A Filipino couple’s American dream story

Vic and Guia (not their real names) – entered the United States on B-2 tourist visas with their daughter Violet who was then 2 years old.  Because of a lack of job opportunities in the Philippines and low wages, Vic and Guia felt that the only chance that they had for a decent future was to live and work in the United States.

Placing their fate in God’s hands, they overstayed on their tourist visas and worked illegally courageously taking on a “Bahala na ang Diyos” (“God will take care of us.”) attitude.

Take care of them the Almighty did. Both were bright college graduates. Vic had a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology. Guia majored in Accounting. Initially, the hardworking couple struggled, taking on whatever jobs were available.

After  a couple of years, they began to get used to their surroundings, became more confident of themselves in the American work environment and summoned the  courage to apply for jobs that they were trained for. As it often happens, intent on  getting qualified employees, their employers somehow were not  focused on their immigration status and proceeded to hire them.

Vic got a good job as a computer programmer. Guia likewise did well and was hired by an accounting office to do basic income tax returns for individuals.

Fast forward 16 years later from the time they arrived in the United States: Vic’s company grew.  Continously learning the latest developments in his field and working hard, he now headed a team of software engineers and had the salary of a high ranking executive together with all the perks.

He had a major problem 4 years ago. Because of his illegal immigration status,  he could not attend an important  meeting in Brazil where his company had branched out and he was expected to attend. He was really  panicky and consulted with his lawyer: “What do I do? I might have to resign. Definitely I can’t go. If I don’t, my boss might get suspicious about my immigration status.”

It was a problem that could repeat itself continually as the company was expected to open up  more branches overseas.

His lawyer told him: “Your company’s president trusts and respects you.  You are a key factor in helping the company grow.  Just tell him the truth.”

“You want me to tell him I’m in the US illegally?”

His lawyer replied: “If I advised you to do that,  I would not be doing my job as a lawyer which is to protect you and your family – but I must always do so within the bounds of legality and propriety. Because of your honesty, talent and industry, so many new jobs were created for Americans with the company’s growth. You are performing a great service not only for the company but also for America.

Now if you were to board a plane headed overseas knowing you wouldn’t be able to return to the US and to your family and your job – you  would be really sick inside that plane and would feel like dying, is that correct?”

“Of course, that’s exactly how I would feel!” said Vic.

His lawyer continued: “All right then, tell your boss the truth about your deadly fear of flying on long flights overseas and how terribly sick you would get and as such, you cannot attend the conference.”

The company president accepted his excuse and sent another man instead. It’s now understood by the company executives that Vic cannot attend foreign conferences because of his fear of flying overseas.

Guia also did well. She now handles the accounts of wealthy individuals as well as corporate accounts.

Vic and Guia have really done well for themselves. They have: a big house in an upscale neighborhood, a couple of luxury cars, a vacation house in Lake Tahoe, considerable savings and a good portfolio of well selected stocks and bonds. They have achieved the American dream of a nice house and financial stability.

But the dream is still incomplete. Their main problem is that they still do not have legal immigration status. Violet, now 17 and about to graduate from a Catholic High School with honors – found it hard to accept what her parents recently revealed to her: They are in the US illegally.

She had been  been complaining to her parents about  not having her own car unlike many of her friends when clearly, they could afford it. They finally explained to her why she could not get a driver’s license. When they first arrived in the US sixteen years ago, it was fairly easy for anyone to get a drivers’ licenses. This is no longer true today for most states.

In California where they live, a new applicant now has  to show legal immigration status and a social security number.

Will an employment based  immigrant visa petition filed by an employer help in their situation? Unfortunately, even if this is approved, it cannot really help them because employment based petitions will not enable overstaying aliens to adjust their status in the US. A petition by a US citizen son, daughter or spouse would.

Their second child, Andrew, a US citizen who was born a year after they arrived – can file immigrant visa petitions for them when he turns 21. This will enable them to acquire their immigrant visas but that is still six years from now.

Nevertheless, even if that is the case, in the unlikely event that they are apprehended before that time, different effective affirmative defenses in Immigration Court can be utilized to enable them to stay.

One important law that they can utilize in Court is  Cancellation of Removal. The elements for this relief are as follows: 1) The applicant (or respondent)  must have been in the US for ten years or more. 2) The applicant must have either a US citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident child or parent. 3) The applicant must be a person of good moral character with no record of serious crimes. 4) The applicant must not be a public charge – that is, he or she must not be on welfare  or potentially, be a candidate for welfare. 5) The applicant must demonstrate that his or her US citizen relative will suffer extreme and unusual hardship if the applicant is forced to leave the US

Caution: Not all immigration lawyers do trials in Immigration Court. Most are limited to doing only immigrant and non-immigrant visa petitions. For deportation (removal) defense cases in court, make certain the lawyer is competent to do trials.

Do not automatically assume that lawyers who advertise heavily or charge hefty fees or have visible public personas  – are necessarily good lawyers. They may be good in marketing but may not actually be good lawyers. Ads showing endorsements by celebrities do not prove a lawyer’s competence.

Many lawyers are competent and honest but to be certain, a client’s best assurance  of getting a competent honest  lawyer is to check with the State Bar  if the lawyer is officially certified as an Immigration Law Specialist (Expert). To be certified as such, one must pass a series of tests, must have  considerable experience in handling a wide variety of immigration cases and has an impeccable record of honesty.

For Vic and Guia, it is just a matter of time before they can have Legal Permanent Resident status. At this point, there’s not much for them to worry about.

But how about Violet? Prior to President Barack Obama  issuing an Executive Order on June 14, 2012 granting immigration relief for young people like her, only a few limited immigration reliefs were available for most which included getting married to a US citizen for those who entered legally and then overstayed.

Those who crossed the US border illegally without proper inspection from Mexico or Canada – cannot adjust status in the US – even if they marry US citizens.

Various bills had been introduced to provide immigration relief for an estimated 1.5 to  2 million and maybe more young people similarly situated like Violet – including what was known as the Dream Act. All encompassing amnesty bills  for all illegal immigrants estimated roughly to be 12 to 20 million were likewise introduced. (It is difficult to have really accurate numbers because of the unrecorded hundreds of thousands who enter the US illegally from Mexico or Canada.)

These sensible  immigration amnesty and reform  bills were turned down repeatedly by the majority House Republicans for political reasons. The last general immigration amnesty law was passed by Congress in 1986. That was 26 years ago.

Young people like Violet were brought by their parents or by other relatives to the US when they were young and are illegal immigrants through no fault of their own. They grew up and went to school in the US and for all practical purposes are American in terms of culture and outlook.

Many, like Violet, are outstanding students and can contribute much to America. For them to  be deported to countries that they hardly know anything about nor whose languages they do not speak amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Still, there are a great number of Americans with small minds and hard hearts who cannot relate to new immigrants and feel threatened fearing they might lose their jobs to the newcomers. Many openly display anti-immigrant racist behavior  particularly in certain states. They forget that they too came from immigrant parents or grandparents.

It is these very large voting bloc which many anti-immigrant Republican lawmakers cater to. They  cite various reasons to justify their anti-human position – ranging from economic to national security reasons – and everything else in between that they can think of.

Very fortunately,  President Obama’s humanitarian Executive  Order allows a form of relief referred to as “deferred status” for young people like Violet. With it, not only will  qualified applicants avoid deportation (removal) proceedings – he (or she) will also be given a work permit. This means he can obtain a social security number and a driver’s license.

This is the kind of far reaching visionary humane policy that keeps America great.

To qualify, the applicant must have arrived in the US before the age of 16 and must be below 30; must be a person of good moral character (no felonies, no serious multiple misdemeanors, no drug convictions); must have been in the US at least five straight years; must be in school or have graduated from High School or obtained a GED or discharged from the military.

Qualified applicants will be given two year renewable periods of “deferred status”. Having this status by itself does not lead to eventual citizenship. However, it provides: relief from deportation, education and job opportunities as well as  the ability to utilize other immigration laws in the future. In a de facto way, the availability of future immigration relief laws will lead to eventual Lawful Permanent Resident status followed by US citizenship.

Now, Vic and Guia’s American dream of a good life is practically complete. Their courage to find the good life in a foreign land, their hard honest work and their sacrifices for themselves and their children – have paid off so much more than they can imagine.

The story of this Filipino family is not unusual. It is the inspiring story of thousands of brave industrious immigrant families who came to the US with nothing much more than the clothes on their back and did well. It is also my own story.

I arrived in the US as a single young man with fifty dollars in my pocket, worked at various odd jobs, had my share of heartaches (but also much joy), somehow managed to go to law school, became a lawyer and raised a wonderful family. I too placed my fate in God’s hands. He delivered.

Note: The California State Bar honors Atty. Ted Laguatan as one of only 29 lawyers officially certified as Specialists (Experts) in Immigration Law continuously for more than 20 years. He also does accident injuries, wrongful death and complex litigation cases. For communications (San Francisco area): 455 Hickey Blvd. Suite 516, Daly City, Ca94015; Tel 650-991-1154 Fax 650-991-1186; email [email protected]