When Bhutan established a "one nation, one people" policy in the 1980s, Dadi Neopaney and his family had to flee or lose their way of life. Dadi grew up as a stateless refugee in camps before he and his wife and son were able to resettle in Richmond, Virginia. 

Dadi had been a teacher and a journalist before resettling, but all that experience counted for nothing when he arrived in the United States. He had to restart his career from scratch, wearing a costume and waving a sign on the side of the road. 

After working his way up through a variety of jobs, Dadi now had a Master's degree in social work and works as a hospital care manager, has earned his citizenship and remains hopeful of a day when he can legally return to his home country.