Influencer Sisi Bolatini moved to New York for soul mate

Siham left the Netherlands at the beginning of this year to settle in the United States. There she will start a new life with the man of her life. The couple met in Abu Dhabi, where Siham lived for two years and worked as a flight attendant for Etihad Airways. “It was very special for me to speak to someone who was not from the Netherlands, but who shared the same standards and values. This led to a friendship, then a love relationship and soon a marriage. I can really be myself with him and therefore knew sure he was my soul mate,” Siham Shaikh told women’s magazine Linda.

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But her love lived in New York and besides the move itself, there were a lot of other steps to take. And then there was the corona pandemic. “After our wedding, we were told after six weeks that my visa application was being processed and that we would have to wait nine to 12 months to hear back. I had to choose which country I wanted to spend that period in and decided for my work in the Netherlands. At that time I was not allowed to return to New York. If we wanted to see each other, we would meet somewhere in the world. At least we thought so, because then Corona came.”

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They couldn’t see each other for months. “I was already married, but still lived at home. That frustrated me a lot. We had a lot of plans and wanted to build our lives together, but that just wasn’t possible. I also got all kinds of ugly reactions from people, because I lived at home while I was married. They thought I was no longer with him or that we didn’t have the money to buy a house together. What they didn’t know was that I was going to emigrate to New York.” It took nine months before she was invited for an interview about her Green Card. “I had to show pictures of almost every moment together and they really wanted to know everything. In the end I got through the process and got the great news that I was going to receive my Green Card. It was such an emotional moment. I could do it just don’t believe it.”

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Siham feels very free in New York. “As a Moroccan woman I don’t have to meet anyone’s cultural expectations and I don’t feel pressure anymore. It’s also so nice to see that people here identify themselves as New Yorkers instead of their ethnicity. If I’m asked anyway and I say Moroccan I get such positive reactions instead of a negative ‘Oh you are Moroccan’ I love that I have the freedom here and also notice that the American Dream really exists If you have the means and the vision you can really chase your dreams here.”

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