A Bill to Allow for Priority in the Issuance of Immigrant Visas to Sons and Daughters of Filipino World War II Veterans
A BILL TO ALLOW FOR PRIORITY IN THE ISSUANCE OF IMMIGRANT VISAS TO SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF FILIPINO WORLD WAR II VETERANS -- HON. ED CASE (Extensions of Remarks - February 17, 2005)
HON. ED CASE
OF HAWAII
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2005
· Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce a bill that will provide for the expedited reunification of the families of our Filipino World War II veterans who have become citizens of the United States.
· This body has many times over recognized the courage and commitment of the Filipino troops who fought alongside our armed forces in the Philippines during World War II. In 1990, we provided a waiver from certain naturalization requirements for these veterans, and many thereafter became proud citizens and residents of our country. Most recently, in the 108th Congress, we provided a long-delayed and long-denied measure of justice by granting them a partial measure of veterans benefits which were unjustly denied to them in 1946.
· But a huge gap still remains, for we did not allow naturalization in 1990 to the children of these same veterans. What my bill does is allow for the sons and daughters of those veterans that became U.S. citizens through the process established in 1990 to have priority in their respective immigration categories.
· These are real-life issues, for the stories of families who have waited years, even decades, to be reunited are heartbreaking. For example, a veteran and his wife living in Hawai`i filed immigration petitions for two of their six adult children; they have waited over ten years for a visa to be issued to either. Another veteran petitioned successfully for his wife's immigration visa, but has not been as successful with the applications for their five adult children. Again, this family has been holding on for ten years with the hope that they will one day live in the U.S. as a complete family.
· As we all know, our Filipino World War II veterans are entering the sunset years of their lives. We have addressed some small measure of the need to give adequate veterans benefits for their commendable service. I look forward to working with my colleagues in recognizing and providing for the reunification of these families of our Filipino World War II veterans.
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