Kan.’s FORT LEAVENWORTH – Sgt. Alexander Amoah’s first experience in the United States was similar to a sequence from the Disney film “Cool Runnings” from 1993.
“I arrived at JFK airport in New York City in January for the first time,” recalled Amoah. I only packed two long-sleeved shirts with me because I imagined it to be the coldest season in Ghana. I opened the door and returned to the airport. I had never experienced such a frigid climate. In Ghana, we only experience summer and spring. The climate significantly changed.
Amoah moved to the United States in 2013 from Ghana, a tiny nation on Africa’s Atlantic coast. There are around 31 million people living in Ghana. More than half of that is in the NYC metro region alone.
As part of the Electronic Diversity Visa Program, Amoah entered the United States. The Diversity Visa Program was created by the Immigration Act of 1990, under which 55,000 immigrant visas would be awarded annually through a lottery. By choosing applications mostly from nations with low rates of immigration to the United States during the preceding five years, the lottery seeks to diversify the immigrant population in the country.
On the way to church one day, I spotted a group of individuals gathering applications for the programme, Amoah recalled. “I had never heard of the programme before. At first, I assumed it was a ruse. My friend convinced me to fill out the application after I had seen him enter his details. When the selection results were announced around three to four months later, I was chosen. I refused to believe it. The United States is simply not that accessible.
Amoah had to go to the American Embassy in Accra, the nation’s capital, after being chosen. Officials verified his ability to speak and write in English after he underwent a medical examination and an interview.
Up until the day I received my visa, he said, “I still didn’t think it was genuine.” Just a few weeks later, “I came to the United States.”
He took the difficult choice to travel alone, leaving behind his wife and infant daughter. Before bringing his family over, he needed to come and see how things were, get settled, and locate a place to live. He eventually found himself at a U.S. Army recruiter’s office and enrolled in November 2013.
When I arrived here, I had to register for the selective service, Amoah remarked. “In Ghana, I had already completed my national service. In order to get experience, you work for a government organisation for a year after graduating from college.
After hard work and joining the Army, I was able to apply to have my wife and daughter come to the United States from Ghana.
Amoah is a Specialist in Automated Logistics who is presently stationed with the 15th Military Police Brigade.
When Amoah met the recruiter, he informed her that non-citizens of the United States were not eligible for several positions. Because I believed it transferred well to the civilian sector and because I found the prospects this career presented to be intriguing, I chose this military occupational specialisation.
His principal responsibility as a noncommissioned officer in the training room at his current position.
He remarked, “I arrange and schedule yearly training to ensure that all workers are current on their trainings. I occasionally give lectures as well. Amoah has ambitious professional ambitions that he thinks he can accomplish. He finished his master’s degree in health management in 2019 and began his PhD programme in March of this year. He just received a selection to Officer Candidate School and eventually intends to change his MOS to health administration. He aspires to hold a position of leadership in the Army’s health administration.
Amoah says he was first anxious about the event but quickly found his way.
He declared, “The U.S. is far larger than Ghana.” Although there are many more individuals, there are regulations and programmes in place to support immigrants’ personal growth.
