By Lauren Bain
Filipino-Americans, also referred to as Fil-Ams, are among the fastest growing minorities in the United States. In the 2010 census, almost half of the Asians in Washoe County were Filipino.
The process for immigrating to America is marked by difficult, even impossible situations. Many Filipinos arrive in the states by means of a petition. Every petitioner fills out the I-130 Petition for Alien Relative for each family member they wish to bring to the U.S. The 12-page document costs $535 to file. Even after filing the petition there is no guarantee that they will be accepted. When they petition has been successfully completed, the status of the person being brought over cannot change until their arrival in the U.S. This means that if someone files for an unmarried relative with no children, their status cannot change otherwise their petition would be invalidated.
For some families, petitions can go unanswered for decades, leaving people in a limbo of not being able to see family members and loved ones, however, journeys to America are different for every family and person.
Cheryl Sather
Cheryl was almost faced with an impossible decision when she came to the U.S. At 19, she flew across the Pacific, alone, while pregnant with her first child. If she had her daughter before her arrival, she would be faced with a decision to either leave her child in the Philippines or forfeit the opportunity to come to the states. Families are constantly placed in these situations to leave family members, parents, or siblings behind for the chance to make a life in the U.S.
When Cheryl was four, her father came to America. After a decade of lost contact, he reappeared in the Philippines and petitioned each of her siblings over to the states. She was the first of her siblings to join her father in America.
Diana Altura
Diana first moved to the states in 2004 with her parents and siblings. She came on a petition from her grandmother, who arrived in America during the 70’s through a petition by her sister, who was married to a World War Two sailor living in Hawaii. Diana's grandmother successfully petioned all eight of her children over a 20 year period. Seven of the children continue to live in the states.
Jana Sayson
Jana and her father came to the U.S. when she was nine to meet her mother already living in New York. Her family had a relatively short petition process taking less than a year for them to reunite as a family. Sayson’s father was a rising media influencer in the Philippines until they moved to the U.S. to pursue a new life. She has since lived in Texas and Las Vegas until ultimately coming to the University of Nevada, Reno for school.
Loida Parker
Before Loida was owner of Cafe de Manila, the only Filipino restaurant in Reno, she owned her own optometry clinic in the Philippines. She worked in Abu Dabi as an optometrist before coming to Reno in 2001 where her family was. Coming from Manila she saw the need for the Filipino cuisine to emerge in the Reno market and opened a family-run restaurant.
Annie Graffis
Annie’s journey to Reno started with her grandmother. After marrying an American sailor stationed in the Philippines, her grandmother left her family and decided to start a new life with him. She became an American citizen, had two children, and raised her family in naval bases around the world. Annie's mother married a navy sailor as well allowing Annie to grow up in different countries. At 13, Annie moved from Bogota, Colombia to Incline Village, Nevada.
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