Chimers Chime In: Celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month
“I joke that I moved to the U.S. for love,” says Neelima Kodumuri, our Head of Marketing Analytics. “My husband came to the States on a work assignment and, soon after, we decided to make a better life for ourselves by moving over here from India.”
For Dmitry Shilov, a Software Development Engineer in Test, immigrating to the U.S. from Belarus was a decision borne of the political situation in his home country. “I had already spent some time in the U.S. for my studies and work, but when it became obvious that Belarus couldn’t provide me with the professional opportunities I had hoped for, my wife and I made the move to the U.S.,” he says.
Apurva Krishnan, an AML Transaction Monitoring Rules Officer on our Risk team, and Aoni Wang, a Senior Product Designer, both came to the U.S. to pursue their master’s degrees. “I came to the States for my studies because so many industry leaders and people I looked up to made their careers here,” Apurva says. For Aoni, moving to the U.S. was a chance to live alone and get out of her comfort zone after growing up and studying in Beijing.
Neelima, Dmitry, Apurva, and Aoni are all members of Chimmigrants, our Chimer Resource Group (CRG) dedicated to immigrants who work at Chime. In honor of immigrant heritage month in June, we learned about their unique immigrant experiences and how being an immigrant helps them be better Chimers.
The many facets of being an immigrant
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an immigrant is a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence. So all immigrants share a common thread: moving somewhere new. Uprooting your life, family, and heading to a new country is a big adjustment to make and there’s a lot that goes into being an immigrant that many aren’t aware of.
For example, moving somewhere new — like the U.S. — can cause great culture shock at the different cultural norms, expectations, and systems an immigrant encounters. Neelima, Apurva, and Aoni all had preconceived notions about what it was like to live in the U.S., mostly gathered from the American movies they watched growing up. “The way American culture is portrayed in Hollywood films — the wealth and fame, big cities, and luxurious lifestyles — didn’t match my reality or that of most of the people I met,” Neelima says.
What’s more, being an immigrant is more than just hopping on a flight somewhere new. Moving to the U.S. involves a whole lot of paperwork and visas — all of which can take months or even years to be approved. “Immigrants need a special visa status in order to be able to work in the U.S. and the application process can feel like a black box,” says Apurva. “There’s a lot of uncertainty, which adds to the stress of being abroad and settling in,” she adds.
Being far away from one’s home country and family is also something to consider for immigrants. “Especially during the pandemic, I’ve felt the distance from my family,” Aoni explains. “It’s been almost two years since I went home to see my parents due to travel bans and quarantine restrictions — I miss them a lot.”
And, finally, simply being a foreigner is something many immigrants have to get used to. Apurva didn’t really expect to feel so different, but coming from her home country of India, she learned that she does stand out in the U.S. “In India, I was a citizen and looked like everyone else, but in the U.S. I’m noticeably different from many of my community members, not to mention I’m not a citizen, which means I can’t vote or participate in certain civic activities,” she says.
Though there are many unexpected challenges — both big and small (for Aoni, switching to the imperial system was a headache!) — there are tons of benefits to immigrating to the U.S., too. For example, there are more job opportunities in the U.S. — the foundations for opportunities, growth, and expansion have been laid by many immigrants and pathways continue to open for new arrivals to the country. There’s also a deep sense of community amongst immigrants and the people they share our neighborhoods and workplaces with. “As immigrants, we bring diversity to our communities and create strong bonds with folks who share our backgrounds as well as those who don’t,” Apurva says.
Living Chime’s values as an immigrant
Having all of these experiences — from missing family to awaiting paperwork to start a job — helps immigrants develop a deep sense of empathy and understanding of what it’s like to be different. This helps them contribute a more diverse range of ideas and perspectives to their work, and at Chime, that goes a long way towards living our values and supporting our broad member base.
Being an immigrant helps us Be Human
“As an immigrant, I’ve faced many of the same scenarios and struggles that our members experience,” explains Neelima. For starters, banking is vastly different in other countries than in the U.S.. Arriving without a credit score, for example, can set immigrants back. “Many folks arrive in the U.S. without the financial knowledge they need to succeed. When I moved here, I didn’t have any credit or understanding of how important credit is to make large purchases, such as buying a car,” she adds.
Without credit, it was hard for Neelima to make ends meet sometimes. When she first started working in the U.S., her employer’s pay cycle was delayed. She didn’t get paid and didn’t know anyone from whom she felt comfortable borrowing money. “My experience helps me appreciate the value of a feature like SpotMe,” she says. “It’s a prime example of why Chimers with different life experiences help drive the success of our features and products. Personally, I would have used and benefited from SpotMe during that time.”
Being an immigrant helps us Be Bold
“It’s a bold move to go somewhere new and start your life entirely anew,” Dmitry says. “You have to take a step back and be willing to work your way up in a new environment. By nature, immigrants are bold because of the risks they take to improve their lives.” Being an immigrant at Chime helps Chimers take risks and be bold in service of our mission.
Being an immigrant helps us be Member-Obsessed
Being member-obsessed starts with having empathy for our members — which stems from understanding different perspectives and experiences. “That’s something we have by virtue of being immigrants,” Apurva explains. “For example, in my field of fraud and risk prevention, I know that some seemingly suspicious activity might just be how an immigrant spends their money to survive. When I came to the U.S. as a student, I had no credit history and no income — the money wired to me for fees and living expenses could have been considered suspicious by banks, requiring additional verification and delays in access to the funds. Today, that experience helps me empathize with members who are trying to build their credit and understand their frustration when they don’t have access to their money.”
And for Aoni, whose first language isn’t English, examining the member experience from a non-native speaker’s perspective helps her and her team understand where members might need more information or clarity in the app.
Staying connected to their immigrant heritage
Part of the way immigrants contribute such rich perspectives to their work and communities is by celebrating their heritage — the places and cultures they came from — and incorporating it into present circumstances. For Apurva, that means cooking traditional Indian meals for her family on special holidays. “It reminds us all of our childhood and homes back in India and keeps us connected to our traditions and culture,” she says.
Celebrating heritage doesn’t end with traditions, though — it extends into the future. For Dmitry and Neelima, staying connected to their heritage involves thinking about opportunities for themselves and future generations. “A lot of the reasons we decided to move to the U.S. are rooted in wanting to provide a better future for our children,” Dmitry explains. “We’re creating a new culture that combines our heritage and future generations’ experiences.”
At work, staying — and getting — connected to immigrant heritage happens through CRGs like Chimmigrants. “By creating a safe and welcoming environment where Chimers can embrace their differences and contribute to our company culture, we’re all encouraged to celebrate our heritage and bring our experiences as immigrants to the table,” Aoni says. “It makes Chime a more welcoming environment, a better product, and enhances our experiences as immigrants, too.”
