But the stories of these senior immigrants are hardly the kind of material to grab the attention of mainstream media and are often left untold. Perhaps they lack the pizzazz of a young immigrant's "American dream" come true.

But it takes a lot when people have to uproot themselves from a country they have lived in all their life and move to a new land, face an alien culture, forced at times to speak a language that is as foreign as the surroundings. Change at any stage is never easy. But it gets harder with age. But for many of the elderly who move here, tradition and culture and love for their children and grandchildren have dictated their move--especially immigrants from Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam and India.

"Parents always stay with their children. It is part of the Indian culture," says Ramnad Seshadri Dinkar, a resident of Cupertino who often attends the programs organized by the India Community Center at Sunnyvale. Three of Dinkar's children live and work in the Bay Area and sponsored their parent's green card petitions to move to the United States. Dinkar, 75, and his wife visited their children for several years and then became U.S. citizens in 2001. They now live permanently with their children.

"It was not a difficult decision at all. With all our children here, what would we do back in India? I come from a joint family system where the entire family lives together, and I love that type of lifestyle," he says.

Children taking care of their aging parents is not just an Indian belief--it's part of many Asian cultures. It is very common to see "nuclear" families in these countries where several generation coexist under the same roof or at least within walking distance of each other. Grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts and a whole brood of children live together as one big family.

Though the practice is slowly dwindling in the metropolitan cities of Asia, it is still a common sight to see seniors living with at least one of their children.

With such a diverse culture in the Bay Area, the proportion of these elderly newcomers is growing here. So communities such as Sunnyvale, Cupertino and San Jose offer these elderly immigrants a variety of opportunities to interact and socialize with peers of their own kind.

The India Community Center in Sunnyvale schedules humor clubs, yoga and meditation classes and entertainment programs for its seniors. The Sunnyvale and Cupertino senior centers have karaoke and social dancing sessions, which attract a large number of Chinese seniors.

Silicon Valley is also unique in that most ethnic communities have their own cultural organizations that cater to their senior citizens. There are several ethnic stores that sell everything from groceries to clothing, and the ethnic media here publishes newspapers and broadcasts programs that cater to specific cultures. While this area offers a plethora of opportunities for these seniors to feel at home in a foreign land, there are issues and hurdles that are a part of this type of immigration.

Chung Ho, 67, moved to this country 46 years ago. He worked and retired as an electrical engineer in the Bay Area and is now actively involved with programs for senior Chinese immigrants at the Sunnyvale and Cupertino senior centers. Ho interacts with several of these recent immigrants and says there is a lot of emotional drama at play behind every immigrant story. Things don't always turn out as the senior expects.

"I've heard of several stories where children sponsor their parents to come here just because they want their parents to babysit their children rather than sending them to day care. I'm a grandparent myself and love my grandchild. But I don't think I will have the patience to baby-sit the whole day every workday of the week," says Ho.

Ho also points out that a large number of seniors who come from mainland China, Taiwan and Vietnam are poor and so are financially dependent on their children. "They feel frustrated to ask the children they raised for money. I know a lady from Taiwan who moved here after her husband passed away. She sold all her property back home and gave all the money to her son. But now she has to beg her son even for day-to-day expenses," Ho says.

While stories like these abound, Ho says that a number of Chinese seniors are opting for the subsidized senior housing offered by cities if they are in a position to do so. "If they are eligible for Social Security, many of them move into these kinds of housing after living with their children for a while," he says.

Coming to America and living with their children's families involves a lot of adjustment, both for the seniors and the family sponsoring them. In many cases both spouses work full time and lead a busy lifestyle while raising their families.

Nilu Gupta, a peer counselor for seniors at the India Community Center, says she has seen several cases where seniors feel isolated and often depressed because they feel their family does not have the time to even listen to them. She says unlike in their own country, where they can travel independently and go out and speak to their friends or other family members, the seniors here are dependant on their family members for transportation. Gupta, 60, moved here six years ago to live with her sons and took courses from Santa Clara County on leadership for immigrants.

Most immigrant seniors do not have a driver's license. Some opt not to, while others are forced to forego the license. "My cousin moved here a few years ago from China," Ho says. "He wanted to learn driving and get his license. But his son-in-law was against it because he feared an accident and the expenses that would follow." Ho explains that medical insurance is a big issue for senior immigrants. "There are a lot of conditions attached to it, and it can be very expensive," he says.

Gupta points out another major issue seniors face when they come here. Many of them want to be close with their grandchildren and want to teach them aspects of their culture. But at times, when the grandchildren grow up, they have their own group of friends and don't have much in common with their grandparents. She says many seniors get upset about it. But it's bound to happen because people of a certain age interact and have more in common with others of the same age group. "If seniors can accept that fact, it makes their life much easier," she says.

It is this cultural clash that Sitalakshmi Krishnamurthy, 74, says she faces at home. "My grandchildren are now at college. They give us respect and talk to us nicely. But we do not have much to talk about with them. Everything is different between us. Food, the way we entertain our friends. Sometimes I feel we are not included in the society," she says.

Krishnamurthy says she often worries about how her family would feel if she were to fall sick. "I don't like the idea of living in a nursing home surrounded by people I don't know," she says.

But her husband, K. V. Krishnamurthy, 80, sees the brighter aspects of living in America. "The medical facilities here are wonderful, and we can visit the Hindu Temple and attend music concerts just like we would in India," he says.

Gupta explains seniors who wish to immigrate here need to have the right mind set before making the move. "There is no point in moving here and feeling unhappy about the living situation. Seniors need to remember that their [children and their spouses] are perfectly capable of handling their lives and should not interfere in their personal matters. Help only when they request it," she says. Gupta adds that there are several opportunities for immigrant seniors to feel included in the mainstream community.

She says seniors need to understand that facilities are available for them to use, and they can get help for many things, from transportation to medical insurance to housing to even in-house medical care. "They don't have to feel dependent on their children if the situation gets tough," she says.

But for every story that comes with its load of problems and issues, there are also success stories. Aruna Naraj is the daughter-in-law of Ramnad Sehadri Dinkar. "My in-laws have lived with us and their other children for several years, and the arrangement works wonderfully for us. We understand each other very well and talk through issues, so there are no conflicts. My mother-in-law showers a great deal of affection on us and especially my children. I personally have wonderful memories of my grandmother, and I'm happy my children will have similar such memories," Natraj says.