Coming To America

How my grandparents came to America

Leticia and Renaldo Dychangco were married in a small village near Manila, Philippines in 1956. After 13 years, they had 7 children: six girls and one boy. She wanted to provide more opportunities for them as they grew older and felt the need for her and her husband to find better paying jobs. So, in 1969 they applied to immigrate to the United States via the Philippine Embassy.

At the embassy, they were probed with many personal questions. They asked them reasons for wanting to immigrate to the US, complete background checks were made that the embassy called “Bio-Data.” This was a complete socioeconomic, medical, and criminal background check. They were also asked to choose the top three US cities they would like to reside in once they got settled. Leticia’s first choice was Philadelphia, choosing it for its historic roots. Her second and third came as Chicago and Los Angeles. Due to the high volume of applicants, immigration regulation, and what she described as “red tape”, the couple’s application at the embassy took 7 years to process.

The embassy ended up giving them the okay in 1975 to immigrate to Chicago. Leticia was relieved they were granted with their second city choice. She decided after she applied it would have been a better choice to make her first choice Chicago because it was a larger city that grew quickly. She knew that there would be many job opportunities.
They moved into an apartment in what is now modern day Lincoln Park. As soon as she and her husband got jobs as dental assistants, something they already were familiar with back home, they prompted for the rest of their children to apply to come to America as well. This would provide enough time for them to save and prepare for their arrival. . Finally, in 1982, all their children arrived and with their help after a few years, they all moved into a reasonably sized home together. It was very exciting for them, as it was a Philippine dream come true-they were now pursuing what immigrants coveted the most, a shot at their now American dream.