Among the eleven language groups of the country, Pilipino is the official national language which is native to the peoples of Central Luzon. The Philippines is, nevertheless, the third largest English-speaking country in the world. After 327 years of Spanish domination, the Filipinos revolted, and won their independence in 1898. However, after the Spanish-American War, the United States controlled the Philippines until 1942, when Japan seized control until they were liberated by the Americans. Finally, in 1946, the American Congress granted independence to the Filipinos, and the second Republic of the Philippines was born.
Historians identify four major waves of Filipino migration to the United States.
Filipino soldiers, who served in the U.S. armed forces, and their families came from 1945 until the early '60s. Professionals were encouraged to come in the 1960s and '70s during the boom years of the U.S. economy. The final wave came when U.S. immigration policies favored family reunification of those Filipinos already in the United States as immigrants or citizens. The states with the largest Filipino population are California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Virginia, Texas, Florida, and Maryland. Filipino Catholics' experience of church is very different from that of most U.S. parishioners.