Family members of Filipino veterans of World War II may be able to enter the United States in "parole" status, according to a new policy announced by the White House on July 15. The new policy is part of President Obama's executive actions to improve and modernize the U.S. Immigration System. The purpose of the new policy is to "Allow certain family members of Filipino veterans, who are currently in the family immigration backlogs, to seek parole so they can care for these aging veterans," as written in a White House fact sheet.
A quarter million of Filipino soldiers responded to President Roosevelt’s call-to-arms in 1941 and fought for America during World War II. Yet, family reunification continues to be a challenge for Filipino nationals. Oftentimes, family members of U.S. citizens and residents must wait up to 10 to 20 years before they can be granted immigrant visas. See, e.g., August 2015 Visa Bulletin. This new policy will provide some temporary relief to prolonged family separation, although DHS has not yet announced any specifics on this matter.
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Today (10/2/2015), the government reiterates that it is in the process of creating a parole program to implement the policy to allow family members of Filipino verterans of WWII to enter the U.S. - "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is creating a parole program to allow certain family members of Filipino and Filipino-American World War II veterans to receive parole to come to the United States. This parole program was announced in November 2014 by President Obama and Secretary Johnson as part of the executive actions on immigration and is detailed in the White House report, Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21st century, issued in July 2015. The program may enable these eligible family members to provide support and care to their aging veteran family members who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents."
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