Immigrants Unlocking The Power of Credit
By Adrian Avila

Credit should be looked at as a sacred tool that can help you in a time of need, not as a mysterious power of the universe that cannot be understood. At age 13 I was introduced to the power of credit by an uncle. He is one of those people that have grasped the concept of maintaining a good credit score and how important it is in life. He showed me books that took you step-by-step trough the credit system. In the end I got one lesson out of it; don't borrow what you can't pay back. It was as simple as that. With that golden rule, credit was nothing more than a way for me to build up trust with banks and additional credit companies. The thing is that I am an immigrant to this country and as I have come to realize that, credit has become that much more important in my life. In today's plastic currency society, the swipe and go action as a form of payment is a way of life to the millions of consumers in the United States. With the ease of obtaining a credit card now a day it is very easy to corrupt the financial trust that lenders and sellers have in you.

When one is in this country without legal documentation, one must find ways to stabilize themselves financially as well as to assimilate to the traditions of the country that is housing you. Many immigrants that I have spoken with have expressed the same feelings. Carlos Gill, a Mexico City native, now living in San Jose articulated to me the importance of healthy credit, “I see a lot of Americans taking credit for granted, yet us immigrants have to value it so much because of the ways that it could help us” said Carlos. Carlos speaks of the immigrant dreams and how credit can help out. Buying a house is hard enough, but try to do it while having bad credit and on top of that being undocumented. You will have better luck trying to move the moon than getting a loan to buy a house. Many immigrant families have seen the power that Carlos speaks of, and are finding ways of opening up accounts and building their credit as fast and as safe as they can. A large amount of families are very mindful of how they use their credit and careful not to damage it. As Carlos tells “we have very little power in this country, but one that we do have is buying power and creditors know that and as long as we can show that we can be trusted, we too can obtain that power that can open doors.” Some of the ways that this can be done is to open a bank account, keep it open and keep it well maintained. Then after being a customer for a while one will be able to obtain a credit card from that bank on account that they know you finically and will have trust in you.

The power of having good credit is easily matched with the destruction power that having bad credit can bring about your life. The door to your dreams can be opened with the financial help that a good credit score can carry. Home ownership, car loans or even your children's education can all be achieved will the aid of a loan. It is that trust that lenders must have in you that allows you to get those loans, yet it is common to know several people with bad credit. As easy as it is to obtain a credit card, it is that easy to mess up your credit. It all comes down to responsibility in the end; the act of being able to weigh out what you are going to borrow to what you are going to be able to pay off is essential to maintaining a good credit score. There have even been cases were people have not gotten jobs because of their credit history. Some would argue that the history shows how unreliable a person can be, and on the other hand some would say that one should not be judged on the past and be given a chance. There are cases were people have had their identity stolen or used by a family member that did not use good judgment and was careless with the other person's credit, but for the most part people are in full control of their own credit.

The fact of the matter is that there is no way around it, credit is a very important part of our economical system and the more we understand how powerful and harmful it can be the better off we will be in life. It just comes down to how much responsibility we apply to our buying habits. Your economic standing in this country far outweighs your immigration status. This is clearly seen in immigrant communities that have wealth; they are seen as contributors to society and not as a burden on the country.  

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