“If that was an opportunity for me, I would have definitely taken it,” Kotadia explained. He participated in just one election in his birth country, and wishes he was able to replicate that during his time as a non-citizen in America. I’m interested in who will get elected as a leader.”īut because he moved here at such a young age, Kotadia could barely exercise his voting rights, even in India.

“Most of my life, I’ve been keeping an eye on politics, both here and in India. “After living here, being able to cast a vote will be nice,” Kotadia said. Kotadia’s story mirrors that of many foreign-born immigrants in the United States. Now, five years later, Kotadia is finally ready to obtain US citizenship. “I’ll be appearing for my citizenship interview this week.”Īfter moving here in 2002 on an F1 Student Visa, Kotadia was left hanging with an H1B work visa from 2005-2015, until he finally received his green card for permanent residency in 2015. “I’ve been living here for 18 years,” San Ramon resident Hiren Kotadia said. By Mahika Arya, Sneha Cheenath, Anaisha Das, Ananya Pinnamaneni, Jennifer Sheng, Megan Dhillon, Mitali Mittal, Olivia Phongsa, Praneetha Bhogi, Shereen Ahmed, Sylvia Ho, Tanvi Rao, Drishti Upadhyaya, and Kimberly Cui

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