This Is Why Chinese Students Love Chick-fil-A
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At a Chinese-language comedy event held in northern Virginia one recent weekend afternoon, the audience was invited to shout out answers to a simple question from the host: “What food do you like?” The response that stood out the most was a loud, unified “Chick-fil-A.”
The moment was played for humor, including a follow-up joke from the host referencing the H-1B visa lottery—the highly competitive and increasingly difficult U.S. work visa system that many international students, especially from China, rely on after graduation. The exchange reflected a familiar theme within parts of the Chinese student community in the United States: the belief that luck, timing, and even symbolic gestures can feel just as important as qualifications when it comes to immigration outcomes.
Chick-fil-A, the American fast-food chain, has become an unexpected symbol in this space. Although the company does not operate locations in China, it has gained cultural traction among Chinese students and professionals in the U.S. due to a linguistic coincidence. In Mandarin-speaking circles, “Chick-fil-A” is often associated with a phrase that sounds like “check files,” which some interpret as symbolically linked to the processing of official documents.
Over time, this wordplay has evolved into a kind of lighthearted superstition. Within online communities and student networks, some participants in visa processes have adopted Chick-fil-A branding as a good-luck charm. The practices vary widely: some people create small objects like coasters using 3D-printed versions of the logo, others stitch the logo into handmade keychain accessories, and some even change their social media profile images to the restaurant’s branding. In certain cases, users modify the logo color from red to green, symbolically referencing a “green card,” the U.S. permanent residency document many applicants hope to obtain.
For some, these gestures are more than jokes. Zhou Yilu, an AI software engineer in his late 30s living in Wilmington, Delaware, described a sense of psychological comfort tied to the ritual. After eating at Chick-fil-A, he said it felt as though he was “one step closer” to obtaining permanent residency.
The appeal of these symbolic actions reflects the uncertainty surrounding the H-1B visa process, which is based on a lottery system due to overwhelming demand. Even highly educated applicants working in specialized fields often find the outcome unpredictable, with success dependent on selection rather than solely on merit or credentials.
Fan Wu, a data scientist based in Indianapolis, shared a similar experience. Despite participating in several personal rituals—including changing his social media profile to the Chick-fil-A logo and even traveling to Hawaii to visit a Japanese Taoist temple for prayer—he was not selected in the H-1B lottery. He described turning to such practices as a response to the randomness of the system, saying that when outcomes feel like pure chance, people sometimes look for other forms of meaning or influence to match that uncertainty.
Chick-fil-A did not respond to requests for comment on its unexpected role in this cultural phenomenon.
What began as a simple joke rooted in language similarity has gradually developed into a small but recognizable trend among some Chinese students and professionals navigating the complexities of U.S. immigration.
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