In recent years, the number of Iranian immigrants to the U.S. has dramatically increased. From 1990-2000, there was a 34 percent increase in immigrants from Iran. Currently, there are about 280,000 Iranians living in the U.S. Most Iranian immigrants come to the U.S. for a better education, either in high school or at universities. Others come for economic opportunities. The majority of Iranian immigrants work in professional fields. Many people seek more political freedom in the U.S. Some have American family members that they want to see again. Others simply want to start a new life. The journey to the U.S. takes several hours. There is a five hour flight to a European country, such as the Netherlands, followed by a seven hour flight to Boston or New York. Only those people who are able to save enough money can afford to come to the U.S.
We left behind many family members. We left behind traditional roles and adopted new ones. We left our old schools and our courses of study. Our parents left their high positions and jobs as teachers. Here they are not able to follow their chosen careers. We also left behind our language and many of our religious practices. There are many Muslims in the U.S., but there are differences between us that many Americans don’t understand.
In the U.S. we found many new things. Although we learned English in school in Iran, here we were surrounded by it. We found a different educational system, much less competitive than the one in Iran. We were reunited with family members after a long time apart. We discovered much more personal freedom, both in school and in society. Iran is an Islamic Republic, but most of the people are much more secular than the image that the government projects. In our families, women have always had equal rights, but in Iranian society as a whole they were limited in what they could do after the 1979 revolution. In the U.S., women and men are both free to do what they like.
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A round-trip ticket from Tehran to NYC costs $694.
The average per capita income in Iran is $12,300.