I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 723

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 

FEBRUARY 12, 2003

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.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Families Uni5 fication Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. EXCEPTIONS FOR QUALIFYING RELATIVES OF PHIL2 IPPINE SERVICEMEN IN THE UNITED STATES 

3 NAVY. 

4 (a) EXCEPTION TO THE BARS TO ADMISSION FOR

5 ALIENS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED

6 STATES.—No period of time during which an alien is a 

7 qualifying relative of a Philippine enlistee shall be taken 

8 into account in determining the period of unlawful pres9 ence in the United States under section 212(a)(9)(B)(i) 

10 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

11 1182(a)(9)(B)(i)). 

12 (b) EXCEPTION TO THE PENALTIES FOR FAILURE

13 TO DEPART.—An alien permitted by the Attorney General 

14 to depart voluntarily shall not be made ineligible for any 

15 relief under the Immigration and Nationality Act by virtue 

16 of remaining in the United States after the scheduled date 

17 of departure if—

18 (1) the scheduled date of departure was on or 

19 after April 1, 1997; and 

20 (2) the alien was a qualifying relative of a Phil21 ippine enlistee on such scheduled date of departure 

22 and is such a qualifying relative at the time of the 

23 application for relief. 

24 (c) WORK AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General 

25 shall provide qualifying relatives of Philippine enlistees of 

26 suitable age with work authorization (including an ‘‘em-
3

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1 ployment authorized’’ endorsement or other appropriate 

2 work permit). 

3 (d) PHILIPPINE ENLISTEES.—

4 (1) DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, 

5 the term ‘‘Philippine enlistee’’ means an alien who—

6 (A) was recruited and enlisted in the 

7 United States Navy pursuant to article XXVIII 

8 of the March 14, 1947, United States-Phil9 ippines Military Bases Agreement, as amended, 

10 which expired on September 16, 1991; 

11 (B) was born in and is a citizen of the 

12 Philippines; and 

13 (C) is on active duty for a fixed term of 

14 enlistment (or reenlistment, if the individual’s 

15 enlistment in the United States Navy was pur16 suant to such Agreement) and is in good stand17 ing with honorable service. 

18 (2) VERIFICATION OF STATUS.—In determining 

19 whether an alien is a Philippine enlistee, the Attor20 ney General and the Secretary of State shall request 

21 from the Secretary of Defense, through the Depart22 ment of the Navy, verification of such alien’s date 

23 of enlistment under such Agreement, the term of en24 listment, the current enlistment status, citizenship, 

25 and claimed dependents. 
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1 (e) QUALIFYING RELATIVE DEFINED.—For purposes 

2 of this section, the term ‘‘qualifying relative’’ means—

3 (1) a child (as defined in section 101(b)(1) of 

4 the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 

5 1101(b)(1)), or 

6 (2) a spouse. 

7 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE; SUNSET.—This section is ef8 fective on the date that is 45 days after the date of the 

9 enactment of this Act and shall remain in effect through 

10 December 31, 2008, and thereafter with respect to bene11 ficiaries who have unadjudicated applications for relief 

12 filed on or before October 1, 2005.

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