Need Advice on Bringing my Filipino Parents to the USA.

[winterpark2015 5]

Hello,

I came to the USA 10 years ago on a fiancée visa.  My parents who are poor farmers in the Philippines have expressed interest in coming to live in the USA. However, I am not sure where to start. I have not worked while being in the USA. So I have several question I am hoping someone can answer. 

 

1. I assume I file an I-30 for the to come here with a greencard. Does the financial sponsorship have to come from me or can it come to my husband or should I get a job first before I apply for them.

2. How long and expensive is the process from the Philippines?

3. ** Kind of Most important. They are now in their mid 50s and know very little to no English. How does USA social security work for permanent residents? Do they need to become U.S. Citizens before they would qualify for Social Security? My understanding is that you need to work 10 years, 40 quarters to be eligible for social security.  So if they came here and both worked for wal-marts of some type of place only paying minimum wage. How much would their social security be with such a short work history and low wage?  <--- This is probably the most important thing in deciding if it is a good idea for them to actually come here because I worry about their future if they were to come here. 

 

[Boiler 45,966]

VJ has an excellent guide on the process but yes your husband can joint sponsor

 

Same as anywhere else.

 

How realistic would it be to get a job at Walmarts with no English, Social Security is wage related, say 2 years to get here and another 10, well in 12 years I would not like to guess what the situation would be, they do have the advantage of having a Sponsor. Big one of course is Health Insurance and getting a job with decent cover.

[aaron2020 11,651]

37 minutes ago, winterpark2015 said:

Hello,

I came to the USA 10 years ago on a fiancée visa.  My parents who are poor farmers in the Philippines have expressed interest in coming to live in the USA. However, I am not sure where to start. I have not worked while being in the USA. So I have several question I am hoping someone can answer. 

 

1. I assume I file an I-30 for the to come here with a greencard. Does the financial sponsorship have to come from me or can it come to my husband or should I get a job first before I apply for them.

2. How long and expensive is the process from the Philippines?

3. ** Kind of Most important. They are now in their mid 50s and know very little to no English. How does USA social security work for permanent residents? Do they need to become U.S. Citizens before they would qualify for Social Security? My understanding is that you need to work 10 years, 40 quarters to be eligible for social security.  So if they came here and both worked for wal-marts of some type of place only paying minimum wage. How much would their social security be with such a short work history and low wage?  <--- This is probably the most important thing in deciding if it is a good idea for them to actually come here because I worry about their future if they were to come here. 

 

1.  You, the US citizen, would file one I-130 for your mother and another I-130 for your father.  It will be two separate cases.  At the NVC, you will file an I-864 Affidavit of Support and your spouse will file an I-864a as your household member to meet the financial requirements.

 

2.  It takes about 12-18 months from filing to getting immigrant visa.  However, this was before Trump put a one year ban on US citizens petitioning parents.  It may be longer now because of the ban.  It's about $2000 per person for the entire process.  VJ has a Guide that you should study.

 

3.  Your parents would need to earn 40 quarters of work to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits.  Your LPR parents can qualify for SS retirement benefits.  If they leave the US to go live in the Philippines, they could lose their LPR status and their SS retirement benefits.  If they become US citizens and return to live in the Philippines, they can keep their benefits.  No one can tell you how much your parents will get in SS benefits.  Most likely, they will need to rely on SSI which is for poor retirees and it will require them to live in the US.  Their SSI would stop if they leave the US for more than 30 days.  I agree with the other poster, how realistic is it for them to work for a non-Filipino employer without knowing English?  I know immigrants who don't know English, and they all work under the table for people from their homeland in restaurants and as illegal child care providers.  How would a supervisor at Walmart give instructions to your parents who don't understand English?  How would your parents get through a job interview?  Realistically, they are looking at working for other Filipinos.  

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

First, may I commend you on being more forward looking than many people we see here, who don’t stop to think about the long term financial implications of bringing parents here.

 

be aware that it is not just SSI that they need to work 40 quarters for, but Medicare too, if they want maximum Medicare benefit. I don’t know what the number is but you are correct in thinking that 10 years working minimum wage is not going to be a great SS income (I think there are calculators online that you can use to figure out the benefit). If they will be living with you, this may be enough, but it will likely be a struggle if they have to pay for rent food and everything out if it. Everyone’s home situation is different, but in general it’s probably not a good idea to move to the US a decade before retiring if you have no savings and will be relying on social security income and Medicare (and remember Medicare does not cover everything). They will also need to be prepared to learn a minimum amount of English both to work and to become citizens.if they are willing to do that that should be fairly easy, there are free English as a second language classes just about everywhere,  but we some immigrants are reluctant to learn a new language. 
 

17 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

I know immigrants who don't know English, and they all work under the table for people from their homeland in restaurants and as illegal child care providers. 

This may help day to day expenses but just to emphasize, for social security and Medicare they will need to be work in the formal sector where SS and Medicare taxes get paid. 

[aaron2020 11,651]

12 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

 

This may help day to day expenses but just to emphasize, for social security and Medicare they will need to be work in the formal sector where SS and Medicare taxes get paid. 

These are people who come with zero planning.  They are looking at now and not so much towards the future.  Retirement benefits and Medicare are not things in their countries, so they don't think about them.  Their goals are to petition their other children.  Once their children are here, they will rely on their children for retirement much like they would in the old country.  They will rely on Medicaid instead of Medicare.  

OP - you have a year or two to plan for your parents coming here.  Network now and find leads for them so they can get jobs that will pay into SS and Medicare.  Discuss whether they want to retire in the US or return home.  They will not be happy with the culture, cost, lack of English, etc. living in the US and will probably yearn to return home.  They need to learn some English to work here.  They need to know enough English to gain US citizenship.  With US citizenship, they could return home and retire on $1000 per month in SS benefits.  

Edited February 4, 2021 by aaron2020

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

4 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

Retirement benefits and Medicare are not things in their countries, so they don't think about them.  Their goals are to petition their other children.  Once their children are here, they will rely on their children for retirement much like they would in the old country. 

How do they petition these children with no formal income?

[aaron2020 11,651]

Just now, SusieQQQ said:

How do they petition these children with no formal income?

Joint Sponsors.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

7 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

Joint Sponsors.

So who’s petitioning them then, other children? Bring them over and make them work close to slave labor to bring more children? So the more children can support them when the current ones who brought them over make them work like this?  Seems very odd. Thankfully OP is not expecting her parents to work conditions like that.

 

 

[Mike E 11,742]

1 hour ago, winterpark2015 said:

My understanding is that you need to work 10 years, 40 quarters to be eligible for social security.  So if they came here and both worked for wal-marts of some type of place only paying minimum wage. How much would their social security be with such a short work history and low wage?  <--- This is probably the most important thing in deciding if it is a good idea for them to actually come here because I worry about their future if they were to come here. 

 

I disagree with the other respondent: we can indeed estimate what their SS benefits will be.

 

https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/

 

You said they are in their mid 50s. So let's say age 55 or born on Jan 1, 1966. FL minimum wage is low, and seems like Wal Mart pays $10 an hour.

 

Enter $20,000 for current year (I know it will take a year for them to get here ... that's how the calculator works). Enter Jan 2033 (age 67) as retirement day for full retirement.

 

That pops out a number. Click on See the earning we used: You can now adjust the earnings for 1983 to 2016 as zero, enter $5900 for 2017-2020 (because the calculator has a bug) and click submit earnings information: $569 per month each in 2021 dollars.

 

Edited February 4, 2021 by Mike E

[aaron2020 11,651]

Just now, SusieQQQ said:

So who’s petitioning them then, other children? Bring them over and make them work close to slave labor to bring more children? So the more children can support them when the current ones who brought them over make them work like this?  Seems very odd. Thankfully OP is not expecting her parents to work conditions like that.

 

 

Most often, it's a USC sibling or a USC child who immigrated based on marriage to a USC/LPR who will petition for parents.  Once those parents become LPR, they will petition for unmarried children.  Since their income is insufficient, they will rely on Joint Sponsors.

It's not slave labor.  You are looking at this from their POV.  There is no opportunity for them and their children in their home countries.  The US offers economic, educational, and a cleaner environment for future generations.  They are sacrificing for their children and grandchildren.  The cultural norm is for their children to support them in their old age.  You can not look at this from a Western POV.  

[aaron2020 11,651]

5 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I disagree with the other respondent: we can indeed estimate what their SS benefits will be.

 

https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/

 

You said they are in their mid 50s. So let's say age 55 or born on Jan 1, 1966. FL minimum wage is low, and seems like Wal Mart pays $10 an hour.

 

Enter $20,000 for current year (I know it will take a year for them to get here ... that's how the calculator works). Enter Jan 2033 (age 67) as retirement day for full retirement.

 

That pops out a number. Click on See the earning we used: You can now adjust the earnings for 1983 to 2016 as zero, enter $5900 for 2017-2020 (because the calculator has a bug) and click submit earnings information: $569 per month each in 2021 dollars.

 

You are making a presumption that they will be working full time, earning $10/hour, making $20,000 annually, and paying into SS & Medicare.  This is a fiction for most elderly immigrants who do not speak English.

How are non-English speakers going to jobs in the US?    

How many employers are willing to hire non-English speakers who are elderly?

 

The reality in immigrant communities is that non-English speakers who are elderly end up working in restaurants, child care, etc. off the books.  Go to any pho restaurant in Little Saigon and you'll see.  Go to Chinatown in SF and you'll see. 

How realistic is it for OP's non-English speaking elderly parents to get jobs at Walmart? 

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

11 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

Most often, it's a USC sibling or a USC child who immigrated based on marriage to a USC/LPR who will petition for parents.  Once those parents become LPR, they will petition for unmarried children.  Since their income is insufficient, they will rely on Joint Sponsors.

It's not slave labor.  You are looking at this from their POV.  There is no opportunity for them and their children in their home countries.  The US offers economic, educational, and a cleaner environment for future generations.  They are sacrificing for their children and grandchildren.  The cultural norm is for their children to support them in their old age.  You can not look at this from a Western POV.  

Yet at the same time you are telling OP her parents will be miserable and will want to go back home but these ones are different even though they come from the same type of country. Ok, whatever.
As I said, luckily OP is thinking far enough ahead to put her parents in a different situation. Either they will be set up for a decent situation, or they won’t come. (According to her first post)

Edited February 4, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[aaron2020 11,651]

Just now, SusieQQQ said:

Yet at the same time you are telling OP her parents will be miserable and will want to go back home but these ones are different even though they come from the same country. Ok, whatever.
As I said, luckily OP is thinking far enough ahead to put her parents in a different situation. 

Most elderly immigrants are miserable their first few years here.  Lots wants to return home once they no longer work.  This is what I have observed.  This is regardless of whether they plan on SS or Medicare.

Yes, it's great that OP is planning.  I am not disagreeing or disparaging this.  

I know a number of people who have immigrated to the US, petitioned for their kids, became US citizens, and return home to live, and collect SS & receive Medicare.  

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

11 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

I know a number of people who have immigrated to the US, petitioned for their kids, became US citizens, and return home to live, and collect SS & receive Medicare.

Obviously different to the ones you know who work under the table and let their kids support them in the US later. So clearly not all immigrants speak too poor English to get formal sector jobs, yeah. Maybe best not to paint such broad brushstrokes to start off with then.

[Boiler 45,966]

I was wondering what WalMart do about healthcare, you tend to think of an elderly workforce and that minimum wage could be worth it just for Healthcare.