English as a Second Language (ESL) Groups

Tredyffrin Family is Granted Permanent Residency Then Must Bid the Tredyffrin Community Good Bye

The Samanta Family, valued members of the Tredyffrin Public Library community, received exciting news last fall that they had been granted permanent residency in the United States. But now in a bittersweet move, they must leave the community that helped them settle so successfully to life in America.

From the moment he arrived in the United States, Biswanath Samanta knew he wanted to become a citizen and raise his children here. Life had been good in Kolkata, India where Biswanath was an Engineering Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology and later, in Muscat, Oman where he was a Professor at the national university Sultan Qaboos University. But he and his wife Rupama Pattrea knew the United States promised a better education and lifestyle for their children, now aged 7 and 13. Biswanath had always felt work is more satisfying in the U.S. and there are more choices.

When Biswanath joined the College of Engineering at Villanova University in 2007, one of the first places the family went to find information and community was the Tredyffrin Public Library. Books and education had always been a high priority and they were impressed with the multitude of programs and services the library had to offer. One day at the library, Rupama noticed a flyer promoting the library’s ESL (English as a Second Language) group and immediately joined. She not only became an active and invaluable member of the group, but now is a regular volunteer at the library. On another occasion last year, Biswantha noticed an immigration program the library was hosting with employment and family-based immigration expert Matthew I. Hirsch. BettyAnn Monash, ESL Coordinator for the Library, encouraged Biswantha to attend the program and it was there that he gained the information he needed to begin to apply for permanent residency in the U.S.

He studied the process carefully before beginning. Pat Ellison, an ESL volunteer, offered her expertise on naturalization and Rupama’s one-on-one ESL tutor Nora Jenkins and other members of the ESL group as well as library staff offered great support to the family as they tackled the process.

There are two options when it comes to applying for a green card: sponsorship in which an organization, typically an employer, supports an applicant or self petition which does not even require employment.  Individuals of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics can apply for a green card through self petition. Very few immigrants are granted citizenship this way; it is reserved for Nobel Prize winners, notable professors, and others who have achieved great success in their individual fields.

Applicants must meet three criteria for self petitioning through extraordinary ability. In Biswanath’s case, he supplied evidence that he professionally judged others’ work as a reviewer of over 50 articles for over 15 journals from around the world. Another requirement he met was to verify the significant contribution he has made to his field of Computational Intelligence in Engineering and Biomedicine. He accomplished this by producing 600 references in journals in which he is cited for his work. Lastly, he was required to include published articles of major significance of which he was able to include 100 of his articles. 

Biswantha chose to apply on his own instead of through a sponsorship because it will allow him the freedom to work and live anywhere in the United States. He loves his work at Villanova and has no plans to move, but the sponsorship application can take up to 10 years and binds an individual to a specific organization. Although far more laborious, he found the self-petition application to be appealing because it was faster and personally challenging and therefore, very rewarding. The preparation of the application took six months of dedicated work with papers strewn across the family's dining room table.

 It was Black Friday last November when Biswantha received a text message that there was a status update on his application with the official notification following in an email. The family prayed and when the news was positive, they were “bursting with joy”, said Rupama. “We no longer call it Black Friday. Now we call it Best Friday.”

Biswanath’s green card gives him and his family the status of “Lawful Permanent Resident” and allows them to live and work anywhere and just like all U.S. citizens, they will now be protected by all federal, state and local laws. Also with this new status, as well as obeying all laws and filing income tax, the family will be allowed to apply for U.S. citizenship after 5 years which will allow them the ultimate civic right of voting in all elections.

Rupama and Biswantha are grateful for the support that everyone at the library offered and are very sad to be leaving the community that has meant so much to them.  “We are blessed having such good friends,” they agree.

Members of the ESL Intermediate daytime group at Tredyffrin Public Library practice English conversation in a casual and friendly atmosphere.

Tredyffrin Public Library
Tredyffrin offers two ESL groups:

Anyone who speaks English as a second language and is interested in practicing and improving conversational skills is welcome. Meet other learners in one of two informal groups led by experienced teachers. For more information, call Gretchen Chamberlin at 610 688-7092.

The ESL Daytime Intermediate Class meets every Monday, 12:30 to 2 pm. To sign up, contact Gretchen Chamberlin at 610.688.7092 or gchamberlin@ccls.org. THE ESL DAYTIME GROUP WILL NOT MEET IN JULY OR AUGUST.

The ESL Evening Conversation Group will meet every Monday, 7 to 8:30 pm, beginning January 2010.  Practice English language skills in a relaxed setting.  No registration necessary. For more information, contact ESL Coordinator, Betty Ann Monash at BettyAnn11@comcast.net or call Tredyffrin Public Library at 610-688-7092.