OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS
(OFWs)
I want to start out by saying that I am not an attorney and I am not qualified nor should anything I say on this website be misconstrued as legal advice. I also do not work for any government agency and the opinions I voice on this site are just that, opinions and all matters should and must be discussed with the appropriate professionals for advice. I am not going to lead you to believe that there are some secrets that I know to get you abroad faster because there are not. I often tell people there are no shortcuts in life but there is accelerated learning, and I am going to share with you what I have learned about immigration and traveling abroad.
I have applied for and received visas for some of my assistants to go to the United States with me in the past. I, like I recommend you to do, hired an immigration attorney to navigate the process to give us a better chance at success. I will also tell you when I first got married, my wife was denied twice for a visitor’s visa because immigration wanted her to go on a spousal visa which she did not want at the time because she had no intention on living in the States. After a couple of kids and a few years of marriage, the US immigration finally granted her a visitor’s visa realizing she really didn’t have any intention on staying.
In addition to the above-mentioned about a decade ago, I started sending my PAs out of the country once a year on bonding trips. I do not go with them because the time and experience is meant for them. The first time I tried this, I bought packages for around 6 or 8 PAs, I don’t remember exactly how many. Although this sounds like a huge perk for an employee, it is also work. As you get to know me, everything I do in life has something to do with work. I want my PAs to know how to travel internationally, so if ever the time comes when I need to go somewhere, I want to know I am in capable hands.
It was 6 or so Filipinas, some had college degrees, and others didn’t, their hotels, food, and transportation were included in the package, which I had paid for and they were going to a country that did not require Filipinos to have a visa. I thought everything was perfect and I hired a car to take them to the airport. Utterly shocked, several hours later, when I was expecting a call from a half dozen enormously excited employees after their first airplane trip, instead, I got a call saying they were on their way home because immigration denied them exit clearance. I was flabbergasted. When they got back to the compound, they informed me that the immigration officer had approved a couple but had denied the rest. After some questioning, it was believed to be because the officer felt the other employees didn’t have enough cash on hand or in the bank to satisfy the requirement. I never knew there was such a requirement. I had flown all around the world and no one has ever questioned if I have enough money to support my stay and any emergencies that may arise. This was new to me.
Later after consulting with an immigration attorney, I was told that Filipinos need to demonstrate that they have the funds to support them when they go abroad or have a sponsor to ensure they won’t be stranded or worse, become a TNT. It all made sense to me when it was explained and I was also told this is not exclusive to Filipinos. In fact, anybody, American, Australian, or European may be asked by immigration to prove they can support themselves while in a foreign country as a visitor. This is definitely the case if you are a permanent resident like myself. The same holds true if you come to the Philippines from another country and you are a foreigner, you have to show a return ticket to your home country.
From these experiences, I have learned a lot. Not tricks, gimmicks, or shortcuts but rather, preparedness. I now teach all of my PAs to start saving money immediately and put it into a bank. I coach them to put at least, a minimum of ₱500 each week starting the first week. I coach them never to touch that money no matter what because that is their travel guarantee money. I still pay all of the expenses, roundtrip airfare, hotel food, etc., but that money is to prove to immigration that yes, they do have savings, yes, they have been responsible and working, and yes, worst-case scenario, they’re coming home on their own money. Since we implemented this savings, I have never had one of my PAs denied on a team bonding trip abroad.
Throughout the years, my wife and I have traveled extensively abroad. Throughout our travels, we have encountered countless overseas workers. It is as though Filipinos are attracted to each other like moths to a flame. As soon as they hear that I am living in the Philippines or see my wife’s beautiful Filipina face, Filipinos come over and say hello and talk about the homeland. Once they’re done talking, I always ask what it’s like working as an OFW. I get a wide range of responses but most are positive. Although, you can hear the yearning for home in their voice. I pick up on this quickly because after marrying my wife, I knew it wouldn’t be long until I was back living in the States. Twenty-two years later, my wife still wants to come home to the Philippines after a couple of weeks. She has always said, “Filipinos go to the States to work and since I don’t have to work, I want to go back home to the Philippines.” Over the years, I began to see her point.
Working abroad is not always as glamorous as it sounds. Often, OFWs sleep in tiny tenants in bad neighborhoods, cook at home, and meet other Filipinos in a park somewhere on their day off as their only form of entertainment and social activity for the week. This is not all OFWs mind you, but it is a lot. Most domestic workers earn so little in comparison to the cost of living in these countries that they feel more impoverished abroad than they do at home. Most of the salary goes for everyday essentials like housing, food, and transportation and they send home to their families what is left. In most cases, the first year or two, a large part of their income goes to pay back the agency that got them the job and processed the paperwork, leaving very little money to send back home. The family ends up borrowing money from whomever they can using their overseas family member as collateral and the vicious cycle never ends.
The above scenario is very sad, but it is a reality for some OFWs. As I always teach, don’t complain, just make better decisions the next time around but start planting the seeds today so when it comes time for you to make another decision, you’ll have better options. In the lesson I wrote called, “Land the Job of your Dreams,” I stated, the best time to look for a job is when you have a job. There will be less pressure on you and you’ll be able to weigh one job against the other and won’t have to settle and just take any job just because you need a job. With a little planning and a little education, you too, can land the job of your dreams even if that job is overseas.
Learn as much as you can and you’ll start to see opportunities pop up everywhere. Soon, you’ll be earning more than you ever imagined. Humans think in pictures and your brain is just like a computer, therefore, the subconscious mind can only obey orders and view the images you send it through your thoughts. Your conscious mind is the programmer. Just start thinking about what you want, what is your dream job, what is your dream home, etc. Think of what you want every day as often as you can, and get it programmed into your subconscious mind and your subconscious will start making you aware of all the things you need to help you get what you want in your life. It’s very important for you to get this picture, this image, this film, this short film in your mind. Create as much detail as you can. Create as many vivid colors, and other visual elements as you can, so that when you put it in your subconscious mind, it will be highly precise. Put that on repeat in your subconscious mind—or at first, in your conscious mind—until it becomes ingrained in your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind then stores that image just as if it had already happened, or is definitely going to happen. As it doesn’t know the difference between what has happened, what is going to happen, what is real, and what is just imagined. Daydream for 5 or 10 minutes enjoying these images of the dream job, the dream house, the dream spouse, and one day if you believe it, you will achieve it.
I am not saying that your life will change just because you change the images in your head. If you change the images in your head, then your perception of life is going to change, however, you’re still going to have to put in the effort. I have always said, prayer without perspiration is futile. You’re going to have to do the work no matter what. Visualization is just one more part of the puzzle to success and is the easiest part of success. Therefore, if you start visualizing today, you may do it at home, when you’re at work on break, or whenever you’re sitting alone. Whatever you’re doing and you’re relaxing for a few minutes, you can visualize the life of your dreams. And then as it starts to happen and you start to see opportunities, then you must take advantage of those opportunities. You must be the one that puts forth the effort. Again, it goes back to farming. If you plant the seeds but don’t do anything else, the insects and animals, and other pests will destroy your crop and you won’t be able to harvest it. It’s going to be destroyed, it’s not going to get the proper sunshine, it’s not going to get the rain, it’s not going to get the nutrients, it’s not going to get the fertilizer, and it’s not going to get all of the things that are going to be needed to help guide it to and through to harvest.
I will be putting a lesson on, “Programming your Mind” in the self-development section to help you understand the process and how it has been scientifically proven.
You may also want to study the sales and marketing section to learn ways to better sell yourself as a brand, person, and employee. Look around the site and take pieces from this and that and customize the things that are applicable to your situation. Go to the “Land the job of your dreams” section and apply the principles to your aspirations to work overseas or to find a better job than you currently have overseas. Be proactive not reactive. Don’t react to whatever comes your way, be proactive and start living the dream today!