Children who were "satellite babies" play with toys at the Chinese-American Planning Council in New York City. [Hong Xiao/China Daily]

'Suicidal thoughts'

Chen said the separation from his grandparents, the difficulties of learning English and a bully at school made him have suicidal thoughts in the third grade.

"I definitely had emotions bottled up. I kept everything inside," said Chen, now 24 and a medical student at Touro College in Middletown, New York.

When Chen lived with his parents, they worked 14 hours a day spread out at several restaurants, often seven days a week.

He said he didn't display his feelings or thoughts to them: "I didn't know who they were. They were strangers to me. I was pretty distant with them."

The term "satellite babies" was coined by Dr Yvonne Bohr, a clinical psychologist, and researchers at York University in Ontario, Canada, who have studied such separations since 2006.

"Babies are often sent away just around the time when they have just developed a strong attachment to their biological parents and as a result they may experience distress during[this] separation," Bohr told CBS News. "When they return, the parents in turn may expect the child to be very happy to be home, often not understanding that for that child this isn't home anymore."

In 2016, film director Jenny Schweitzer's nine minute long documentary Satellite Baby focused on the trauma that the children experienced after being shuttled between two worlds.

Lois Lee was featured in the film. She is the director of the Chinese-American Planning Council, a non-profit in the New York City borough of Queens, that provides childcare services and helps satellite babies adjust.

During her 45 years at the council, Lee has been working with immigrant families and helping thousands of children, including Tse and Lam (not their real names).