The author conducted in-depth interviews with 81 academic immigrants from around the world which reveal their narratives of living "double lives." The author found that academic immigrants experience many challenges related to language, "othering," alienation, misunderstandings, unfamiliar academic norms, and so on. Academic immigrants claim to bring significant value to higher education by offering different cultural perspectives in their teaching and scholarship, understandings of global citizenship, and sensitivities to issues of diversity and inclusion.