Questions/Concerns about elderly immigration

[lakambini 1]

I'll start off with my questions first:

What is the likelihood that an elder Filipino man (in his late 50's) with no money to his own name, no history of reliable employment for the last 15 years, and no job lined up here in the United States passes his interview at the U.S. Embassy in Manila?

This man I know, we'll call him Bong, has been waiting for the petition from his naturalized brother for the past 20+ years. He has been very eager for this day to finally arrive, and last year it did. He was informed that the process was going to finally begin to see if he qualified to become a permanent resident in the U.S. on the basis of his brother's citizenship.

Due to his current situation in the Philippines, I and many others of his close relatives have tried to strongly advise him that we do not feel it is wise for him to come here at this time. As implied above with my question, he has had no reliable job for the past 15+ years (his wife has a good secretarial job that supports the entire family). Similarly, he has no obvious marketable skills or talents. Despite his wife's income, they still live very modestly and are deeply in debt with no savings. The majority of his immediate family still resides in the Philippines. Although he claims he passed his medical examination with flying colors, he has mentioned in the past that he does not feel he is in top condition.

We have tried very hard to convince him of the realities of living in the U.S. We've mentioned the high health care costs, the unemployment rate, his age, his health, his lack of financial stability, everything... yet he continues to remain determined to "prove" that he can make it here in the U.S. We've tried reasoning that his family needs him. Doesn't work. We've tried saying that his family needs the money that he is going to require to live in the U.S. Doesn't work. We've tried explaining the despite this being his lifelong dream, he needs to consider the needs of his family first before his wants. Doesn't work.

To make a long story short, he is just extremely stubborn/determined to come and try to live in the U.S.

I wonder, though, if my worrying about what he'll do for money, what his family will do for money, and how he'll survive in the U.S. if he ever does make it is premature. I really wonder if, as I questioned above, he will even pass his interview with the Embassy in Manila?

Does anyone have any advice regarding these types of situations. Are any of the topics I mentioned above questioned by the immigration officials, or is it a pretty easy interview to pass despite one's personal and family situations?

As a worst case scenario, I've considered writing to the Embassy to inform them fully of this man's situation and requesting that they deny him permanent residency. Would something like this work?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

-Worred in the U.S.

Hi,

first of all i dis agree of your plans in writing to the embassy. You said going to the US is the longlife dream of this man(bong)and he waited for more than 20 years, now time has come why would you try to ruin his dream.Who knows he might change (his attitudes) for the good when he gets to the US. Don't just the book by its cover. EVERYBODY needs a second chance.So please calm down and relax. Just wait and see ok? Give this man a chance,afterall he is also a son of "GOD"..

[belinda63 3,047]

He is a grown man and I am all for living your dreams. Once he gets here who knows what will happen, maybe he has an idea for a great business and will become the next Bill Gates. Never say Can't because you will miss out on all the things you could.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Its not politics, USCIS does not look at the unemployment history or if the person would add any value to economy or not.

Person has filed on bases of their family, US lets the immediate family member enter as they believe families should not be kept apart.

It would be upto his sponsor who will be responsible for the cost of his living and cost of his medicare.

Nope. Both USCIS and Department of State are required to consider the immigrant's age, health, and ability to support themselves when making the public charge determination. This requirement is based on INA section 212(a)(4)(B):

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.f6da51a2342135be7e9d7a10e0dc91a0/?vgnextoid=fa7e539dc4bed010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=fa7e539dc4bed010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&CH=act

Factors to be taken into account.- (i) In determining whether an alien is excludable under this paragraph, the consular officer or the Attorney General shall at a minimum consider the alien's-

(I) age;

(II) health;

(III) family status;

(IV) assets, resources, and financial status; and

(V) education and skills

Only after considering these things, will DHS or DoS consider the affidavit of support:

(ii) In addition to the factors under clause (i), the consular officer or the Attorney General may also consider any affidavit of support under section 213A for purposes of exclusion under this paragraph.

Both the Adjudicators Field Manual (DHS) and Foreign Affairs Manual (DoS) refer to the "totality of circumstances", and specifically refer to INA 212(a)(4)(B). Some specific references in the Foreign Affairs Manual:

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86988.pdf

9 FAM 40.41 N4.3 Family Status

You should consider the marital status of the applicant and, if married, the number of dependents for whom he or she would have financial responsibility.

9 FAM 40.41 N4.4 Applicant's Age

You should consider the age of the applicant. If the applicant is under the age of 16, he or she will need the support of a sponsor. If the applicant is 16 years of age or older, you should consider what skills the applicant has to make him or her employable in the United States.

9 FAM 40.41 N4.5 Education and Work Experience

You should review the applicant's education and work experience to determine if these are compatible with the duties of the applicant's job offer (if any). You should consider the applicant's skills, length of employment, and frequency of job changes. Even if a job offer is not required, you should assess the likelihood of the alien's ability to become or remain self-sufficient, if necessary, within a reasonable time after entry into the United States. (See 9 FAM 40.41 N4.7.)

9 FAM 40.41 N4.6-1 Aliens Subject to INA 212(a)(4)©/(D)

An alien who must have Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213(A) of the Act, will generally not need to have extensive personal resources available

unless considerations of health, age, skills, etc., suggest that the likelihood of his or her ever becoming self-supporting is marginal at best

. In such cases, of course, the degree of support that the affiant will be able and likely to provide becomes more important than in the average case.

In a nutshell, this means that an affidavit of support is not simply a backstop in case the immigrant requires support. They may conclude that it's virtually guaranteed that the sponsor is going to have to support the immigrant (and derivative family members), and require proof that the sponsor is capable of doing this for an indefinite amount of time. The burden of proof becomes decidedly heavier if the immigrant has minor children who will qualify for derivative visas. In spite of the fact that the primary immigrant would not be eligible for most means tested benefits until they've been an LPR for five years, their minor children would be eligible for those benefits the day the immigrant and his family step off the plane. It is this sort of scenario that DHS and DoS are charged with preventing.

He is a grown man and I am all for living your dreams. Once he gets here who knows what will happen, maybe he has an idea for a great business and will become the next Bill Gates. Never say Can't because you will miss out on all the things you could.

Bill Gates is a genius who showed tremendous aptitude for computer programming while he was a teenager in prep school. He started his first company with Paul Allen when he was 17 years old. He was accepted at Harvard, and developed a sorting algorithm in his sophomore year that held the world record for speed for thirty years. He dropped out of Harvard the same year to join Paul Allen, and they formed Microsoft the following year. Bill Gates was 20 years old.

Five years later, Bill Gates signed a contract with IBM that would launch the company into the stratosphere. He sold them a license to use an operating system he bought and adapted from a software developer in Seattle, but he kept the rights to sell the operating system to anyone. IBM's prior experience had been with mainframe computers, and they had always included the operating system with the computer. They didn't see any inherent value in "software". Gates had the foresight to realize that other companies would clone IBM's new Personal Computer. They did, and Microsoft has been riding that wave ever since.

Bill Gates was probably not a good analogy. That sort of genius does not lie dormant for nearly 60 years, and a business like Microsoft isn't founded on the basis of a single good idea. Maybe Ron Popeil would be a better anlogy.

[bettermuscome 12]

opportunity and circumstance is a great combination