JFAV UPDATE
July 22. 2015

INFORMATION ON CHILDREN JOINING WWII VETERAN-PARENTS IN US

By JENNIE ILUSTRE on July 20, 2015/Malaya

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Community advocates endeavored over the weekend to explain the welcome recommendation issued by President Obama on July 15 allowing family members of Filipino American World War II veterans to join their parents and come live and work in the United States.

The Presidential Memorandum on “Modernizing and Streamlining the US Immigrant Visa System for the 21st Century,” issued on July 15 last week is in line with President Obama’s Executive Action on November 20, 2014 to fix the nation’s broken immigration system.

Filipino American lawyer Arnedo S. Valera, executive director of the advocacy group Migrant Heritage Commission, said family members refer to the adult children, single or married, of the US-based Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC).

No Limit

American WWII veteran. “There is no limit to the number of children that can be petitioned by the US-based Filipino American World War II veteran,” he added.

“With the parole visa, the children can immediately come to the US upon its approval. The waiting period applies to the approval of application for permanent residency or green card once they are in the US.

But the advantage is, if they are granted parole visa, they can live and work in the US and reunite with their parents,” added Valera, who is also the legal counsel of Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV).

He said the implementing rules, when finalized, will contain the basic requirement that “there must be an approved I-130 immigrant petition filed by the US Citizen Filipino World War II veterans on behalf of their children.”

Under President Obama’s recommendation, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the State Department will work on establishing a program that allows eligible family members of the veterans to come to America under parole status on a case-by-case basis, rather than through the lengthy general family immigration process.

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