A stranger at 'home': interactions between transnational return visits and integration for Afghan refugees

This article explores the interactions between transnational activities (in the form of return visits) and integration, for Afghan refugees living in the USA. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in California and Kabul the study looks at why return visits take place and the difficult experiences Afghan-Americans had of being a stranger in what might otherwise be considered their 'home'. It is argued that return visits can be a transnational strategy instrumentalized to contribute to integration in California through, for example, the investment of 'reverse' remittances. In doing so, the importance of multi-directional transnational flows, particularly those from Afghanistan to the USA, are highlighted.