1. The Narrator (the nine-year-old girl)

• She is the American-born daughter of Nigerian immigrants and serves as the story’s narrator.

• Her perspective is innocent, observant, and often humorous, which highlights how much she does not yet understand about immigration, adulthood, or her parents’ worries.

• She represents the second-generation immigrant experience: legally secure, culturally flexible, and often unaware of the pressures shaping her parents’ lives.

  • cf. “If you’re going to live in this country you might as well get used to soccer. It’s part of life. I’m American. How do you expect me to feel?”

• Her tendency to drift into thoughts about the colour green shows how her mind moves between imagination and partial awareness, giving the story its blend of innocence and seriousness.

• Through her eyes we see the gap between a child’s world — full of boredom, cartoons, and school concerns — and the adult world of legal paperwork, fear, and hope.

2. The Mother

• The mother is patient but clearly anxious about the green card process.

• Her behaviour shows the emotional labour of immigrants: staying calm for her child while feeling the weight of their uncertain legal status.

• She represents resilience and quiet determination; she wants stability for her family and understands what is at stake.

• Small gestures — such as her attempts to keep the narrator occupied or her reactions to news on the TV — reveal her awareness of politics and bureaucracy in a way her daughter cannot perceive.

• cf. "I tell Mom, “Bet that’s where the green cards are hidden. Behind that wooden door.” “Like lost treasure,” she says."

3. The Father

• The father carries a mix of pride and vulnerability. He tries to appear confident, but the narrator’s memories reveal how deeply immigration rules affect him.

  • cf. "His family came from Ghana. Immigration will save America."

• The key example is the moment when he could not travel to Nigeria for his father’s funeral, showing how the lack of proper documentation can cause emotional loss and disconnection.

  • cf. "Dad cried."

• He is more vocal about his frustrations compared to the mother, but still tries to maintain control in front of his daughter.

  • cf. "“These people are crazy,” Dad says."

• Like the mother, he symbolises the first-generation immigrant struggle: navigating a new country, feeling uprooted, and depending on a bureaucratic system for basic rights.

4. The Immigration Staff (minor characters)

• Although not individually developed, the officers and staff in the immigration office contribute to the atmosphere of authority and tension.

  • cf. "What she says sounds like Oloboga? Ologoboga?"

• Their presence reminds the reader how much power they hold over the lives of the narrator’s parents.

• They function as symbols of the broader system: distant, procedural, and indifferent to the personal stories of those waiting.

  • cf. "The pretty woman does Dad’s thumb print, then Mom’s, and then she writes our address in Mississippi to send their green cards. Mom won’t stop thanking her."

  • cf. "I don’t think she cares."

5. The Other Immigrants in the Waiting Room

• People from different countries and backgrounds appear briefly, emphasising the shared uncertainty among those seeking legal status.

  • cf. "No one in the Haitian family answers him. Maybe they are too tired to be polite."

• They highlight the universality of immigrant experiences — waiting, hoping, and trying to secure a future.

  • cf. "There are people here who look like Mr. Gonzalez. Indian looking people too [...]"

• Their presence also shapes the narrator’s understanding of diversity and community, even if she cannot yet articulate it.