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Filipinos in AmericaWhen you are a Philippine citizen living in the Philippines, it’s easy to say you are a Filipino. But what if your parents are from the Philippines, but you live in the U.S., were born here, don’t speak Tagalog, and have never been to the Philippines? Are you still a Filipino, are you Filipino-American, or just an American? The article below explores what it means to be Filipino in America. It’s the sixth in our New Immigrant Survival Guide series, articles intended to help new Filipino immigrants adjust to life in the U.S. To read the previous articles in our New Immigrant Survival Guide series, visit our Monthly Newsletter page. |
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New Immigrant Survival Guide: Filipino, Fil-Am, American?|
Who Am I? |
Discussion |
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Born in the U.S. or the Philippines? |
One of the largest differences you will encounter in the U.S. is based on whether or not someone was born in the Philippines. Did you know that almost half of the Filipinos living in America were born in the U.S.? Where someone is born affects not only how likely they are to speak Tagalog (see section below), but also how they self-identify (Filipino, |
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Speak Tagalog? |
One of the most noticeable differences between 1st-generation (those who emigrated from the Philippines) and 2nd-generation (those born in the U.S.) Filipino-Americans is language. First-generation Filipinos usually speak Tagalog and/or other Philippine languages. The 2nd generation often does not, yet they may understand Tagalog (from listening to their parents) without being able to speak it. So you might observe a mother (1st generation) speaking Tagalog to her daughter (2nd generation), who responds in English. In fact, some 2nd generation Filipinos understand a number of Philippine languages and dialects without being able to speak any of them! By the 3rd generation and beyond, those of Filipino heritage are less likely to even understand Tagalog. |
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How connected are you to the Philippines? |
Apart from country of birth (Philippines vs. U.S.) or proficiency in Tagalog, other factors that influence how people view themselves include
The greater the number of connections to the Philippines the greater likelihood that people will self-identify as Filipinos or Fil-Ams. Those who grow up in the U.S. and have few such connections will be more likely to consider themselves simply Americans. |
As a recent Filipino immigrant to the U.S., it’s important to be aware of the differences among those of Filipino heritage. The Filipinos you encounter in your office or in your neighborhood may be just as connected to home as you are... or they may have never even been to the Philippines!
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Feature |
Explanation |
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Funding Source |
Transactions scheduled using a Recurring Instruction must be funded from a bank account (checking or savings). Credit and debit cards cannot be used for Recurring Instructions. |
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Fees |
A Philippine Peso transfer is $8 when using a Recurring Instruction to send to one recipient, or $7 per transfer when sending to multiple recipients (compared to $10 for a one-time transfer to one recipient). |
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Frequency |
Choose how often you want to send money. Available frequencies include Daily, Every 1, 2, 3 or 4 Weeks, Every 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 Months, and Yearly. |
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End Date/ |
Choose an “End On” date to have the Recurring Instruction terminate on a particular date. If you do NOT choose an “End On” date, the Recurring Instruction will continue in effect until you cancel it. |
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One Recipient/ |
You can set up a Recurring Instruction to send money to one recipient on a set frequency (e.g., on the 15th of every month), or you can use a Recurring Instruction to send money regularly to multiple recipients. |
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Advance Email Reminders |
You will receive an email reminder 3 days before the next scheduled transfer in your Recurring Instruction. |
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Canceling a Single Transfer in a Recurring Instruction |
You can cancel a single transfer while keeping the Recurring Instruction in place. For example, you may want to send your family $300 on the 15th of every month, but decide to send $500 in December for Christmas and New Year’s. So, you could just cancel the $300 December transfer, send a $500 one-time transfer instead, and the Recurring Instruction would resume the $300 scheduled transfer again on January 15th. |
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Cancelling an Entire Recurring Instruction |
You can cancel the entire Recurring Instruction when you no longer need it. For example, you can use a Recurring Instruction to send financial support to your wife every month while she is in the Philippines, but can cancel the Recurring Instruction once she moves to the U.S. |
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Restrictions |
For a Recurring Instruction, you cannot edit the funding source, the recipient(s), the amount sent, the frequency, or the message to recipient(s). So if you need to change a Recurring Instruction, you will need to cancel it and create a new Recurring Instruction. |
Other aspects of Recurring Instructions have been covered in previous newsletters. For a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of using One-Time Transfers and Recurring Instructions, click here. For examples of how and when to use One-Time Transfers and Recurring Instructions to meet your specific needs, click here.
For information on setting up a Recurring Instruction, click here, call remithome Customer Service at 1-800-919-0787, Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM, Pacific Time (California), or email us at customerservice@remithome.com.
