When my dad graduated college, he looked for a job in engineering in any industry except for the military since he had already set his mind on immigrating. Working with state secrets would make immigrating impossible.
Because he was jewish, and engineering jobs were coveted, he was rejected from every job he applied to. Interviews would go great, then would come the background check, and he’d be informed that the position was already filled.
Finally he applied to become a postman. He had gone to a specialized math high school, competed nationally in physics olympiads, and was happy to take any job to wait out his application for immigration. Surprisingly, he was given the job! When he went to fill out his paperwork, he asked his supervisor, " Are you sure? Do you want to look at my passport?[1]"
“Your passport,” replied his manager, “what are you, American?”
My dad started delivering mail the next day.
[1] In the Soviet Union under “Race” my parents passports listed “JEW”