This Is Why Chinese Students Love Chick-fil-A

On a recent weekend afternoon, at a Chinese comedy show in northern Virginia, the host asked the audience, "What food do you like?" The loudest answer echoed through the hall: "Chick-fil-A!" "You still haven't gotten your H-1B lottery, ha?" quipped the host, citing the most popular work visa among Chinese students. It's an easy-to-get joke in the Chinese student community, where those eager for US visas believe their chances at success might hinge upon something unexpected: an American chicken sandwich and the company behind it. Chick-fil-A has no branches in China. But the brand has enticed Chinese students in the US for a simple reason: "Chick-fil-A" sounds like "check files." In a culture that puts great stock in soundalike words and numbers, it's believed to bring good luck to those with complicated visa applications, per the AP.

"It feels like I am one step closer to the green card after having a Chick-fil-A meal," says Zhou Yilu, an AI software engineer in his late 30s who lives in Wilmington, Delaware. No one can say who originally had the idea, but it's been kicking around the Chinese student community for years, especially for visa applications such as the H-1B, which is based on a lottery system and has become harder to secure. Some 3D-print the Chick-fil-A logo on coasters; some embroider the logo into a small cross-stitch pendant for key chains. Others set Chick-fil-A's logo as their profile picture on social media, sometimes converting it from red to green—as in green card. They believe they're one wordplay move away from "stay."

The Chick-fil-A superstition reflects how difficult it is for immigrants to overcome the obstacles to work legally in the US, even for those with prestigious educational backgrounds and high-level job titles. Fan Wu, a data scientist living in Indianapolis, didn't win his H-1B lottery despite changing his social media profile picture to the fast-food chain's red logo and traveling to Hawaii to pray at a Japanese Taoist temple. "I was forced to turn to these mysteries," he says. "The lottery itself is a matter of chance. It depends on luck, and we need another mystery to echo it." Chick-fil-A didn't respond to emails seeking comment. More here.