People tell me I became an American citizen “the right way.” Here’s what they don’t see.

I came here on a student visa. Then came a work permit, an extension, a green card, residency, and eventually citizenship. The entire process took 12 years.

Between those steps were long stretches of waiting. Documents expired while I waited for the next approval. More than once, I felt caught in limbo, trying to follow the process while having very little control over how quickly it moved. By “limbo,” I mean that I sometimes had expired paperwork while waiting for the next step.

I was advised not to leave the country during those periods when my paperwork had expired. Staying here and waiting was part of the process I was following. It was what I was advised to do.

Was that “the right way”? It was my way. It was the path available to me to pursue my dream of becoming an American citizen.

But please understand that an immigration journey is much more complicated than a photo of someone holding a citizenship certificate.

That photo doesn’t show the years of uncertainty. It doesn’t explain the difference between an expired document and someone’s immigration status. And it doesn’t tell you which options were available to that person in the first place.

I’m proud of becoming an American citizen. But I’m tired of having my story used as proof that everyone else should have been able to follow the same path.

I can’t tell you exactly how my experience would unfold under today’s policies. But I worry about whether I could face detention or be sent back home while navigating that same process today. I’ve seen people with stories similar to mine whose journeys haven’t had the happy ending mine did. But I can tell you how vulnerable it felt to have my future depend on paperwork and decisions outside my control.

Whether you’re Republican, Democrat, or somewhere in between, I hope you’ll hear my experience with an open mind. We can care about immigration laws, take the time to understand the people navigating them, and still acknowledge when something happening is wrong.

Before using one immigrant’s story to judge another’s, please remember how much of that story you may never have seen."