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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Families Uni-
fication Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 2. EXCEPTIONS FOR QUALIFYING RELATIVES OF PHIL-
IPPINE SERVICEMEN IN THE UNITED STATES 
NAVY. 
(a) EXCEPTION TO THE BARS TO ADMISSION FOR 
ALIENS
UNLAWFULLY
PRESENT
IN
THE
UNITED 
STATES.—No period of time during which an alien is a 
qualifying relative of a Philippine enlistee shall be taken 
into account in determining the period of unlawful pres-
ence in the United States under section 212(a)(9)(B)(i) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182(a)(9)(B)(i)). 
(b) EXCEPTION TO THE PENALTIES FOR FAILURE 
TO DEPART.—An alien permitted by the Attorney General 
to depart voluntarily shall not be made ineligible for any 
relief under the Immigration and Nationality Act by virtue 
of remaining in the United States after the scheduled date 
of departure if—
(1) the scheduled date of departure was on or 
after April 1, 1997; and 
(2) the alien was a qualifying relative of a Phil-
ippine enlistee on such scheduled date of departure 
and is such a qualifying relative at the time of the 
application for relief. 
(c) WORK AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General 
shall provide qualifying relatives of Philippine enlistees of 
suitable age with work authorization (including an ‘‘em-
ployment authorized’’ endorsement or other appropriate 
work permit). 
(d) PHILIPPINE ENLISTEES.—
(1) DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, 
the term ‘‘Philippine enlistee’’ means an alien who—
(A) was recruited and enlisted in the 
United States Navy pursuant to article XXVIII 
of the March 14, 1947, United States-Phil-
ippines Military Bases Agreement, as amended, 
which expired on September 16, 1991; 
(B) was born in and is a citizen of the 
Philippines; and 
(C) is on active duty for a fixed term of 
enlistment (or reenlistment, if the individual’s 
enlistment in the United States Navy was pur-
suant to such Agreement) and is in good stand-
ing with honorable service. 
(2) VERIFICATION OF STATUS.—In determining 
whether an alien is a Philippine enlistee, the Attor-
ney General and the Secretary of State shall request 
from the Secretary of Defense, through the Depart-
ment of the Navy, verification of such alien’s date 
of enlistment under such Agreement, the term of en-
listment, the current enlistment status, citizenship, 
and claimed dependents.
(e) QUALIFYING RELATIVE DEFINED.—For purposes 
of this section, the term ‘‘qualifying relative’’ means—
(1) a child (as defined in section 101(b)(1) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 
1101(b)(1)), or 
(2) a spouse. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE; SUNSET.—This section is ef-
fective on the date that is 45 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and shall remain in effect through 
December 31, 2008, and thereafter with respect to bene-
ficiaries who have unadjudicated applications for relief 
filed on or before October 1, 2005.
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