"She eventually reunited with her mother in 2016, when she entered the U.S. on a visitor visa. In Ramallah, she had studied fashion design; in the U.S, she enrolled in English-language programs on an F-1 student visa. Her mother, who is a U.S. citizen, filed a family-based petition for her to start the process of obtaining permanent residency, which was approved in 2021."
"Since Israel launched its war on Gaza, following Hamas's attacks on October 7, 2023, Kordia has lost more than a hundred and seventy-five relatives in the Strip. "My mind was all about Gaza, nothing else," she said. The stories she heard from family members were horrifying. They were continuously displaced from one city to the next, fleeing for safety, only to confront more immediate dangers. Kordia, feeling "heartbroken," didn't know what to do."
Kordia reunited with her mother in 2016 after entering the U.S. on a visitor visa and later enrolled in English classes on an F-1 student visa. Her U.S. citizen mother filed a family-based petition, approved in 2021. While waiting for a green card, Kordia withdrew from school after a teacher wrongly led her to believe she was already a lawful permanent resident. She cared for her mother, worked as a waitress, and helped look after her autistic half brother in Paterson. Since October 7, 2023, she lost more than 175 relatives in Gaza and attended protests, including outside Columbia University, to call for an end to the violence.
Read at The New Yorker
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