UNDER Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions (2011) 52 C.4th 541, the California Supreme Court ruled that persons who are injured and who are pursuing a personal injury claim cannot recover the full amount of medical bills incurred if an insurer paid a smaller, negotiated amount to the medical provider. The Court’s ruling further limited…
COUPLES get divorced for various reasons. California is a no fault state. The reasons why a couple is getting divorced are often irrelevant to the issues of the family law case. Divorce is often a difficult and negative experience for most families. However, getting divorce may have some unintended benefits in the immigration law arena. …
IN the Philippines, establishing family relationships can sometimes be extremely complex. A child may be born and then “given” to a relative, such as a childless aunt. A simulated birth certificate is bought on Recto Street and then recorded, making the aunt the biological mother. In other cases, a child is born out of wedlock,…
SOMETIMES, divorce happens. The following seeks to address or clarify some common misconceptions about divorce. “What if my husband/wife does not want to sign the divorce?” or “My husband/wife does not want to sign the divorce papers, what can I do.” California is a no-fault divorce state. A party filing for divorce does not need…
THE USCIS issued another Policy Memorandum on May 10, 2018, that imposes significant restrictions to F and M students, as well as J exchange visitors, who violate their status. The new policy will impose additional hurdles for legalizing the immigration status for those who violate their F, M, or J nonimmigrant status. The new policy…
“ A typical scenarion involves a person who entered the US years ago on a B-2 tourist visa, overstayed and was ordered removed by the Immigration Court.” WE have all heard the popular saying, “Timing is everything.” Unfortunately, this saying often adversely applies to those persons who have found an avenue from which to obtain…
IT is very common for beneficiaries of family based petition to wait many years before their petition’s priority date becomes current. This is usually the case with US Citizen parent petitions to adult son or daughter. This is also common among petition’s between Siblings. What happens when the Petitioner dies? Are all those years of…
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently issued a press release that they had a student removed/deported, when they found out that he was not attending class, as is required with a student visa. That student was enrolled in college as a nonimmigrant F-1 international student in an academic and cultural program. As an F-1…
WHAT makes a non-citizen deportable? An alien or non-citizen, including a lawful permanent resident (“green card” holder) is deportable for having a conviction relating to controlled substances. Title 8 U.S.C. Section 1227(a)(2)(B)(i) states: “Any alien who at any time after admission has been convicted of a violation of . . . any law or regulation…
THE date of separation is one of the most important facts to determine in a divorce case because it defines when the community interest ends and when separate property interest commences in a marriage. All property acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in the State of California is community property (Family…
“Upon arrival in the US, the fiancé(e) can immediately apply for authorization to work in the US. He/she does not have to wait until marriage to apply for work authorization.” SEVERAL options exist for a US citizen to bring his/her foreign-national fiancé(e) to the United States. One popular option is to marry the fiancé(e) in…
THE date of separation is one of the most important facts to determine in a divorce case because it defines when the community interest ends and when separate property interest commences in a marriage. All property acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in the State of California is community property (Family…
Each month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date…
CARLOS is a married child petitioned by his U.S. citizen father. His priority date is October 30, 1992 and it’s just a matter of months before his visa becomes available. Unfortunately, his father who is 87 years old, suffered a heart attack after Christmas and is now in a care facility. He applied for a…
“In your case, it appears that you are eligible to obtain a green card. You are a principal beneficiary of an I-130 petition filed by your US Citizen mother.” DEAR Attorney Tan, My US Citizen mother filed an I-130 immigrant petition on my behalf, which has a priority date in February 2000 and which has…
THERE seems to be a misconception in the general public that you can only obtain a divorce in California if your spouse will sign the divorce papers. I get this question a lot from our family law clients. The fact is that California is a no fault state and you do not need your spouse’s…
ALMOST every Filipino has seen the movie Titanic, the story of Jack and Rose who sailed that doomed ship, which hit an iceberg and sank. During consultations, I sometimes compare the person’s immigration situation to sailing on the Titanic. What do I mean by that? If a person wants to buy a ticket on the…
I JUST moved to California last month, and I’d like to file for divorce. Can I file now? To file for divorce in the State of California, the person filing (called the “Petitioner”) must first meet the jurisdictional requirements: (i) residence in the state of California from the past 6 months; and (ii) residence in…
THERE are opportunities in the immigration laws for an individual to automatically become a United States citizen. As U.S. citizenship bestows tremendous benefits, it is important for individuals to know when U.S. citizenship can automatically be derived and what to obtain to properly document a person’s U.S. citizenship. This is especially true for an individual…
DIVORCING couples with children sometimes worry about who is going to pay for their children’s college education after the divorce once their children graduates high school. They want a guarantee that their soon to be ex-spouse will share in the college expenses of their children. This is specially the case when the other spouse has…
“The DS-260 Immigrant Visa Application are very important submissions and should be reviewed and answered carefully by the applicant.” UPDATES on DACA. Last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), holding that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS)…
U.S. immigration law allows citizen parents to “transmit” or pass on U.S. citizenship to their children born abroad, provided certain requirements are met. One requirement for U.S. citizen fathers to transmit citizenship to their out of wedlock (illegitimate) children is that the child’s father (unless deceased) has agreed in writing to provide financial support for…
THE Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states that one of their greatest priorities is to arrest and deport individuals with criminal convictions. Since the start of the Trump administration, the rate of arrests to seek the removal of individuals with criminal violations has risen significantly. With this heightened possibility of deportation, it is important for…
A GREEN card holder can travel outside the U.S. and return with some limitations. If a green card holder is outside the U.S. for an extended period of time, he may be considered to have abandoned his permanent resident status. Brief travel (such as for a vacation) normally will not affect permanent resident status. However,…
ONE of the most emotional aspect of a marital dissolution case is dealing with Child custody issues. Sadly enough, this is an area where most parents play games with each other trying their best to deprive the other parents of their right to maintain relationship with their child. Child custody comes in two parts, 1)…
Dear Attorney Gurfinkel: I came to the U.S. many years ago, and am out of status. I have now been away from my spouse and children for many years, and have been desperately looking for ways I can bring them to the U.S. because we miss each other so much. I have an employer willing…
DEAR Attorney Gurfinkel: I came to the U.S. many years ago, and am out of status. I have now been away from my spouse and children for many years, and have been desperately looking for ways I can bring them to the U.S. because we miss each other so much. I have an employer willing…
THE Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 requires that US Citizens sponsoring an alien for legal permanent residency execute an immigration form I-864 Affidavit of Support. This is an agreement between the US Government and the Sponsor to promise to support the immigrant beneficiary seeking admission to the US at a level…
EACH month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date…
NEW Year, new resolutions, new life. For some of you, the New Year is a time for reflection, and to realize that changes are needed to be able to lead and live the life you’ve always wanted to lead. Sometimes, divorce happens. The following seeks to address or clarify some common misconceptions about divorce. “What…
