Is it a bad thing if my Personal History Statement reveals my intention to immigrate? I am an international student applying for Computer Science PhD in US. Some universities I plan to apply to require Personal History Statement in addition to Statement of Purpose. I believe that I described my research interests, talents and motivation in my SOP quite well. I happen to be pretty "diverse" person as well, so I wrote about it in my PHS. The only drawback is that my PHS reveals some details of my background that may serve as a "red flag" of my lack of intention to come back to my home country after I graduate. I know this is not a good thing for visa approval, but I wonder what kind of attitude the university departments have to such students.

I received a lot of criticism for this approach. People say that I must not appear to be desperate and should avoid saying anything that is not directly relevant to my interest in Computer Science, but I believe that my history is an important part of my identity (and a chance for alternative funding sources), and I'm out of ideas of what else I can write about Computer Science that is not already mentioned by my SOP, Resume and recommenders.

So what would you suggest? Should I omit any details of my history that may raise suspision of my immigration intention?
People who get a Ph.D. and also try to immigrate are generally quite welcome in US academia.  The problem you may run into is that some people who just want to immigrate sometimes try to use a Ph.D. program as a visa source without having any real interest in a Ph.D., and then drop out when they find a company that can hire them.  This is understandably annoying to professors, who may have spent quite a bit of time, energy, and money on such a student, only to find the student has been disingenuous all along.  Thus, if you "smell" like such a student, you may find difficulty getting admitted.

If this is your intention, don't do it.

If you truly want a Ph.D., however, and the immigration is a separate desire, then I would advise you to just focus on the things that are about getting a Ph.D. Let your passion and your focus shine through, so that's the main thing that the professors notice.  Don't worry about trying to hide your desire to immigrate: if it comes out naturally as a small part of your statement, that's OK, since the professors reading it will likely be guessing you want to immigrate unless you explicitly say otherwise.