13 Oct Parole visas for relatives of Filipino World War II veterans
By: Atty. Crispin Caday Lozano
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.
Parole, as provided for under the Immigration and Nationality Act, gives DHS discretion, on a case by case basis, to permit individuals to come to the United States for a temporary period of time based upon urgent humanitarian reasons or for significant public benefit.
Parole does not give the individual any permanent right to remain in the United States.
USCIS reminds customers that they cannot apply at this time. Any applications received before the program is implemented may be denied. We will inform the public when the application process is in place. Register to Lozanolawoffice@crispinlozanolaw.com to receive email updates.
Family members of Filipino World War II veterans who are currently in the family immigration backlogs will be granted special permission to reunite with their parents in America so they can take care for the aging veterans. The announcement came as part of a report issued by the Visa Modernization Task Force which was created in November the previous year in accordance with US President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
The interagency group noted in its just-released report “Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21st Century” that more than 260,000 Filipino soldiers responded to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s call-to-arms in 1941. They later fought under the American flag during World War II making the ultimate sacrifice as soldiers in the US Armed Forces in the Far East and as guerilla fighters during the Imperial Japanese occupation of the Philippines.
In recognition of their service and contributions to America, the report said estimates indicate that as many as 26,000 Filipinos later became proud US citizens. Though this number cannot be confirmed, at a minimum, USCIS estimates that at least 19,000 Filipino veterans naturalized.
Note: This is not a legal advice.