US Senator Daniel Akaka has reintroduced a bill to make it easier for children of Filipino World War II veterans to immigrate to the United States.

The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act would reunify families that are separated because of a backlog in visa applications to the State Department, Akaka (Democrat-Hawaii), said.

Family-sponsored immigrants from the Philippines have the longest wait times in the world before visas are scheduled to become available to them.

The average wait for Filipinos to receive a visa is 20 years.

"Many of the Filipino veterans who now reside in the United States have been separated from their children for many years," he said.

About 200,000 Filipinos served in World War II, and about 49,000 of them are still living. That number is expected to shrink to 20,000 by 2010.

The bill was part of Senate's immigration reform bill passed last year but never enacted into law. A compromise bill couldn't be agreed upon by the House and Senate. AP