally able to leave Taiwan.
They first landed in Dorchester, MA with barely anything. She chose Massachusetts because that is where her sister-in-law was living. Due to the economic instability that Shu I and her family was suffering from, she decided to live in one room of her sister-in-law’s house. Shu I's entire family was crammed into one small room, until they were fiancally stable enough to get a place of their own.
Shu I did not just bring her own family to the United States.
All of Shu I's immediate and extended family.
Shu I with her 2 brothers and 6 sisters.
Shu I and Joe eventually helped her mother, father, and seven siblings plus their families move to the US when they were financially stable themselves. They offered financial aid, so that her siblings could thrive in the US alongside her own family. Some of Shu I and Joe's nieces and nephews had parents that were constantly working when they first came to the US, so Shu I and Joe took care and raised them under their roof.