What OFWs need to do

By Karen Galarpe

 On a recent trip to Japan, I heard a story about an OFW driver who nearly wasted away his earnings. He worked in Japan for close to 30 years, and at one point was earning an equivalent of P400,000 a month with overtime pay. He had a wife and child back home in the Philippines and was able to send his child to school. However, he was always out drinking at bars in expensive Tokyo while having several relationships with other women. "puro good time," they say.

Well the guy wasn't able to hold on to his job due to his drinking problem. His employer asked him to resign, and he was given an equivalent of P2 million as separation pay.

His Filipino friends could only shake their heads in disbelief at how he wasted away the opportunity to have a well-paying job, and how he was not able to save any money to make his life better. Last they heard, he was back home, bought himself a tricycle which he drives for a living, and is staying with his parents since he could not afford to buy a house of his own.


Filipinos who leave the country to work overseas do so to earn more money in order to help support their families back home. However, not every OFW gets to lay out a stable financial future.

The problem, says Raul D. Dimayuga, senior vice-president and head of the global remittance division of the Bank of the Philippine Islands, is initially a lack of awareness of what to do. For many of [OFWs], it is the first time that they are able to receive a larger amount of money than what they used to and if they are not properly advised, they would tend to use the funds for consumption.

This is why BPI has embarked on providing a financial literacy program to its clients, especially OFWs and their beneficiaries. It has conducted the BPInoy Learning Series caravans in Iloilo, Cavite, Dumaguete, Davao, and most recently, in Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro, among others. The series seeks to show that financial control is possible even away from home. By using interactive modules, participants are taught how to save, invest and make use of available technology to do banking transactions. BPI services and products designed specifically for the global Filipino are also introduced, such as the BPInoy Remittance, BPInoy Savings Account, BPInoy Save-up (build up savings account with free life insurance), BPInoy loan products, and Credit Card.

Dimayuga says these are the basics that an OFW must have to be on the road to financial stability:

1. An account for himself separate from that of his beneficiary.This way he is able to segregate his savings from his transactional account, i.e., funds needed by his beneficiary for day-to-day expenses.

2. A plan for himself in terms of how much to save and set aside as budget for the family expenses which he agrees on with his beneficiary.This way his plans are aligned with that of his family and the road to financial stability becomes a family affair. Ideally, he should be saving between 10 to 20 percent of his monthly income.

3. An investment plan.

Overseas Filipinos contribute substantially to our country's growing economy. As a bank, we want to provide financial education to empower our global Filipinos to fulfill their dreams that fueled their decision to go abroad, adds Teresita B. Tan, head of overseas banking and channel services group of BPI.

How to maintain your green card while outside the US

By Lourdes Santos Tancinco
Philippine Daily Inquirer

CALIFORNIA, United States—After more than 15 years of waiting for their priority date, Luis and his family were finally issued a United States immigrant visa.

The family traveled to the US and stayed with a relative while looking for a place of their own. Luis’s children, however, were all still in high school and soon wanted to return to Manila to finish their education. After serious consideration, Luis allowed his wife and children to return to Manila while he stayed behind to find work.

After several months, Luis realized that it was not that easy to find a job. In fact, he personally knew relatives and friends who lost their jobs and their homes. Frustrated and missing his family, he obtained a “re-entry permit” and departed for Manila to resume his employment and attend to the family businesses.

Luis had no plan to return to the US in the next two years. His wife, Rhea, is very apprehensive about the status of their green cards if they do not return to the US.

Time spent outside the US

Entering the US then returning to Manila after a few weeks gives rise to the issue of abandonment of residence.

Some green card holders are under the impression that they will be able to maintain their permanent resident status as long as they enter the US “at least once per year.” This may be a mistaken belief about what actually constitutes abandonment.

A returning resident is one who is returning to the US from a temporary visit abroad. If the stay abroad is protracted, this should be caused by reasons beyond one’s control.

What constitutes a “temporary” stay abroad will actually depend on the circumstances of each case and not necessarily the length of stay. How long one has stayed abroad is an initial point of reference for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors at the airport and they are not prevented from inquiring further into the “intention of the green card holder.”

Generally a permanent resident returning to the US after an absence of six months or less will be treated as if he or she never left the country. This is the “less than six months” rule.

If returning to the US after six months but less than one year, the green card holder bears the burden of the presumption that he or she never intended to abandon his or her residence. He or she is deemed to be seeking admission.

If the stay abroad has been for more than one year, a re-entry permit or a returning resident immigrant visa is expected to be presented to the CBP inspector at the airport.

No abandoning acts

The fact that the “less than six months” rule is generally applied does not necessarily mean that a green card holder should return every six months. The pattern of entry and departure could become a critical issue. If the CBP inspector, through the database available to him or her, determines that more time is spent in Manila than in the US, then the question turns into identifying the immigrant’s principal place of residence to determine whether or not he or she is indeed maintaining his or her US residency.

Most abandonment findings are a result of a green card holder’s committing “abandoning acts.”

Intent to maintain green card status must be supported by (1) the purpose of a trip outside the US; (2) the nature of the employment—whether it is temporary or indefinite; (3) filing of US taxes as a resident; (4) ties in the US such as house, bank accounts, credit cards, state identification card, or driver’s license; and (5) residence of immediate family members.

If an individual has a protracted stay outside the US and still wants to maintain his or her green card, he or she must show that the principal place of residence is in the US. A re-entry permit should be obtained. Preparing documents to prove ties in the US and carrying them during the return to the US are likewise advisable.

Should there be a finding of abandonment at the airport, the individual may be asked to appear before an immigration judge. Or, this individual may be asked by the CBP inspector to sign a Form I-407 abandonment of permanent residency status. (If there is no intention to abandon, the individual should not sign this I-407 form.)

Considering the difficulty of obtaining green cards or US residency status, those who are now afforded the opportunity to live and work in the US should know how to maintain their status. While circumstances differ for each individual, it is important to realize that nothing is permanent, including the green card. It is either you “use it or lose it.”