The central image of seeking the American dream is powerful in its own right, and the novel highlights how elusive that dream can be. The image is intensified by linking it with the immigrants’ journey. The Jongas are the obvious immigrants who have left their homeland in the hopes of achieving a better life in the United States, in the New York that they have read about and seen depicted in movies and on television. This is the physical passage across continents and oceans, through bureaucracies, and the climb up the social ladder. But the Edwards, native Americans are also traveling from their place of origin to a location that they hope will be better than where they set out from. The Edwards want their piece of the American dream as much as the Jongas do. Mbue illustrates how this human fate is shared by two families that at first glance seem so vastly different in their point of departure. In the ongoing political conversations about the most ethical and effective approach to immigration, I suggest that attitudes may be unduly influenced by seeing immigrants as “others,” people with whom we share very little. In fact, immigration is more than a simple voyage from country to country. It is a multidirectional journey along social, familial, political, financial, and even spiritual dimensions. Seen in this light, Mbue may be challenging us to realize that we all share dreams of a better life, immigrants on the move with a desire to travel from humble origins to destinations of greater meaning. Such an expansive view of immigration may help us find common ground that will better serve the needs and aspirations of those already in the United States and those struggling to enter our country.