U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka, a Democrat from Hawaii, recently reintroduced a bill that would reunite U.S.-based Filipino World War II veterans with their children in the Philippines who have languished for years on the visa waiting list.
"In seeking an exemption from the numerical limitation on immigrant visas for the children of the Filipino veterans, our bill will address and resolve an issue rooted in a set of historical circumstances that are now nearly seven-decades old," Akaka said of the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act of 2009. "It does not require any appropriation and will serve to reunite these veterans with their children and honor their too-long-forgotten World War II service to this nation."
The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act would benefit approximately 7,000 U.S.-based Filipino WWII veterans. The Filipino veterans arrived in the U.S. through the Immigration Act of 1990, which included a provision that offered the opportunity to obtain citizenship. Many of the veterans filed visa petitions for their children, but they remain in the Philippines as their fathers, most now in their 80s or 90s, these men continue to wait, officials in Akaka's office said.
The legislation exempts the veterans' children, about 20,000 individual in all, from the numerical limitation on immigrant visas.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and his colleague Maria Cantwell of Washington — both Democrats — are among the cosponsors of the bill.
Last year, Filipino WWII veterans received much-awaited benefits when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 included a provision that authorized the payment of benefits to the 30,000 surviving Filipino veterans in the amount of $15,000 for those who are citizens and $9,000 for those who are non-citizens.
Related articles:
* Vets Still Waiting on Washington
* One More World War II Battle to Fight
Joseph Pimentel is a writer for Asian Journal.
Photo by Eric Lachica
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