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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, May 14, 2009

Proposed law would help children of Filipino vets


Associated Press

Hawaii Congresswoman Mazie Hirono has reintroduced the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act.

The island Democrat says the legislation would benefit the children of Filipinos who fought with U.S. troops in World War II. The children would be exempt from quotas that have delayed the receipt of immigrant visas to the U.S., keeping family members apart.
Some 200,000 Filipinos served with American troops during the war. About 18,000 of those Filipino veterans are alive today. Thousands reside in the U.S., with many living in Hawaii.
In 1990, Congress provided the vets with a waiver from certain naturalization requirements. Many of them became U.S. and residents. But allowances weren’t made for their children and many have been waiting decades for petition approval.