Some of these veterans receive U.S. benefits. some do not. By 2010. it is estimated that the population will have dwindled to 20.000. With the passage of the Immigration Act of 1990. the courage of the many Filipino soldiers who fought alongside our troops during World War II was finally recognized by our Government. and Filipino veterans were offered the opportunity to obtain U.S. citizenship. According to the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. about 15.000 Filipino veterans live in the U.S. and became citizens between 1991 and 1995 under the authority of the Immigration Act of 1990. Between that time. about 11.000 veterans who live in the Philippines were successfully naturalized. These thousands of Filipino veterans clearly wished to spend their golden years in the United States. and I am pleased that the 1990 Immigration reform efforts offered them the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately. the offer did not extend to the adult sons and daughters of these veterans. As a result. the brave Filipino veterans who fought on behalf of America. and who now live in America and continue to contribute to America. must do so alone. Due to a backlog in the issuing of visas. many of the children of these veterans have waited more than 20 years before they were able to obtain an immigrant visa. Unfortunately. many more are still waiting. It is no secret that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security is facing significant backlogs. However. it is not as widely known that prospective familysponsored immigrants from the Philippines have the most substantial waiting times in the world before a visa is scheduled to become available to them. What this means. is that these honorable Filipino veterans who faced numerous dangers to defend this Nation now face the prospect of spending the last years of their lives without the comfort and care of their families. It is a shameful disgrace that the sons and daughters of these brave soldiers are now last in line to become citizens of our country.
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immigrant naturalized Immigration immigrants Naturalization visa visas