Mom got her green card. Question about entry

Folks, it's been a long hard road. My mother finally got approved upon her interview, passport got stamped with immigrant Visa, paid the $220 online and she's set to travel in a few weeks with green card delivered to her US address. She has jitters about the questions agents will ask and don't know what the process is like and how long it can take. She's expecting to be pulled aside and interviewed/interrogated. To ease her fears the petitioner offered to travel with her to the US. Any advice on the check process when she lands in Houston and the type of questions they will ask?

Congrats! I know 12 years ago when one of my loved ones came here, it was super easy once they saw the stamp and checked what they needed to check.

Now days... If she's not from a muslim country, I'd imagine she won't have much problems. If nothing else, you might spend $150 for a consultation with an immigration attorney for a half hour just to put her mind at ease.

Congrats. She has the Green Card so she should be fine. Does she speak English? This should be a normal process. Now, she can file I-130 for you.

IamAman, like you I'm an aged out Dreamer who's been pretty disillusioned by immigration and the arbitrary cut off date Obama set for receiving DACA. I had the choice to marry years ago but my idealistic self told my younger myself I would be fine. If I worked hard I could obtain the American Dream without having to worry about all the necessary bullshit that came with a marriage of convenience that would cost me thousands of dollars. If I knew I was going to endure all the hardship I faced I may have made different choices even though the person who agreed to marry me was a complete asshole that would have taken total advantage of me and I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. Now my mother who has sacrificed so much for me and my siblings has gotten her green card after 15 long, hard years of waiting. She self deported ten years ago while we stayed grinding it out through repeated failures but also successes. I see so many people on this forum saying crap like no way I would stay in this country X amount of years and not have a "backup" plan. Until you walked even 1 mile in the shoes of aged out Dreamers you have no clue.

DACA-IR-DA, we're from the Caribbean and she speaks English. I guess we're from one of the "shit hole" countries that are our wonderful president spoke about about but I don't expect any issues. When her date for the interview was set months of preparation and coaching went into the interview and it was all for nothing as she was approved effortlessly. As a matter of fact all the paper work that was necessitated wasn't even looked at as the agent said they were irrelevant to her. She was asked minimal questions and got approved in less than 30 minutes. The last 15 years of her life was resolved in less than 30 minutes. Go figure! I'm not expecting issues and chose Houston as the entry point as oppose to Miami but to ease her fears my uncle, the petitioner, offered to travel and get her so they come to the US together. I'm not sure if it matters but at least the petitioner is with her. She's going to file the I-130 for me asap and I'm not sure how long that process will take but finally at least there's a silver lining.

Hang in there brother/sister. When my mother got her green card, I was extremely happy because it was one less worry I had. I was young and strong so I could survive this life better than her. If she would have gotten it even 10 years earlier, it would have meant a much better life for her.

But yes, I think a lot of people on this forum have youthful ignorance and not a frame of reference about how life was in the 80's and 90's or for people who were not from Mexico. There are a lot of nuances to consider.

Sure, with the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to say "wow, you've been here 30+ years?" and think we're idiots. But they never walked in my shoes of having to live with emotionally abusive family members who gave bad advice, tried to take advantage of us, or overall didn't follow through with promises for the first 10.

And even though things were anti-immigration then as well, it wasn't nearly as bad as this and there were many things in the works that never materialized so I was hopeful that things would happen the right way. Sure, I would have made a few different choices and played the game a little more (especially in relationships) but we all have to live with our choices and I'm living with mine.

My advice for your mom is to make sure she gets a job that pays into her social security right away...65 will be here before you know it and getting access to medicare part A is a huge deal. Pay for part B as soon as she is 65 as well.

The first time I traveled with my green card they asked me how long I had been a permanent resident, how long I was abroad, and my dad’s first name. Those were the only questions they asked me.

Advice well taken. She's 67. She's smart AF, intelligent, hasn't lost a step, but no discernable degree. The likelihood of her getting a job that she feels comfortable with is slim especially with ageism staring her in the face so it's going to be a challenge but I've already actively started searching. She'll be staying with me for the time being and I'm committed to taking care of her for however long is necessary but eventually I want her to branch out on her own and be independent. I know it will be tough but it's something she's looking foward to as well. I admire her independance so I started looking at social programs for seniors. Even if she were to get benefits that would help her - and by extension me- she has to be in the US at least 5 years before she would be eligibale for such benefits and of course she has to prove she's working. Again, another challenge. I need to utilize all resources on-line, networking, etc.. Frankly I don't even know where to begin. I need for her to get that social security check.

Don’t worry about what others think of you and/or aged out Dreamers. They did not experience what we did and the hardships we went through/still are. You do you and do what’s best for you and/or your family. Haters gonna hate.

Well I know someone else who started at 67 and worked till about 80. Fast food, etc. Social security will be shit because of so little they'll put in it but medicare part A (hospital) is the most important thing and I'm pretty sure after 65, anybody can buy Part B...in fact if you DON'T buy part B now (medical insurance), they will penalize you for each year that you don't buy it. This isn't medicaid so it's just insurance that you buy. For $150ish a year, you can have medical insurance for her which is a huge deal and it even includes out patient type things. I don't think there is any 5 year year waiting period.

Quick update - my mother has finally arrived. She got her green card in the mail 2 weeks ago and we expect to receive her social security card this week. Next step is state ID card and establishing her credit. She wants to file for me right away but since she isn't working do I need to have a financial co-sponsor. I'm thinking I can use my uncle again but he's retired and does side jobs to keep himself busy. My brother is a USC and makes good money but we're not on speaking terms and would rather not use him unless it's absolutely necessary.