US Immigration from Philippines

Family-Based immigration to the US

One of the primary types of immigration to the US for Filipinos is to be reunited with family members who are naturalized US citizens.

Filipinos can use immediate relative visas to join US citizens who are their spouses, unmarried children under 21, or their parents. There is a separate visa type for each of these relations. There are also an unlimited number of visas available across these categories, meaning that you’ll be able to get one if you match all of the requirements.

A limited number of visas are set aside for other relatives of US citizens, known as family preference visas. This includes unmarried children who are over 21 years old, married children of any age, and siblings.

Family preference visas are also available for the spouses of legal permanent residents and unmarried children under 21 years old. A different family preference visa type is available for the unmarried children of legal permanent residents who are over 21 years old.

To apply for permanent residency as the family member of a US citizen or Green Card holder, they’ll need to submit a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-130.

You will then need to conduct a number of application steps. This includes waiting for National Visa Center (NVC) processing, paying application fees, submitting your supporting documentation, and attending visa interviews.

Employment-Based immigration to the US

The US makes around 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas available to migrants from around the world. The number resets at the start of each fiscal year (1 October).

Obtaining an employment-based visa usually requires a job offer. Your prospective employer will then get labor certification approval from the Department of Labor before filing an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, with US Citizenship and Immigration Services. You may then be able to apply for the relevant visa type.

There are five types of US employment visas available to Filipino workers, and you should apply for the one that fits your situation:

• EB-1: reserved for priority workers and persons of extraordinary ability. This visa type is for world-leading researchers, managers, and executives
• EB-2: reserved for professionals who have advanced degrees and exceptional ability. EB-2: requires a baccalaureate degree and a minimum of five years’ experience, or be considered to have scientific, arts, or business expertise well above the norm
• EB-3: suitable for skilled and unskilled workers, as well as professionals. Each of these types of workers has different requirements. For example, unskilled workers must be hired in roles that are not temporary and require less than two years of training. The US Government reserves 28.6% of its annual visas for this category plus any leftover EB-1 and EB-2 visa allowances
• EB-4: reserved for “certain special immigrants”, receiving 7.1% of the annual worker visa allowance. Labor certification is not required. Example roles include broadcasters, ministers of religion, and employees and former employees of the US Government abroad
• EB-5: a visa for immigrant investors. These individuals invest substantial sums in new commercial enterprises within the US that create jobs

Moving to the US through the Diversity Visa Program

Filipinos are not usually eligible for the Diversity Visa Program, which allocates 50,000 visas annually to individuals from countries with low rates of immigration to the US. Filipino nationals have been historically excluded because of the high rate of immigration between the Philippines and the USA.

The US Government releases a list of nations eligible and ineligible for the program each year.
However, you can use this visa program to move from the Philippines to the USA if you hold a different and eligible nationality.

You’ll also need to have a high school diploma (or your local equivalent) or at least 2 years of experience in an industry that requires at least 2 years of training. Candidates are selected for the application process through a lottery system.

Cost of Living

You’ll find that the cost of living is significantly higher than what you have experienced back in the Philippines. In the US, it is 137.4% higher when rent is excluded. There are several drivers of the higher cost of living. To take food as an example, a restaurant meal is around 275% more expensive in the US, while groceries are 113.3% more expensive. Likewise, transport, utilities, childcare, clothing, and more are far more costly in America.

It should be noted that the US is an enormous nation with huge differences in cost of living. If you move to a popular city like New York or San Francisco, you’ll find your everyday costs are incredibly high compared to anywhere in the Philippines. On the other hand, you’ll experience a more modest increase if you decide to live in a rural location.

Furthermore, Filipino workers can access an enormous wage increase by moving across the Pacific. The result is that local purchasing power is 360.9% higher in the USA. That means higher wages more than offset the higher cost of living.

Housing and Property Rent

A central driver of the higher cost of living in the US is housing costs. Rent is 411.4% higher in the USA. The cost of living increase goes up to 184.3% when rent is factored into the equation.
As with the general cost of living, this depends greatly on where you want to live in the USA, but your rent will almost always be much higher. For example, renting an apartment in New York costs an average of $3,390 a month for a studio. This increases to $7,339 for a three-bed apartment.

Education

The US is known for having some of the world’s best universities and research institutions. For children, education is free, although the quality varies massively depending on the schools you have access to. Higher education is incredibly expensive.

Higher education in the Philippines will usually be significantly cheaper, although it won’t match the quality of US education. As with the US, basic education is free in public schools. It was significantly expanded in 2013. English is the most widely used language of instruction. There is an even higher level of regional disparity in quality of education.

Healthcare

US healthcare is famously advanced, offering access to advanced medical technology and specialist care. However, it is almost entirely insurance-based and is notoriously expensive.

Forbes estimates that 530,000 people file for bankruptcy in the US each year due to their healthcare costs. Some relief comes for low-income and older individuals through Medicare and Medicaid.

The Philippines combines public and private providers. You can expect costs to be far lower.

However, accessing specialists and advanced treatments can be difficult, particularly in rural areas. The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), a government-run health insurance system, will substantially reduce your costs, but will not remove them entirely.

You can get refugee or asylum status in the US if you have been persecuted or have a legitimate reason to fear future persecution in the Philippines based on having one or a selection of certain protected characteristics.

These are race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, and political opinion.

If such characteristics and persecution apply in your case, you can apply for refugee status while outside the USA. To be eligible, you must:

• Meet the US definition of a refugee
• Not be subject to a mandatory bar

• Be of “special humanitarian concern” to the USA
• Be admissible to the country

You can apply for asylum status if you are already in the USA and meet the following requirements:

• Meet the US definition of a refugee
• Not be subject to a mandatory bar
• Have filed Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, through USCIS or have requested asylum through the US judicial system

It is exceedingly rare for Filipinos to be granted asylum or refugee status in the US due to the relatively safe nature of the country. In 2025, 97% of Filipinos asylum applications were rejected.

Along with a large population of foreign-born residents, the USA also has significant quantities of illegal immigrants.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an anti-immigration think tank, estimated in March 2025 that over 18 million illegal immigrants resided in the US.

These immigrants either entered the US legally and overstayed their visa or residency, or crossed the US border illegally.

Recent activity by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been in an effort to reduce these numbers.

ICE is responsible for the removal of illegal immigrants already in the USA, and the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for preventing illegal border crossings.

ICE has a sweeping range of powers to execute its duties, including:

• Stop, detain, and arrest people they suspect are illegal immigrants
• Conduct investigations into illegal immigration

• Enter homes and private spaces with a judicial warrant
• Arrest US citizens who are interfering with an arrest or assaulting ICE officers
• Use force against those posing a serious danger to ICE officers and other people

Overview of Immigration Detainers

Immigration detainer is the most commonly used term for Form I-247A, which can be used against Filipinos who are believed to be violating immigration rules. ICE uses this tool to ask state or local law enforcement to maintain custody of a suspected illegal immigrant.

Immigration detainers are limited in scope. They aren’t judicially signed warrants, so it is up to law enforcement’s discretion whether they want to help.

“Sanctuary” jurisdictions, areas with a policy of not cooperating with immigration enforcement, rarely help with immigration detainer requests.

The holding period is also capped at 48 hours. ICE must take custody of the individual within this time or release the individual.