Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

When Filipino World War II veteran Pedro Alpay received his US citizenship in 1992, he immediately filed for his seven children in the Philippines to join him.

Dreaming of a better life for his family, Alpay and his wife thought that it would take only a few years before the whole family would be able to gather and come together in the US.

He was wrong.

Since his children were all over the age of 21, Alpay could not bring any of them over immediately due to US immigration laws. He soon learned that it would take up to 15 years for his sons and daughters to receive their visa.

He was 70 years old when he filed.

One of his sons joined him recently.

The others are still waiting.

If he or his wife dies in the next few years, the petition for their children will die with them.

“I waited almost half a century to become a US citizen,” said Alpay, who served as a member of a guerilla unit that fought the Japanese in the mountains of Luzon during WWII. “I did not think I would have to wait again for my family to join us.”

Alpay’s story is not uncommon. It is one of many stories of Asian Americans affected by the long US immigration backlog detailed in a new report by Dan Huang of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC).

Released on September 25, the report “A Devastating Wait: Family Unity and Immigration Backlogs” details the role of family based petitions and the US.

The report coincides with the introduction of new legislation by Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), which looks to resolve key elements of the broken family immigration system.