Marcos, Entourage Have U.S. Visas Extended for Another Year

Exiled Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos and his entourage, whose visas were due to expire today, have been given permission to stay in the United States for another year.

Marcos and his 90-member entourage were placed on routine six-month parole status when they arrived in Honolulu after fleeing the Philippines in February.

A one-year extension of Marcos’ U.S. visa was announced Monday by William Craig, district director of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The extension also applies to the 120 to 140 non-citizens and family members who left the Philippines with Marcos or joined him shortly after he came to Hawaii.

The agency can extend the parole status indefinitely for Marcos, Craig said.

The Reagan Administration earlier sought other countries to serve as a home in exile for Marcos but had difficulty finding a country that would accept him.

The efforts were also hampered by the refusal of the Aquino administration to grant Marcos a passport.

Philippine government officials have said they preferred that Marcos remain in the United States so his activities can be monitored and efforts can be made to recover money and other wealth he allegedly took from his homeland.