Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program

Parole is not an immigrant visa and not the same as having a Green Card (lawful permanent resident status). Parole is temporary and allows you to be lawfully present in the United States during your parole period and to apply for work authorization.

You can see when your parole period expires on your electronic Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record.

Applying for Lawful Permanent Resident Status/Green Card

We expect individuals paroled under the FWVP program to apply for a Green Card as soon as their immigrant visa is available. Based on information in the Visa Bulletin, it may be many years before visas for FWVP beneficiaries will become current. It is your responsibility to keep track of when your immigrant visa becomes available. We do not send you a notice to alert you when your immigrant visa is available, nor do we track if any derivative beneficiaries have “aged out” of their eligibility for a Green Card and may need a new petition filed on their behalf. (See our Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) page for more information.)

Please see the information in English or Tagalog on how to check if your immigrant visa is available.

Requesting Re-Parole

To request a new parole period (re-parole) from inside the United States you must:

• File a new Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records, and pay the required fee (or request a fee waiver);
• Check box 10.D. in Part 1 of the form; and
• Enter your Admit Until Date or Parole Until Date in question 12 in Part 1.

Part 1, Question 12, asks for your Class of Admission, if applicable, as it appears on your Form I-94. If you previously entered the United States through the FWVP program, the Class of Admission that appears on your Form I-94 will likely be FP1 or FPD.

• Please check our Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-131 page for information on where to mail your application

Unlawful Presence

Accruing unlawful presence in the United States can have serious immigration consequences:

• You may not be able to get a Green Card if you have been in the United States unlawfully at any time since you arrived as a parolee. This means you would have to leave the United States to apply for an immigrant visa to return to the United States as a lawful permanent resident; and
• If you have been in the United States unlawfully for more than 180 days and then depart the United States, you may be subject to an unlawful presence bar, depending on your age. This means you may not be allowed to return to the United States for either 3 or 10 years, depending on the period of your unlawful presence, unless you receive a waiver of inadmissibility. For more information, visit our Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility page.
• If you are subject to an unlawful presence bar, you may apply for a waiver by filing Form I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver, before you leave the United States to appear at a U.S. embassy or U.S. consulate for an immigrant visa interview. For more information about applying for a waiver of inadmissibility after departing the United States, go to our Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility webpage.

You may also seek legal counsel or consult with an authorized immigration service provider regarding your situation.

Applying for Employment Authorization

After you are paroled into the United States under the FWVP program, you are eligible to apply for discretionary employment authorization from USCIS.

To apply for discretionary employment  authorization, you must submit Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with the required fee, or request a fee waiver by filing Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver. You can find the filing fee for Form I-765 by visiting our Fee Schedule page.

If you ever worked without authorization in the United States, you may need to apply and be processed overseas for an immigrant visa instead of applying for a Green Card in the United States.

Terminating Your Parole

If you have already been paroled into the United States, your parole may automatically terminate if:

• You depart the United States; or
• Your parole period expires.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may also decide to terminate your parole for other grounds, such as violating any laws of the United States.

At this time, if you have been paroled into the United States under the FWVP program, you will maintain parole until it expires and you can apply for re-parole, unless you are subject to grounds for termination under DHS regulations at 8 CFR section 212.5(e).

This section includes information on-the following topics:

• Definitions
• Program Eligibility
• How to Apply
• Processing your Application
• Beneficiary Interview
• After the Interview

Definitions

We use the following terms in the FWVP Program:

Program Eligibility

Who Is Eligible to Apply

You may request parole for your qualifying relatives if you meet the following requirements:

• You are either a U.S. citizen or have a Green Card and live in the United States;
• You have established that you are either a Filipino WWII veteran (as defined under section 405 of IMMACT 90 (PDF) as amended by Section 112 of Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1998 (PDF) or are the surviving spouse of such individual;
• You, the Filipino WWII veteran or surviving spouse, filed Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for a family member and we approved it on or before the date you filed the request for parole; and
• An immigrant visa is not yet available for your relative.

You may request parole on your own behalf and on behalf of your spouse and children (unmarried and under 21) if:

• The veteran and spouse are both deceased; and
• You are the son or daughter of the veteran and you are the principal beneficiary of the Form I-130 submitted by the veteran or by the veteran’s spouse.

Please see the Self-Petitioners subsection below for additional information.

Requirements for Requesting Parole

If you meet the requirements above, you may request parole on behalf of a family member who meets the following criteria:

• They are the beneficiary on a Form I-130 filed by the veteran or the veteran’s surviving spouse, and we approved the form (which includes any accompanying spouse or child*) on or before the date the petitioner requested parole; and
• The beneficiary has a qualifying, legally recognized relationship with the veteran that existed on or before May 9, 2016.

*The principal beneficiary’s spouse and unmarried children under age 21 (known as derivative beneficiaries) may also be eligible for benefits under the FWVP program. We will only consider derivative beneficiaries for parole if we approve the principal beneficiary. Derivative beneficiaries are not eligible for the FWVP program on their own.

If you are the veteran’s surviving spouse, your son or daughter may be eligible beneficiaries only if they are also the son or daughter of that veteran. This includes stepchildren, legitimated children, children born out of wedlock, and adopted children. You may request parole under the FWVP program on their behalf, even if the deceased veteran filed the approved Form I-130 on which they are beneficiaries, as long as we grant humanitarian reinstatement of that Form I-130 or grant relief under INA section 204(l). See our Humanitarian Reinstatement page for more information.

Expedited Processing of Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative

We will review an expedite request on a case-by-case basis as a matter of discretion, and the burden is on the petitioner to prove they meet one or more of the expedite criteria. See our Expedite Criteria page for more information. If you are a Filipino WWII veteran or the veteran’s surviving spouse and want to request expedited processing of your new Form I-130, include a cover letter with your Form I-130 indicating that you are the veteran or the surviving spouse, that you are interested in the FWVP program, and that you are requesting expedited processing. After you receive a receipt notice from us, you should also call the USCIS Contact Center (800-375-5283 within the United States or 212-620-3418 outside the United States, TTY 800-767-1833) to request expedited processing.

If we approve your Form I-130, you may file Form I-131 for your eligible beneficiaries with a copy of your Form I-797, Notice of Action (which is your Form I-130 approval notice), and other required documents listed in the How to Apply section.

We must approve your Form I-130 before you file Form I-131. You cannot file both forms together.

Self-Petitioners

If the veteran and the veteran’s spouse are both deceased, you may request parole on your own behalf, and on behalf of your spouse and minor children (unmarried and under 21), if you establish that:

• The deceased veteran had qualifying WWII military service, as noted in the Who is Eligible to Request Parole section above, and was living in the United States at the time of death;
• The veteran's spouse is also deceased; and
• You are the son, daughter, brother or sister of the deceased veteran, and that relationship existed on or before May 9, 2016.

In addition, before we consider your request for parole, one of the following conditions must be true:

• We approved the Form I-130 on which you are a principal beneficiary while the petitioner was alive, and then after the petitioner’s death, we granted reinstatement of the Form I-130 under 8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(i)(C)(2) or granted relief under INA 204(l); or
• If the petitioner died while their Form I-130 was pending, and the beneficiary or derivative beneficiary was living in the United States at the time of the petitioner’s death and is still living in the United States, we subsequently approved their Form I-130 under INA 204(l).

For more information on how to request humanitarian reinstatement of Form I-130, please see our Humanitarian Reinstatement page.

Because many individuals seeking parole as a family member of a Filipino war veteran are at an advanced age, you may call the USCIS Contact Center to request expedited processing for a pending humanitarian reinstatement request. Tell the representative that you will be requesting parole under the FWVP program.

You can only file Form I-131 after we approve your Form I-130. However, you may file Form I-131 together with a request for humanitarian reinstatement or while such a request is pending. If you file Form I-131 while a humanitarian reinstatement request is pending, include a copy of the pending request with your application packet.

We will not process your Form I-131 until we grant your request for humanitarian reinstatement.

For concurrent filing, be sure to include the following documents in your package:

• A cover letter indicating you are filing Form I-131 and a humanitarian reinstatement request together;
• The humanitarian reinstatement request completed by the Form I-130 principal beneficiary, with supporting documentation. (There is no separate fee to request humanitarian reinstatement.);
• Form I-131 completed by the qualified FWVP petitioner, with supporting documentation and the required fee or fee waiver request;
• The previously approved Form I-130; and
• Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, filed by an eligible sponsor with required financial documentation. You do not need to also include Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support. Do not substitute Form I-134 for the Form I-864.

FWVP Program Eligibility

Read this chart from left to right to determine who you are eligible to request parole for:

• Column 1 refers to who you are – the Filipino World War II veteran, the veteran’s surviving spouse, or the veteran’s child, brother or sister;
• Column 2 refers to the petitioner who filed the Form 1-130 that we approved. You cannot request parole without an approved Form I-130; and
• Column 3 specifies who you can request parole for, based on who you are and who filed the approved Form I-130.

Family Members in the United States

While the FWVP program is primarily intended for family members outside of the United States, certain relatives in the United States may be able to benefit from the program. However, if a service center conditionally approves your application, your relative must leave the United States and appear abroad at a USCIS office or at a U.S. embassy or consulate, as indicated on the Form I-131, to be interviewed by a USCIS or Department of State officer.

If your relative is eligible to travel, they will receive a travel document allowing them to travel to the United States and request parole from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at a port of entry. CBP will review the documents and, assuming all is in order, parole your relative into the United States. If they are not eligible to travel, we will send a written notification to the FWVP petitioner.

Depending on an individual’s status in the United States, a departure from the United States can come with serious immigration consequences. Before pursuing this option, we encourage you to consult with an authorized immigration service provider on the potential risks and benefits of this option.

Alternatively, certain family members in the United States may be eligible for parole in place or deferred action under our discretionary options for current or former military family members.

Who Is Not Eligible

Participation in the FWVP program is not available to individuals who qualify as immediate relatives, because they may immediately seek immigrant visas for travel to the United States once we approve their Form I-130. Immediate relatives include:

• Spouses of U.S. citizens;
• Unmarried children under 21 years of age of U.S. citizens; and
• Parents of U.S. citizens over 21 years of age.

If you are the beneficiary of an approved Form I-130, and your petitioner (the Filipino WWII veteran or spouse) in the United States is still living, you cannot request parole for yourself or your family members under the FWVP program. Your U.S.-based petitioner must file on your behalf.

Age Limit for Derivative Beneficiaries

There is no age limit for a principal beneficiary of a Form I-130 to qualify for the FWVP program. However, any derivative children must be under the age of 21 on the date that we receive your properly filed request to be considered for parole under this program. We will deny any Form I-131 submitted for derivative children who are 21 years of age or older on the date we receive the properly filed application. We will not return the associated filing fees. We will continue to process the applications for any other beneficiaries, including the principal beneficiary and their spouse and unmarried children under 21.

Circumstances That Could Affect Eligibility

The table below lists circumstances that could affect your eligibility for the FWVP program.

How to Apply

Filing Tips

• Petitioners (including self-petitioners) will be required to file FWVP program applications for all family members associated with the same underlying approved Form I-130 at the same time. We will only consider derivative beneficiaries for parole if we approve the principal beneficiary on the Form I-130 for parole. Derivative beneficiaries are not eligible for the FWVP program on their own, and we will deny any Form I-131 you file on their behalf if we do not approve the principal beneficiary for parole.
• Requesting to add a spouse or child to an approved Form I-130 (add-on derivative beneficiaries): If a principal beneficiary married or had a child after we approved the underlying Form I-130, and the spouse and/or child could be considered an “add-on” derivative beneficiary in the immigrant visa context, you may file an FWVP program application on behalf of that principal beneficiary’s spouse or child under age 21.
• Derivative children listed on the approved Form I-130 who are already, or who will be, 21 years of age or older before you properly file an FWVP program application will not be eligible for the FWVP program. We consider the date an application is filed as the date that we receive it. If you file an application on behalf of a derivate child and we receive it after the child has turned 21 years of age, we will deny your application.

How to Request Parole

If you (the petitioner or self-petitioner) want your relatives considered for the FWVP program, you must follow the FWVP program-specific application instructions listed below and submit the following required documentation to the lockbox:

• Complete a separate Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records, for each family member eligible to participate in the FWVP Program;
• Complete parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11 (if applicable), and 12 (if applicable) of Form I-131;
  • Under Part 1, Application Type, check box 6.A, and write the Form I-130 receipt number in the applicable field.
  • Part 2 requests information about you, the petitioner (or self-petitioner).
  • Part 2, questions 16-27 request information about your family member, the beneficiary, if you are applying for someone else.  If you are requesting parole for yourself, leave blank Part 2, questions 16-27.
  • Under Part 10, sign it yourself, as the petitioner (or self-petitioner).
• Include a copy of your Form I-797, Notice of Action, which is your Form I-130 approval notice; a printout from Case Status Online that shows the approval of a Form I-130; or other evidence of your Form I-130 approval; and
• Include the applicable fee or fee waiver request. (You may request a fee waiver by submitting Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver. For more information, see our Fee Waiver Guidance page.);
• If you are eligible to self-petition, you must also submit evidence to establish a qualifying family relationship with the deceased veteran and evidence of reinstatement or INA section 204(l) relief of your Form I-130;
• Complete a separate Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support, with supporting documents for each family member (including yourself, if you are a self-petitioner). You may submit Form-134 affidavits from multiple sponsors to show there is sufficient income or financial resources to support each family member.
  • Note: If you are filing your Form I-131 with a request for humanitarian reinstatement, you only need to include Form I-864. You do not need to complete Form I-134;
• If you are concurrently filing a request for humanitarian reinstatement with your Form I-131, or a request for humanitarian reinstatement because we denied a previous request, you must include a request by the principal beneficiary of the Form I-130 petition and include all supporting documents as described above; and
• Include evidence that you are either a Filipino WWII veteran, as described under section 405 of IMMACT 90, as amended by Section 112 of Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1998, or are the surviving spouse of such individual.
  • If you are a self-petitioner, include evidence that you are the son, daughter, brother or sister of the deceased Filipino veteran, and that relationship existed on or before May 9, 2016; that the deceased Filipino veteran had qualifying WWII military service, as noted above, and was living in the United States at the time of death; and that the veteran’s spouse is also deceased.

Submitting Your Initial Application Packet

You must file for all eligible relatives associated with the same approved Form I-130 at the same time so we can process them together. Mail everything in one package to the USCIS Chicago Lockbox:

For U.S. Postal Service (USPS) delivery:

USCIS
P.O. Box 8500
Chicago, IL 60680-4120

For FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries:

USCIS
Attn: FWVP
131 S. Dearborn St., 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60603-5517

If you do not submit these applications together, it may affect our ability to determine eligibility, and we may deny all or some of the related applications.

You cannot file your application through our online filing system at this time.

Note: For re-parole requests, please see the section “Current Parolees in the United States.”

Processing Your Application

The grant of parole is not automatic. We will use our discretion to authorize parole on a case-by-case basis. We will only authorize parole to beneficiaries who meet the FWVP guidelines and also:

• Pass criminal and national security background checks;
• Pass a medical exam; and
• Warrant a favorable exercise of discretion.

After you mail your package to the USCIS lockbox, we will forward it to a USCIS service center for adjudication. The service center will verify that you are qualified to submit the package and will review the documentation to determine whether your beneficiary may be qualified for parole. The service center may request additional evidence, deny, or conditionally approve your application.

If the service center conditionally approves your application, they will forward it to the Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC will transfer your case to the USCIS office or U.S. embassy or consulate abroad where your beneficiary relative will be interviewed.

If we deny your Form I-131, the decision is final. However, your beneficiary may still be eligible for immigrant visa processing based on the approved Form I-130 filed on their behalf. When the beneficiary’s immigrant visa becomes available, they can apply for an immigrant visa.

It may take approximately six months to process an FWVP application from the time we receive your application to receiving a travel document. The time required to reach a decision on a case will vary depending on the issues raised and whether we require additional evidence. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our normal operations, including that of our overseas partners who assist with case processing. This means case processing may take longer than usual.

Request for Evidence

If the service center finds that your application lacks required evidence or that additional evidence or information is required, they will send you a Request for Evidence (RFE). You must provide the requested evidence, or establish that the evidence is not available and submit secondary evidence in its place. We may deny your application if you do not respond to the RFE within the required time frame.

Beneficiary Interview

Do not try to schedule an appointment directly with a USCIS international field office or a U.S. embassy or consulate. You will receive a notice when we have scheduled an interview appointment.

Depending on your location, you (the principal beneficiary) may be interviewed by a USCIS or Department of State consular officer at a U.S. embassy or consulate. After receiving the application from the NVC, USCIS or the Department of State will schedule an interview appointment and provide information regarding any pre-interview requirements, including instructions on completing a medical examination.

On the date of interview, USCIS staff or Department of State consular officers will interview all your eligible family members to verify identities and confirm eligibility for parole under the FWVP program.

Preparing for the Interview

On the date of their interview, all eligible family members should bring:

• A government-issued form of identification;
• Their passport;
• Original civil documents supporting their eligibility for the program, in addition to certified English translations of these documents;
• Medical examination results; and
• A copy of their interview schedule appointment notice.

After the Interview

Beneficiaries should not take any permanent actions such as selling or buying property, terminating employment, or withdrawing from school until they have their FWVP program parole travel document in their hands.

If travel is approved:

• U.S. embassy staff will issue the necessary travel documents. These documents allow beneficiaries to travel to the United States and request parole from a CBP officer at a port of entry. CBP will review the documents and, assuming all is in order, can decide to parole you into the United States in their discretion for three years;
• All eligible family members must arrange and pay for their own travel; and
• Once in the United States, we expect beneficiaries to apply for a Green Card as soon as their immigrant visa becomes available. See the Current Parolees in the United States section for more information.

If travel is not approved:

• We will send a written notification to you and your family members if we do not approve travel to the United States.

If we deny parole:

• Our decision to deny parole is final, and there is no right of appeal;
• If we deny parole under the FWVP program, Form I-130 beneficiaries may still be eligible for immigrant visa processing based on the approved Form I-130 when their immigrant visa becomes available; and
• In certain circumstances, the reason we denied parole may also cause us to revoke the approval of the beneficiary’s underlying Form I-130. If we revoke Form I-130 approval, the beneficiary will no longer be eligible for an immigrant visa. We will make these determinations on a case-by-case basis.

Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Parole

Individuals who are not eligible for the FWVP program and who have urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons to come to the United States may be eligible to apply for parole under the standard parole process.

For more information on how to apply for parole through the standard parole process, see our Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Parole page.

You can find the filing fee for Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records, by visiting our Fee Schedule page.

You can pay the fee with a money order, personal check, or cashier’s check or pay by credit card or debit card using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions.  If you pay by check, you must make the check payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

When you send a payment, you agree to pay for a government service.  Filing fees are final and non-refundable, regardless of any action we take on your application, petition, or request, or if you withdraw your request.  If you pay by credit card or debit card, you cannot later dispute the payment.  Use our Fee Calculator to help determine your fee.

If you are submitting multiple forms, pay each filing fee separately.  We are transitioning to electronically processing immigration benefit requests, which requires us to use multiple systems to process your package.  We may reject your entire package if you submit a single, combined payment for multiple forms.

Fee Waiver

If you cannot afford the costs associated with Form I-131, please make sure to include a fee waiver request on Form I-912, Application for Fee Waiver (or other written request).  For more information about filing a fee waiver request, visit the webpages on Form I-912 and on Additional Information on Filing a Fee Waiver.

There is no fee for Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support.

You must also cover all costs associated with attending an interview outside the United States, as well as completing a medical examination and traveling to the United States.

The FWVP program was created in June 2016 in recognition of the contributions and sacrifices of Filipino veterans from World War II and their families. Certain Filipino World War II veterans and their spouses who are U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents may request parole for certain family members.

Although we announced in August 2019 our intention to end the FWVP program, we no longer plan to terminate the program.

It is helpful to remember:

• USCIS and the Department of State strongly urge you and your family members to remain vigilant about the possibility of individuals who claim to be U.S. government representatives asking for money. These individuals, or “scammers,” may attempt to trick you into paying them by offering to help file applications for the FWVP program. To learn more about common immigration scams and how to report scammers, please visit our Avoid Scams page.
• Websites ending in ".gov” are official government websites. Information on official U.S. government websites ending in “.gov” is official and correct. Official U.S. government email addresses also end in “.gov,” and you should be suspicious of any correspondence coming from an address that does not end with “.gov.”

• Optional Checklist - Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP)
• FWVP Fact Sheet
• How to check if your immigrant visa is available (English)
• How to check if your immigrant visa is available (Tagalog)
• Humanitarian Reinstatement
• Department of State Visa Bulletin
• Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)
• USCIS fee schedule
• Additional Information on Filing a Fee Waiver
• Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility

Forms

• Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
• Form I-864, Affidavit of Support
• Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
• Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
• Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support
• Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
• Form I-601A, Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver