Immigrating for status in late life: Effects of globalization on Filipino American veterans

In this article we examine the late-life immigration of Filipino American v eterans who have recently been awarded U.S. citizenship based on their mili tary service to the United States during World War II. Based on data collec ted with 27 Filipino American veterans, we found that the primary motivatio n for veterans' immigration from the Philippines in late life is economic. When Filipino veterans decide to come to the United States, they do so to c ollect the financial benefits of citizenship and for the recognition and st atus it brings, especially within the family. In immigrating, Filipino Amer ican veterans live with considerable uncertainty about what the future hold s, but at the same time they accrue power and status that ensures their con tinued centrality in their families. Such action enables them to maintain t heir independence in old age. The phenomenon of late-life immigration among Filipino American veterans is a case study in globalization and the fluid identifies that elders maintain in moving back and forth between these link ed worlds.