05 September 2016— The Consulate General of the Philippines in Chicago held a briefing on significant immigration developments by officials from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Chicago Office as part of its Ika-18 Pagkikita sa Konsulado at the Consulate’s Kalayaan Hall on August 18.

Ms. Katy Leung, Special Assistant of the District Director of the USCIS, and Ms. Maria Del Carmen Rodriguez, Community Relations Officer of the USCIS, were the guest speakers during the event.

Ms. Leung, informed the audience about the implementation of the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program which became effective on June 18. The Parole Program’s main objective is to honor the thousands of Filipinos who bravely joined the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) to fight for the Philippines and the United States during WWII.

The policy, among other things, will enable many eligible individuals to provide support and care for their aging veteran family members who are US citizens or who are lawful permanent residents. To date, an estimated 2,000 to 6,000 Filipino-American World War II veterans are living in the United States.

For her part, Ms. Rodriguez briefed members of the Filipino community on recent updates concerning the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program launched by the Obama Administration in 2012. DACA will allow certain people, who came to the US as children to request for consideration of deferred action for a period of two (2) years, subject to renewal, provided they are able to meet several key provisions in the guidelines.

Consul General Generoso D.G. Calonge, in his welcome remarks, shared with the members of the Filipino community the Consulate General’s effort in the passing of the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015. Deputy Consul General Romulo Victor M. Israel, Jr. in his remarks, shared important updates on the program, which has so far received the support of six out of the 18 US representatives from Illinois. END