THIS is a common question among people contemplating divorce in California when the other spouse does not live in the state. The California Courts has the power to grant a divorce, annulment, or legal separation if either party is domiciled in the state. Domicile is where a person lives and intends to remain. However, there…
ON February 24, 2021, Pres. Biden revoked Trump’s immigration ban for immigrant visa applicants, which was scheduled to expire March 31, 2021. What this means is that, subject to COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing, embassies should now start scheduling people for their immigrant visa interviews immediately. (The ban is still in effect for non-immigrants, such…
ANG green card holder ay maaaring mag-file ng N400 Application for Naturalization kung siya ay may 5 taon nang green card holder (3 taon kung ang green card ay nakuha dahil sa kasal sa U.S. citizen at sila ay nagsasama pa din). Ang aplikante para sa naturalization ay kailangang magpakita na sa statutory period na…
DEAR Attorney Tan, I was driving home and was at a complete stop when another driver rear ended my car. I was not feeling well after the accident, as my back seemed very tight and stiff. I took some days off from work. After a week, I contacted the other driver’s insurance to report the…
THIS is a common question among people contemplating divorce in California when the other spouse does not live in the state. The California Courts has the power to grant a divorce, annulment, or legal separation if either party is domiciled in the state. Domicile is where a person lives and intends to remain. However, there…
ON February 18, 2021, Pres. Biden and the Democrats formally introduced the “U.S. Citizenship Act” of 2021. It is a massive bill, over 350 pages long, covering a variety of immigration issues, and reforms, including a pathway to U.S. citizenship for the approximate 11 million undocumented noncitizens in the U.S. I will not go through…
Generally, in California, property acquired by a spouse prior to marriage is considered separate property under family code section 770 while those acquired after marriage are considered community assets under family code section 760. How do you characterize real property purchased prior to marriage but with the mortgage principal paid down using community income or…
ANG family unification ay napakahalaga sa U.S. Immigration Law. Ang family-based immigrant category ay nagpapahintulot sa mga U.S. citizen (USC) at mga green card holder/lawful permanent resident (LPR) na mag-petition ng kanilang kapamilya para makarating sa U.S. na may immigrant visa. Kung ang mga kapamilya ay nasa U.S. na, maaaring silang makakuha ng green card…
“The process of apportioning between the separate and community property component is laid out in the Marriage of Marsden. In that case, the court determined the ratio or percentage in which the mortgage loan principal was reduced during the marriage and applied that percentage to the appreciation of the real property during the marriage.” GENERALLY,…
AS almost everyone is aware, the U.S. Embassy in Manila has not been issuing most immigrant visas since approximately March 2020 because of Covid-19 restrictions and the presidential proclamation, suspending visa issuance until April 2021. Here are some of the latest updates in connection with the Embassy reopening for immigrant visa processing: 1. The Embassy…
SA kasong United States v. Windsor, na lumabas noong Hunyo 2013, sinabi ng U.S. Supreme Court na ang Section 3 ng Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), na nagsasaad na ang salitang “kasal” ay tumutukoy lamang sa legal union ng isang lalaki at isang babae, bilang mag-asawa, at ang salitang “asawa” ay tumutukoy lamang sa magkaibang…
SEVERAL options exist for a U.S. citizen to bring his/her foreign-national fiancé(e) to the United States. One popular option is to marry the fiancé(e) in the country in which he/she resides, and file an I-130 immigrant petition, with the fiancé(e) to undergo consular processing for an immigrant visa when the I-130 petition is approved. However,…
GENERALLY, in California, property acquired by a spouse prior to marriage is considered separate property under family code section 770 while those acquired after marriage are considered community assets under family code section 760. How do you characterize real property purchased prior to marriage but with the mortgage principal paid down using community income or…
LEADING U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel presents the latest in immigration news and analysis, and provides the latest information and highlights from his YouTube immigration channel, US Immigration TV. Since it is Valentine’s Day, Citizen Pinoy celebrates “love” as Atty. Gurfinkel answers questions related to spouses and significant others on this week’s episode. Butch…
DEAR Attorney Gurfinkel: I entered the U.S. in 2000 on a visitor’s visa and overstayed. My sister filed a petition for me (F-4) in early 2001 under Clinton’s LIFE ACT. I am now receiving notices from the National Visa Center (NVC), advising me that I need to log onto their website, pay various fees, and…
ANG isang dayuhan na ineligible sa pagkuha ng green card sa loob ng U.S. dahil sa unlawful presence ay maaaring mag-apply ng I-601A Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver. Ang I-601A Waiver ay kailangang i-apply at maaprubahan bago umalis ang dayuhan sa U.S. para sa kanyang consular immigrant visa interview. Upang maging eligible para sa I-601A provisional…
MANY parents who may have problems refinancing their house due to low income in retirement or due to low credit score sometimes resort to the idea of having their married child serve as a co-borrower to refinance their house As part of the refinancing process, the parents usually adds their adult children to the deed…
ON February 2, 2021, Pres. Biden issued several additional Executive Orders (EO) on immigration. They include: (a) establishing a task force to reunify families separated at the border; (b) developing a strategy to address the irregular migration across the southern border, including a plan for safe, lawful, and orderly migration to the U.S.; and (c)…
SA ilalim ng U.S. Immigration Law, mayroon dalawang uri ng family-based immigrant visas: (1) Immediate Relative: asawa, dalaga o binatang anak [na wala pang 21 taon gulang], o magulang ng U.S. citizen [USC]; at (2) Family Preference: F1 – dalaga o binatang anak [na may 21 taon gulang na] ng USC; F2A – Asawa at…
DEAR Attorney Tan, I recently married a U.S. Citizen, who is my second husband. He has filed an immigrant visa petition and green card application for me. My husband recently received from USCIS a Notice of Intent to Deny the petition that he filed on my behalf. The Notice indicated that the immigrant visa petition…
President Biden announced the highlights of a plan to reform the U.S. immigration system. The anticipated bill is expected to feature a path to permanent residence and citizenship for qualifying undocumented foreign nationals and those holding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and H-2A status, mechanisms to clear extensive green card…
AS I reported in a previous article, on January 20, 2021, just after taking office, Pres. Biden issued an executive order calling for a 100-day pause on most deportations or removals. Immediately after that order was released, Texas filed a lawsuit, seeking a Temporary Restraining Order, and on January 26, 2021, a Texas federal judge…
The February 2021 priority dates, continue to provide great news for workers in the EB-3 (skilled/professional) and “other worker” (unskilled workers like caregivers). The priority dates for all countries (except India and China) are CURRENT! This includes the Philippines! This means visas are available, regardless of the person’s priority date. If a person is being petitioned by an employer, and their Form…
Immediately after President Biden issued an executive order for a 100-day pause on most deportations, Texas sued, and obtained a temporary restraining order blocking that order from going into effect, with the court stating that immigration law requires DHS to remove all people with removal orders within 90 days. What does this ruling mean for…
TO many people, the New Year signifies a chance to have a fresh beginning. This is also the time of the year many people realize when a marriage is not working out and it may be time to start a new life as a single person whether or not you have children. You can decide…
ANG I-130 Petition for Alien Relative ng isang U.S. citizen (USC) o lawful permanent resident (LPR) para sa kanyang dayuhang asawa batay sa kasal nila na naganap noong ang dayuhan ay nasa removal proceedings na ay karaniwang hindi maaaprubahan hanggang ang dayuhan ay manirahan sa labas ng U.S ng dalawang taon mula sa kanyang kasal…
President Biden submitted to Congress his “U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021,” which includes an eight-year pathway to citizenship for the approximate 11 million undocumented immigrants (non-citizens) in the U.S., immediate green cards for DACA and TPS recipients, an end to the 3/10 year bar, and more. In this video, I discussed some of the…
“If you and your spouse are communicating and have some type of respect left with one another, it may be more economical to continue residing in the same household until you resolve the issues in the divorce case.” TO many people, the New Year signifies a chance to have a fresh beginning. This is also…
Generally, in California, property acquired by a spouse prior to marriage is considered separate property under family code section 770 while those acquired after marriage are considered community assets under family code section 760. How do you characterize real property purchased prior to marriage but with the mortgage principal paid down using community income or…
