Speech #1010139705

Thus the participation of the Hmong In United States operations In Southeast Asia. actively pursued and paid for by our Government. resulted in a loss of approximately half of the Hmong population. While it Is obvious the Hmong served bravely and sacrificed dearly in the Vietnam war. many of those who did survive and make it to the United States are having a difficult time adjusting to life here. Many of the 100.000 Hmong refugees living in the United States are separated from their family members. Considering the Importance of family to the Hmong. it is a great hardship for the Hmong to have family members scattered throughout the world with little chance for reunification. Fortunately there is something we can do to speed up the process of family reunification and ease the adjustment of Hmong into U.S. society. at no cost to the Federal Government. Once refugees are resettled outside the United States they can only Immigrate to the United States as Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or pursuant the preference system. Permanent residents can sponsor spouses and unmarried sons and daughters. Other relatives including children. parents. married sons and daughters and siblings must be sponsored by citizens. Thus the key to family reunification is the attainment of citizenship. My bill would make the attainment of citizenship easier for those who served in the special guerrilla units by waiving certain naturalization requirements which are particularly difficult for Hmong people to meet. The greatest obstacle in becoming a citizen for the Hmong Is passing the English test. This Is due to the unique historical and linguistic circum-