The Information Bank

Resource for Fresh-off-the-boat Immigrants

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In the Filipino lexicon, we often use the acronym FOB, or “Fresh Off the Boat,” when referring to immigrants that newly-arrived to the “land of milk and honey.” This is otherwise known as the United States of America. FOBs are known for speaking with a strong accent, committing social faux pas, and being clueless about how things work in the USA. If they’re lucky, they have American or “Americanized” friends who can guide them in this strange New World. But, many times, they are not so lucky. They are forced to pursue their “American Dream” alone (Optimists like to call this individualism.)

My Parents’ Experience

My parents were like that. They were FOBs in a the “land where there is no dust.” Common with many other immigrants, greedy individuals took advantage of my parent’s ignorance. To name a few injustices, my parent’s employers overworked them with no extra pay and their real estate agent showed them only repossessed houses when they were very capable in paying for one that was brand new. To this very day, we have been experiencing problems with this house that they bought during their “FOB years.” I think if they were willing, my parents (and their fellow immigrant friends) could win a couple of court lawsuits.

It isn’t necessary for immigrants coming to the “land of the free and the home of the brave” to experiences these misfortunes due to ignorance. I wish that the Internet existed when my parents came here. There, they would have found this immigration resource site, foreignborn.com. The site offers outstanding information on living in America including personal finance, health care, education, automobile basics, and careers. All the guides are designed for newly-arriving immigrants.

If you are (or will be) a FOB, the Internet is your friend. Search Google for all of your questions, visit foreignborn.com, and watch out for the unscrupulous!

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Posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2006

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2006 at 8:39 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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