The Department of Homeland Security is developing a new parole program to allow eligible family members of Filipino and Filipino-American World War II veterans to bypass extensive waiting periods and enter the United States to provide much-needed care and support for their aging veteran family members in the United States.

Over 260,000 Filipino soldiers fought for the United States during World War II. Approximately 26,000 of these veterans became U.S. citizens following the war, and an estimated 6,000 Filipino-American WWII veterans still reside in the United States today. This ageing population increasingly requires home health care and assistance, and many wish to spend time with their family members during their final days. Unfortunately, due to statutory visa caps and administrative backlogs, family members of Filipino-Americans must wait decades to receive a visa to enter the United States and reunite with family members. A recent NPR program spoke with some of these veterans as well as their advocates about their experiences following WWII and the challenges they face without family members to help care for them.

Under the new parole program, USCIS would be authorized to permit these family members to enter the country for a temporary period of time to care for their veteran family members. These issuances of parole would be made by USCIS on a case-by-case basis, based on humanitarian concerns and significant public benefits. The parole program was proposed as part of President Obama’s 2014 executive actions on immigration, and was detailed in the 2015 White House report, Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21^st Century. Although the agency has not begun accepting applications, USCIS expects the first group of parolees to enter the United States by the end of this year.