Abstract
Caty Hsu had been an international student in the United States for seven years. She finished her Ph.D. program and accepted an offer as a tenure-track Assistant Professor at a public university in the U.S. After having participated in the new faculty orientation and having prepared the syllabi and much of the teaching materials for the courses that she was scheduled to teach in Fall 2021, Caty was told by the Dean and Chancellor of her new school that she could not teach. American Adjunct Professors would teach her courses, at least in the beginning of Fall 2021. Although the job offer letter - signed by both the university representatives and Caty Hsu - stated that Caty’s position started on August 1, 2021, she would not be hired, or paid, in August. Would she start in September? October? Would she have to wait till 2022? Worse – would she have to start all over again and search for another job at a different university? If she returned to her home country, would she ever be able to return to the U.S.? Caty understood the constraints that her new school faced and the reasons behind the school’s decision. Nonetheless, she still felt depressed about the situation and thought about what to do next. She could not help wondering: “How far away am I from being an American?” After all these years being in the U.S., Caty now felt that she was now a foreigner in both her home country and in the United States.