• "在纽约法拉盛，华人黑户每天工作14小时却仍陷‘越忙越穷’困境：2000美金租10平米隔断间，生病不敢就医，回国又怕丢脸。他们用体力活撑起‘美国梦’，背后是6人共用卫生间、凌晨排队洗澡的残酷现实。"

    In Flushing, New York, undocumented Chinese residents work 14-hour days but remain trapped in a 'busier, poorer' situation: renting a 10-square-meter cubicle for $2,000, afraid to seek medical treatment when sick, and fearing embarrassment upon returning home. Their manual labor supports the 'American Dream,' yet the harsh reality lies behind it: six people sharing a bathroom and queuing up in the wee hours for showers.

    法拉盛唐人街，黑户华人月赚3千要花2千租房。

    你以为美国遍地是黄金？在纽约法拉盛的小巷里，不少华人黑户正过着“越忙越穷”的日子——明明每天工作14小时，月底却连房租都快凑不齐。

    In Flushing's Chinatown, undocumented Chinese earn $3,000 a month but still spend $2,000 on rent.

    Do you think America is a land of gold? In the alleys of Flushing, New York, many undocumented Chinese are living a life of "the busier they get, the poorer they become"—working 14-hour days but still struggling to make rent at the end of the month.

    住：2000美金租个“鸽子笼”，洗澡要等3小时

    李姐来法拉盛5年了，至今住在一间不足10平米的隔断间里。月租2000美金，相当于她每月收入的三分之二。

    “你发现没有？这里的房子越破越贵。”李姐说，法拉盛的房东大多知道黑户不敢找移民局，房租说涨就涨，今年已经比去年多了300美金。

    更糟的是居住条件。她住的公寓里挤了6个人，共用一个卫生间，早上想洗个热水澡要从5点排队到8点。有次她加班到凌晨2点回家，发现卫生间门被反锁，只能用厨房的水龙头简单擦了擦身。

    扎心的是，就算这样的房子，也得靠熟人介绍才能租到。黑户没信用记录，正规中介根本不接他们的单，只能找华人房东租“灰色房源”，连合同都不敢要——怕留痕迹，更怕被举报。

    Housing: $2,000 for a "pigeon cage" and a three-hour wait for a shower.

    Ms. Li has lived in Flushing for five years and still lives in a partitioned room less than 10 square meters. The monthly rent is $2,000, equivalent to two-thirds of her monthly income.

    "Have you noticed? The shabbier the apartments here, the more expensive they are," Ms. Li said. Most landlords in Flushing know that undocumented residents are afraid to contact the immigration department, so they raise rents at will. This year's rent is already $300 higher than last year's.

    Even worse are the living conditions. Six people are crammed into her apartment, sharing one bathroom. To get a hot shower in the morning, she has to queue from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. Once, after working overtime until 2 a.m., she returned home to find the bathroom door locked and could only simply wipe herself with the kitchen faucet.

    The heartbreaking thing is that even apartments like this require referrals from acquaintances to rent. Black households have no credit records, and formal real estate agencies simply do not accept their orders. They can only find Chinese landlords to rent "gray houses", and they dare not even ask for contracts - they are afraid of leaving traces and even more afraid of being reported.

    赚：一天打3份工，生病不敢去医院

    老王比李姐早来两年，现在同时打着3份工：早上5点去餐馆切菜，中午12点去超市理货，晚上7点再去外卖店打包，直到凌晨1点才下班。

    “不是想卷，是不拼就活不下去。”老王算过账，三份工加起来每月能赚3200美金，扣掉房租2000、伙食费800，剩下的400要存着应对“突发情况”——比如移民局突击检查时，得有钱找律师咨询。

    最让他怕的是生病。去年冬天他发烧到39度，硬是扛了一周没去医院。“没医保，去一次急诊就要几千美金，而且怕暴露身份。”最后还是靠同住的老乡给的退烧药，才慢慢好转。

    你发现没有？法拉盛的黑户华人里，超过80%都在做餐饮、外卖、理货这类体力活（来源：纽约华人社区服务中心2025年4月报告）。不是他们不想做轻松的工作，而是没身份就没“正规工作资格”，稍微体面点的岗位，招聘时都会要“社会安全号”，他们拿不出来。

    Earning: Working three jobs a day, afraid to go to the hospital when sick

    Old Wang came two years before Sister Li and now works three jobs simultaneously: chopping vegetables at a restaurant at 5 a.m., sorting shelves at a supermarket at 12 p.m., and packing takeout packages at 7 p.m., never leaving until 1 a.m.

    "It's not that I'm trying to get ahead, but I can't survive without working hard." Old Wang calculated that his three jobs combined earn him $3,200 a month. After deducting $2,000 for rent and $800 for food, the remaining $400 needs to be saved for "emergencies"—like a surprise immigration inspection, which would require money for legal advice.

    What he fears most is illness. Last winter, he had a fever of 39 degrees Celsius, but he endured it for a week without going to the hospital. "Without health insurance, a trip to the emergency room would cost thousands of dollars, and I was afraid of exposing my identity." Ultimately, he relied on fever-reducing medication given by a fellow villager, and only then did he gradually recover.

    Did you notice? Over 80% of undocumented Chinese in Flushing work in manual labor jobs like catering, food delivery, and stocking goods (Source: New York Chinese Community Service Center, April 2025 report). It's not that they don't want easy work, but without legal status, they lack formal employment qualifications. Even the most respectable positions require Social Security numbers, which they can't provide.

    留：回不去的国，离不开的法拉盛

    有人问李姐和老王：既然这么苦，为啥不回国？

    李姐沉默了很久才说：“出来时跟家里说在美国当‘经理’，现在回去，脸往哪搁？”她每年会给家里寄1万美金，谎称自己在纽约开了个小店，其实这些钱是她省吃俭用攒了大半年的积蓄。

    老王的理由更现实：“国内同龄人都在养孩子、还房贷，我回去啥都没有，找工作也没人要——我只会切菜、打包，这些活儿在老家赚不了几个钱。”

    讽刺的是，法拉盛的街头到处是“美国梦”的招牌：华人超市里播放着中文歌，餐馆菜单上写着“家乡味”，可这些“熟悉感”背后，藏着太多不敢说出口的委屈。有次老王在超市看到国内来的旅游团，听他们说“美国真好”，忍不住躲到货架后面红了眼。

    这类黑户华人的生存状态，其实和法拉盛的移民政策变化密切相关。接下来我会持续追踪纽约州最新的移民法案，看看会不会给他们的生活带来转机。另外，下次我还会拆解3个华人在美“合法打工”的小路径，帮有需要的人避开风险。

    你怎么看黑户华人在美挣扎的选择？是该咬牙坚持，还是趁早回国？评论区聊聊。

    想第一时间get这类深度拆解，点击关注，后续关于美国华人生活的最新动态和实用建议，你都不会遗漏。

    Staying: Unable to Return to China, Unable to Leave Flushing
    Someone asked Sister Li and Lao Wang: "Since life is so hard, why don't you return to China?"

    Sister Li was silent for a long time before she said, "When I left, I told my family I was a 'manager' in the US. How can I face going back now?" She sends $10,000 home every year, falsely claiming she's opened a small shop in New York. In reality, the money is the savings she'd saved after six months of scrimping and saving.

    Lao Wang's reasoning is more practical: "My peers back home are raising children and paying mortgages. I have nothing if I go back, and no one wants me to work—I only know how to chop vegetables and pack, and those jobs wouldn't pay much back home."

    Ironically, the streets of Flushing are filled with signs of the "American Dream": Chinese music plays in Chinese supermarkets, and restaurant menus boast "Hometown Flavor." Yet, behind this sense of familiarity lies a slew of unspoken grievances. Lao Wang once saw a tour group from China at the supermarket, and hearing them exclaim, "America is great," he couldn't help but hide behind the shelves, tears welling up in his eyes.

    The living conditions of these undocumented Chinese are closely tied to changes in Flushing's immigration policies. I'll continue to monitor New York State's latest immigration bill to see if it will bring about changes in their lives. In addition, next time, I'll break down three ways for Chinese Americans to "legally work" in the US to help those in need avoid risks.

    What are your thoughts on the choices facing undocumented Chinese Americans struggling in the US? Should they persevere or return home as soon as possible? Let's discuss in the comments.

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