This week we wrap up our discussion with Joe Kwon, founding attorney of Joe Kwon Law, PLLC, and we cover an in-depth discussion on the various visa paths for international students and professionals interested in pursuing their careers in the U.S. and considering business immigration as the path for it. I make no exaggeration when I say that this is the type of episode I wish I had had when I was a graduate student, and if you know anyone who is a prospective or current international student or professional exploring their options, please make sure to share this with them. [If you want to take the next step and book a consultation or learn more, you can find Joe Kwon on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook as @joekownlaw to follow him in Korean and English.]
But our newsletter is a less tactical and more reflective space, so of course I am going to take a step back from the acronym soup we discuss with Joe in this episode. Instead, I want to extend an invitation for us to think about what it represents, to a certain extent. Some of you may have heard the story I often share about my applied improv mentor, Izzy Gesell, and the one piece of advice that changed my perspective. If you have, you can skip the next paragraph. If not, here it is.
Quite a few years ago, before I even officially started my business, I was in a mentorship program as part of the Applied Improv Network, and Izzy and I were working through my ideas on how I wanted to serve international students and professionals. But at a deeper level, we were also working through these ideas by examining my own experiences at that time. I shared with him in detail all the external struggles I was facing as an international professional going through the job market and facing the constant wheel of rejections, and what that felt like. I was deep into my own misery when he said to me: “You are an improviser, play with the environment.” [Note: here improviser refers to the art of performing improv. I’ve been surprised by how many people take me saying I am an improviser as if I was a non-planner. It hurts my intensely type-A heart whenever this mix-up comes up].
I will not go into all the details of how playing with the environment became a foundational mantra for me since, despite initially feeling pretty frustrated towards Izzy because “how dare he put that mirror in front of me?” But I do want to share with you a piece of this approach because for many of us, the acronym soup of visas (in the U.S. or anywhere else we are), and many of the other institutions, bureaucracies and regulations that shape up our possibilities, can feel like prisons (and our current reality is one where this is no longer a metaphor in many cases).
In many ways, this is very similar to what we discussed a month ago in our episode with Veronica Sepehr thinking about Canada and plan Bs. But today, I want to offer a much more gradual approach. Playing with the environment when the constraints are so heavy requires a whole lot of inner work because the first step is to take a step back, to open a tiny crack between the story we are living in (one where these visas and constraints set the stage for everything else) and the story we want to live in (the vision we have for ourselves). The question is: how do we create that tiny crack through which some more light comes in? There are multiple ways of getting started in that process, but today I invite you to explore this one question with me:
What is true about who you are that will remain true even if this constraint did not exist?
For me, I knew that to work in this space and create resources to support us in our personal and professional lives across countries felt like a calling I would answer even if I was not based where I am (and in fact, there was a very real chance of that happening elsewhere at that point). Here is why this question matters: Because once you hone in on the part of this situation, the part of who you are and what you want, that is non-negotiable regardless of the constraints, then you can start thinking about what needs to exist, to happen, or to unfold for you to walk in that direction no matter what. The awareness of what drives you can fuel the commitment to that vision and help you move past that initial stuckness of the constraints currently playing. It is not automatic, nor easy. But it is possible. It is the tiny crack and lets some more light in. From there, the strategizing begins. In the playground of your career, this is the part where we anchor in you as the Player, so self-trust can flourish.
What stands out from this reflection and our episode today? I look forward to hearing from you. If you know an international student or professional seeking some guidance on next steps in the U.S., please share this with them so we make sure this resource reaches anyone who needs it right now.
Until next time,