Arizona UPS worker celebrates 1st paycheck received in America
Yoel Diaz of Phoenix, Arizona, who is originally from Cuba, celebrated his first paycheck while living in the United States after working at UPS.
Ever since Yoel Diaz moved to America from Cuba, his wife Marissa Diaz has been documenting some key experiences in this country.
This includes his first trip to a grocery store, the first time he walked into a Wal-Mart and most recently, the first time he received a paycheck from the first job he's held in America.
The celebratory moment that his wife captured and posted on Instagram has been viewed there more than three million times.
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"It was a very special moment for him," Marissa Diaz of Pheonix, Arizona, told Fox News Digital about her husband.
Yoel Diaz, 37, started a seasonal job at United Parcel Service (UPS) a few weeks ago, his wife said.
He received his first paycheck last week.
Yoel Diaz shows off his UPS paycheck — the first check he earned while working in America. Diaz moved to this country in 2021. (Marissa Diaz)
The video has also been "liked" more than 150,000 times on Instagram.
"We're hoping it opens a door to a permanent position," Marissa Diaz said.
Yoel Diaz of Phoenix, Arizona, celebrated the very first paycheck he received in November 2022 while working in America. Diaz is a native of Cuba. (Marissa Diaz)
"Everything was new to him [such as] applying — he didn't know what a resume was. The job interview, everything," she said.
Yoel Diaz arrived in the U.S. in 2021 on a K1 visa and then applied for residency.
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Once that was approved, he got a work authorization form and a Social Security number.
That process took about a year, Marissa Diaz said.
Yoel and Marissa Diaz of Pheonix, Arizona, pose for a photograph in 2021 after Yoel was approved for his visa at the U.S. Embassy in Guyana. (Marissa Diaz)
In Cuba, Yoel worked as a professor making $13 per month.
His current paycheck is more than $13 per month — but his wife said that for him, all of this means so much more than the actual money.
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"For the first time, he has the opportunity to dream," his wife said.
Yoel echoed his wife's thought, saying his paycheck meant he would "finally have the chance to better" his life.
Yoel Diaz, a UPS delivery man, kisses his very first paycheck, which he earned while living and working in America. (Marissa Diaz)
"In Cuba, you would get a paycheck, and you know you never improve," Yoel Diaz told Fox News Digital in a statement in Spanish, which his wife translated to English.
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"It would be the same. This time, I finally can dream — I can help my family and this is the first step in my new life where I can be whoever I want now."
On the left, Yoel Diaz proudly holds up the first paycheck he earned from working at UPS in America. On the right, he poses with his wife, Marissa Diaz, after he was approved for his visa at the U.S. Embassy in Guyana. (Marissa Diaz)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a representative for UPS said, "This story really warms our hearts, and we are happy to have Yoel on our team."
(See the video below, created by the couple, that they posted on Instagram. It's shared here with permission and appears as they posted it. It also appears at the top of this article.)
Asked about his dreams for his future as he continues to live in America, Yoel Diaz said, "My dream is to be able to provide for myself and my family. I want to support my wife's dream of storytelling and would love to go around the country and the world to discover it."
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He added, "[That's] something the Cuban dictatorship never allowed me to do."
