Supporting Azam's Journey in the US

Hi everyone, my name is Nicole and I am creating this fundraiser in support of Azam. I ask that you will read through it to have a brief understanding of the full situation. He's been through a lot in his journey of being able to believe what he believes and moving to the US by borrowing a debt which is now starting to be paid back this month.

I first wanted to provide you with some background of who Azam is! He is an international student who managed to come to the US to study, and has since obtained a degree from Cal Baptist University. In his free time, he enjoys gaming and anything outdoors; he is an absolute PRO at pickleball, and he also loves to play ultimate frisbee and soccer. He also taught me how to swing dance, and you will find us at CBU every Thursday night teaching other students how to do it too!

Azam spends lots of time with students currently attending CBU (some photos below); he is a person who makes it a point to know everyone, and he loves to help other students find a strong sense of community at school. He has served as a mentor and a friend to many, organizing events for everyone to come together and make lasting relationships. If you ever come to campus with him, do not be alarmed when there is suddenly a swarm of students near him buzzing about their college-kid happenings. Azam has a wonderful energy about him that brings people together, and he thrives most when he is supporting said people in rooting themselves in the community around them. I have enjoyed watching this and seeing how meaningful and impactful his presence is to the students.

Azam is currently waiting for his work visa since January 16th 2024. He has been completely without work as it is not legal for him to work without it based on the rules set by the government for immigrants.

In this time, he has had to use the funds he had saved from his prior job (he worked from April 2023 to January 2024 before his visa problems) to pay for his expenses. These funds that he had saved were initially going to go directly towards his loan, but because of the visa problems, he was not able to keep them and use them to help pay down his debt. Rather, he used the funds to continue to stay in the US, have a place to stay and feed himself.

Azam is now running out of savings, and with his loan payments beginning, he is in a dire situation. He is also receiving heavy pressure from his family to pay off the debt, who he fled from to be safe in his own religion. This is because they're his co-signers on the debt.

For further clarity, this is a more in depth breakdown of what has happened to Azam in the past and how he has gotten to this point:

In December of last year, Azam learned that his H1B work visa was denied due to the fact that the company he was working for failed to provide the correct paperwork to Immigration Services. He began to prepare for unemployment as well as his transition back to India, where he faces persecution from his family on the basis of religion as well as extreme financial hardship.

Luckily, Azam was able to stay in the country and begin to obtain a work visa, which he is currently in the process of recieving. However, the process is lengthy and uncertain, and he is not able to earn income without it. The process ranges anywhere from a few months to over a year.

The biggest issue for Azam currently is the student debt he took on in order to come to the US to get his degree. Being under the impression that he would receive his H1B visa, he was working towards paying down his debt amount of $60,000. Because he was denied, he was essentially pushed back to the starting line. The payments have started on the debt, and he is in a situation where his savings to pay the debt are running out.

Going back to India means a few things for Azam. Because he practices Christianity and his family practices Islam, he faces a looming threat of persecution. He grew up in an abusive environment, learning that those who were not Muslim were to be hated and even murdered if necessary. One of the problems with this is that his student loan is tied to his family, which creates a dependence on them until it is paid off. They have a large say in the way he moves through life, potentially preventing him from practicing his faith and also forcing him to maintain association with them until he is able to pay the loan.

Going back to India also means that Azam will have a much more difficult time seeing himself out of this debt; in India, the pay scale is completely different, and the typical pay range for someone with Azam's skillset is between $800 and $1,200 USD per month. What would have taken him a few years to pay in the US (living very frugally) could now extend several decades, making it impossible for him to escape the financial hardship and perpetuated violence he faces for his faith.

Funds that are raised for Azam will be going solely towards his loan balance in hopes that he can pay it down each month, not having to worry about missing a payment and putting him in a better position to hopefully pay off the debt and gain the ability to completely separate from his parents and the the current threat he is facing in having to maintain a relationship with them.

I am hoping that what I have written here does a good job of summing up his situation. As I have never had to face something like this, I am developing a better understanding of it every day. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to reach out and I will try my best to answer them! Any and all amounts will help Azam and the future he is facing, and he and I are both incredibly grateful for it. Finally, if you can share this, that would be a big help as well. Even if someone is not in the position to help, getting the word out is everything to us!

Signed,

Nicole