Petitioners’ difficulties with Affidavits of Support

By Lourdes Santos Tancinco

Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Paul, a US citizen, filed a petition for an  immigrant visa on behalf of Manuel, his only brother in the Philippines. After waiting for more than 20 years for a visa to become available, Manuel finally received his “checklist” to start his visa processing.

Unfortunately, Paul is unemployed. He was terminated from his job three years ago and has not found another job. With the visa of Manuel about to be processed, he knows that he needs to submit an Affidavit of Support as part of the visa application. He asked his cousin to be a co-sponsor but she was hesitant to be a “cosponsor” because of reports that serious legal consequences could arise from signing an Affidavit of Support. Manuel, who is now a senior citizen, could end up relying on welfare upon his arrival in the US because of the current state of the economy.

Paul himself is on public welfare. But after waiting for two decades, Paul is excited to be reunited with his brother despite his financial difficulties. What will happen to the application for immigrant visa of Manuel?

Mandatory requirement

Generally, a family-based immigrant visa will not be issued if there is no Affidavit of Support executed by the petitioner or a cosponsor.

The petitioner must demonstrate that she or he can support the immigrant at an annual income that is not less than 125 percent of the federal poverty line. The poverty guidelines may be found on US Citizenship and Immigration Service Form I-864P.

In the case of Paul, he lives with his wife and is considered to have two family members. If he is to include the person being petitioned, he is considered to have three family members. The 2011 guidelines indicate that for a family of three, the poverty income guideline is $18,530 and 125 percent of that is $23,162. Since Paul has no income, he has to find a co-sponsor who has sufficient income and who is willing to co-sponsor.

Cosponsorship problems

When economic times were better, finding a cosponsor was not as difficult. These days  prospective cosponsors are hesitant to execute Affidavits of Support. Among the reasons is that these affidavits are considered contracts between the sponsor and the federal government. If the sponsored immigrant becomes a public charge or receives federal, state or local welfare, the government could sue the sponsoring family member and the cosponsor for reimbursement.

There is also a provision in the law that makes Affidavits of Support enforceable through lawsuits filed by the sponsored immigrant. This may sound strange, but there are cases filed by the sponsored immigrant against their petitioners. An example of this is in marriage cases where the sponsored immigrant separates and files for divorce. If the petitioner spouse refuses to provide support for  the sponsored spouse, a case of enforcement of contract may be filed against the sponsor. This lawsuit is based on petitioner’s obligation, which remains in full force and effect based on the signed Affidavit of Support.

Lifelong commitment

There are only five ways that a sponsor’s obligation of support may be terminated: (1) the sponsored immigrant becomes a naturalized citizen; (2) the sponsored immigrant works for 40 Social Security quarters (or, in the case of a married immigrant, his or her spouse works for 40 Social Security quarters while they are married); (3) the sponsored immigrant relinquishes permanent resident status and leaves the country; (4) the sponsored immigrant obtains new status in a removal proceeding; or (5) the sponsored immigrant dies.

One would notice that all these five ways are circumstances beyond the control of the sponsor. What if the sponsored immigrant refuses to naturalize? What if the sponsored immigrant finds it difficult to find a job? The sponsor may face a lifelong commitment to the sponsored immigrant.

Despite the legal consequences of a signed affidavit,many Filipino families exhibit strong determination to reunite with their relatives. Many are still pulling resources to put together Affidavits of Support for a successful immigrant visa processing. Indeed, family unity among Filipino immigrants remains a top priority and it is the family that enables them to sustain the many challenges of the times.

Fil-Ams win US racial suit

By Nimfa U. Rueda
Philippine Daily Inquirer

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LOS ANGELES—Four Filipino-American health workers, who were fired for speaking Tagalog in the workplace, have won the discrimination lawsuit they filed against the Bon Secours Health System, a hospital based in Baltimore, Maryland.

The ruling was “a big win for diversity and an important victory for Filipinos in America,” said the health workers lawyer, Arnedo Valera, coexecutive director of the Washington DC-based Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC).

This is because aside from the fact that the ruling benefits all bilingual and multilingual immigrants, it is also the first time the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) came up with a ruling specific to the Filipino language, he said.

“I feel relieved, happy and thankful,” said Jazziel Granada, a 30-year-old health unit coordinator who was two months pregnant when she and nurses Corina Yap, Ana Rosales and Hachelle Natano were dismissed for violating the hospital’s “English-only” policy in its emergency department last year.

In a ruling dated August 16, EEOC Director Gerald Kiel said he found reasonable cause that the health workers were subjected to “unequal terms and conditions of employment, a hostile work environment, disciplinary action and discharge because of their national origin in violation of Title VII (of the Civil Rights Actof 1964).”

The health workers filed their discrimination suit in June 2010.

The EEOC is an independent federal agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination.

“Everyone has the right to speak their own native language in the workplace so long as it does not adversely affect their job performance or put their patients’ lives in danger,” said Valera.

The EEOC has ordered the Bon Secours Health System to discuss a financial settlement with the health workers. The settlement may also include a demand for an apology and diversity training for management and staff, according to Valera.

Never in front of patients

In their affidavits, the health workers said they made sure they spoke English while performing their work and only spoke Tagalog to each other during breaks.

Natano, one of the nurses, recalled in her affidavit that she had once been reprimanded for replying “Salamat po, doc” (Thank you, Dr.) to a Filipino physician, who had offered her food, speaking to her in Tagalog.

“During patient care, we did not talk Tagalog in front of the patient. There was no incident reported that talking in Tagalog could cause harm to our patients or our coworkers,” said Granada.

After she lost her job, Granada was forced to return to the Philippines because it became more difficult for her to find a job as a health unit coordinator because of her pregnancy. She is now back in Baltimore and has given birth to a boy who is now 9 months old.

Fight for rights

Rosales said she felt both anger and sadness at being arbitrarily fired.

“I treated patients with compassion, love and care… I never compromised the safety of my patients by speaking Tagalog,” she said in her affidavit.

Rosales said she lost the medical insurance for herself and her four children, and she had a hard time finding another nursing job.

“With the economic crisis we’re facing right now, most hospitals have a hiring freeze,” she added.

“I was crying on the way home,” recalled Yap. “I didn’t know how (to tell) my family because I paid most of the bills.” She fell behind on her mortgage payments and nearly lost the family home to foreclosure.

“There were nurses in the ER who committed mistakes that put the lives of their patients in danger but they’re still there because they’re Caucasian,” Yap added.

Yap said she hoped their victory would serve as “an inspiration not only to Filipinos but also to other immigrants whose primary language is not English.”

“I know that we did the right thing—to speak up and fight for our rights,” she said.

Victory against discrimination

The New York-based National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (Nafcon) said the ruling was “a victory for all Filipino-Americans,” praising the health workers, Valera and the MHC for courageously pursuing justice for the health workers.

The California Nurses Association (CNA) and the National Nurses United (NNU) described it as an important victory in the fight against discrimination.

“Discrimination still exists and we have to remain vigilant in protecting our rights,” said Zenei Cortez, CNA/NNU copresident.

The NNU has close to 160,000 members in every state and is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States.

Similar suits

The CNA last year filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against California’s biggest chain of hospitals, the Sutter Health-California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) and St. Luke’s Hospital, for what it described as a conscious effort not to hire Filipino nurses.

Also in California, a group of 52 Filipino-American nurses at the Delano Regional Medical Center has filed a lawsuit alleging that they were singled out for enforcement of the hospital’s “English-only” policy.

The complaint, filed in December 2010 with the US District Court in Fresno claims the hospital’s actions violate federal rights protection laws. It states that the health workers, who were ordered to stop speaking Tagalog, were subjected to humiliation, intimidation and threats of surveillance.

There are about 4 million Americans of Filipino descent in the United States, according to Nafcon.

There is a significantly large number of Filipino nurses working in the US but it is not known exactly how many. According to the publication “Minority Nurse,” most statistical information about Filipino nurses is lumped into a general category of “Asian nurses.”

According to CNA/NNU lead organizer Chito Quijano, Filipino nurses comprise anywhere from 5 to as high as 60 percent of the total nursing workforce in the hospitals where unions have been established.