*EPF111 03/11/2002
Text: Bill to Help Families of Philippine Servicemen in U.S. Navy
(HR 3906 to allow dependents to work in U.S. without penalty) (850)
Two California legislators introduced a bill March 7 in the House of Representatives aimed at helping the wives and children of Filipino servicemen in the U.S. Navy.
Representatives Randy Cunningham (Republican) and Robert Filner (Democrat) submitted H.R. 3906, titled the Military Families Unification Act of 2002.
The proposed legislation would "except spouses and children of Philippine servicemen in the United States Navy from bars to admission and relief under the Immigration and Nationality Act."
The two lawmakers seek to redress problems created for family members of Philippine servicemen by changes in the law in 1996.
"We inadvertently affected a group of people that have stalwartly defended our nation since World War II -- the Filipino servicemen of the U.S. Navy, and their families," Cunningham told fellow lawmakers as he introduced the proposed bill.
Under the 1996 changes, he explained, Filipinos serving in the U.S. Navy saw their families placed in a deferred action status.
If, during the time they are in deferred action status, the family members work, they accrue bad time, he went on, thus making it more difficult for them to ever "successfully apply for residency or citizenship."
H.R. 3906 would change that, stating "No period of time during which an alien is a qualifying relative of a Philippine enlistee shall be taken into account in determining the period of unlawful presence in the United States" under the relevant section of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Under H.R. 3906, the Attorney General would "provide qualifying relatives of Philippine enlistees of suitable age with work authorization."
Following is the text:
(begin text)
Military Families Unification Act of 2002
Introduced in the House
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3906
To except spouses and children of Philippine servicemen in the United States Navy from bars to admission and relief under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 7, 2002
Mr. CUNNINGHAM (for himself and Mr. FILNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To except spouses and children of Philippine servicemen in the United States Navy from bars to admission and relief under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Military Families Unification Act of 2002'.
SEC. 2. EXCEPTIONS FOR QUALIFYING RELATIVES OF PHILIPPINE SERVICEMEN IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY.
(a) EXCEPTION TO THE BARS TO ADMISSION FOR ALIENS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES- No period of time during which an alien is a qualifying relative of a Philippine enlistee shall be taken into account in determining the period of unlawful presence in the United States under section 212(a)(9)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B)(i)).
(b) EXCEPTION TO THE PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO DEPART- An alien permitted by the Attorney General to depart voluntarily shall not be made ineligible for any relief under the Immigration and Nationality Act by virtue of remaining in the United States after the scheduled date of departure if--
(1) the scheduled date of departure was on or after April 1, 1997; and
(2) the alien was a qualifying relative of a Philippine enlistee on such scheduled date of departure and is such a qualifying relative at the time of the application for relief.
(c) WORK AUTHORIZATION- The Attorney General shall provide qualifying relatives of Philippine enlistees of suitable age with work authorization (including an `employment authorized' endorsement or other appropriate work permit).
(d) PHILIPPINE ENLISTEES-
(1) DEFINED- For purposes of this section, the term `Philippine enlistee' means an alien who--
(A) was recruited and enlisted in the United States Navy pursuant to article XXVIII of the March 14, 1947, United States-Philippines Military Bases Agreement, as amended, which expired on September 16, 1991;
(B) was born in and is a citizen of the Philippines; and
(C) is on active duty for a fixed term of enlistment (or reenlistment, if the individual's enlistment in the United States Navy was pursuant to such Agreement) and is in good standing with honorable service.
(2) VERIFICATION OF STATUS- In determining whether an alien is a Philippine enlistee, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State shall request from the Secretary of Defense, through the Department of the Navy, verification of such alien's date of enlistment under such Agreement, the term of enlistment, the current enlistment status, citizenship, and claimed dependents.
(e) QUALIFYING RELATIVE DEFINED- For purposes of this section, the term `qualifying relative' means--
(1) a child (as defined in section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)), or
(2) a spouse.
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE; SUNSET- This section is effective on the date that is 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall remain in effect through December 31, 2008, and thereafter with respect to beneficiaries who have unadjudicated applications for relief filed on or before October 1, 2005.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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