MY last article dealt with the fact that many Pilipinos have misconceptions or are misinformed about family law here in the United States, specifically, in the State of California. They tend to not know their rights or the parameter of rights that deal with the area of family law. These areas include divorces, custody, child/spousal…
DEAR Atty. Gurfinkel: I received my green card through my employer’s petition, but the priority date on my petition retrogressed (went backwards) before I was able to bring my family from the Philippines. I have now been waiting several years, and the priority date is moving forward so slowly. Is there any other, or faster,…
THE power to give, take away, and deport. The United States does not welcome you with open arms. It allows non-citizens entry into the United States, under certain conditions. When these conditions are broken, you can expect nothing but the full force of the United States government through the Department of Homeland Security to bear…
IF, years ago, you were petitioned by an employer, and that employer’s petition (Form I -140) was approved, but you never received a green card from that case, a new employer could petition you, and you could possibly have the old priority date transferred to the new case. This could save years of waiting time…
(Part 1 of 2) The issues surrounding the presidential candidacy of Senator Grace Poe will not seem to die down. Whether it is purely an honest attempt to search for the truth and comply with constitutional requirements or a political ploy to keep her out of the race, the issues are worth the Supreme Court’s…
CONSIDER the common divorce scenario where the divorce judgment provides primary custody of the children to one spouse while the other spouse only gets visitation. The parties begin to file separate tax returns. What are the tax consequences of the non custodial parents with regards to claiming the children in his or her return? A…
THE United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will once again begin accepting petitions for H-1B working visas on April 1, 2016. Petitions may be submitted for employment to commence on or after October 1, 2016. It is imperative that interested applicants have their petition submitted to the USCIS between April 1-7, 2016, or it…
ON 1/19/2016, the US Supreme Court granted the writ of certiorari filed by the Obama Administration in the case United States, et al. v Texas. This means that the Supreme Court, in its discretion, has decided to review this particular case. (The Supreme Court does not have to hear a case unless the case is…
ON January 19, 2016, the US Supreme Court agreed to review the legality of President Obama’s executive action, which he announced in November 2014, of Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and expanding the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Those programs would have halted the deportation/removal of millions…
ONE of President Obama’s immigration executive actions announced in November 2014 is to advance the filing of adjustment of status/green card applications for individuals who have approved employment-based immigrant petitions. Termed as “visa modernization”, Homeland Security Secretary Johnson directed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work with the Department of State (DOS) to…
RAFAEL Edward “Ted” Cruz, the Republican Junior Senator from Texas, was born on December 22, 1970, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to Rafael Cruz, Sr., originally from Cuba, and Eleanor Darragh, who was born in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. It is reported that Ted Cruz was born a citizen of Canada under the Canadian Citizen Act of…
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…
THE country’s economy may be rebounding but a lot of people are still feeling the effects of the last economic downturn. Many who have not been able to recover from the last recession are having difficulty paying their debts. Creditors have referred these defaulting debtors to collection agencies. Some of these collection agencies have become…
ALL property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in California is community property. Family Code 760. However, there are situations in which the marriage may be held to be null and void. These situations include, but are not limited to entering into a bigamous marriage, fraud…
THIS constitutional issue is before the Philippine Supreme Court for final decision on petitions for certiorari filed by Grace Poe from the COMELEC’s en banc decision. Article VII, Section 2 of the Philippine 1987 Constitution states the 10-year residence requirement as follows: “No person may be elected President or Vice-President unless he is … a…
THERE are 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas available yearly and these employment-based immigrant visa are divided into five preference categories: Priority Workers (E1); Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees and Persons of Exceptional Ability (E-2); Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Unskilled Workers (Other Workers) (E-3); Certain Special Immigrants (E-4); and Immigrant Investors (E-5). There are several steps for employment-based…
ON January 4, 2016, the USCIS announced that people should NOT submit original documents (such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, photographs, naturalization certificates, etc.) to USCIS with any application or petition unless: • the instructions for that form require you to submit original documents at the time of filing; or • after you…
FOREIGN professionals wishing to immigrate to the US (as permanent residents) may do so under 3 general classifications: • 1st Preference (EB1) – extraordinary ability foreign professionals; outstanding researchers and professors; and multinational executives and managers known as “priority workers” • 2nd Preference (EB2) – foreign professionals with advanced degrees and professionals of exceptional ability…
THE purpose of spousal support is not defined by the legislature in that its purpose varies according to the facts and circumstances of each case. The facts and circumstances of a particular case may be such which call for no spousal support, or for support for a very limited period of time, with the purpose…
IN a divorce proceeding, people sometimes have a misconception that the only assets or properties that have to disclose assets and properties situated in California. Even worst, sometimes parties even think that since an asset or property is situated in a different country or state, that property is not community property and not subject to…
THERE has been much undeserved criticism and condemnation hurled at USCIS and consular officers over issuing a fiancée (K – 1) visa to the female terrorist in the San Bernardino shootings. I would like to offer my defense of those officers, as I do not believe the USCIS and consular officers should be faulted. However,…
THE power to give, take away, and deport. The United States does not welcome you with open arms. It allows non-citizens entry into the United States, under certain conditions. When these conditions are broken, you can expect nothing but the full force of the United States government through the Department of Homeland Security to bear…
AN important part of Christmas is buying gifts for loved ones. Filipinos are busy filling their balikbayan boxes with pasalubong, to send to their families “back home.” The pasalubong may consist of clothes, food items, electronics, or other useful items, given as a way of “sharing one’s blessings.” However, many Filipinos forget about what could…
A CHILD born abroad to parents who are both United States citizens (USCs), or to a United States citizen (USC) mother or father, has a claim to citizenship either through “acquisition” (acquiring citizenship at birth) or “derivation” (citizenship acquired after birth). Either parent may report the birth of a child born abroad to the United…
FOR individuals who are seeking to obtain lawful permanent residency, any past fraud or misrepresentation renders the individual inadmissible and ineligible to legalize status unless they are granted a fraud waiver. This includes all individuals who have committed fraud, even those who are married to a United States citizen. Immigration fraud occurs when an individual…
(Part 1) FOR many people, attaining US citizenship is the final step in achieving their “American Dream.” After getting a green card, they eagerly count off the years until they are finally eligible to apply for naturalization. However, for some people, applying for citizenship could cause problems, issues, and even being stripped of their green…
JON and Kate own and operate a successful real estate business in California. In addition to owning a beautiful home, they had acquired several homes and apartment buildings which they rented out. In 2008, when the United States economy was struggling and the real estate business was sluggish, Jon and Kate decided to take a…
BY Resolution issued on December 1, 2015, the Second Division of the Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruled that Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe-Llamanzares is not a resident of the Philippines for at least ten (10) years immediately preceding the May 9, 2016 elections, as required by Article VII, Section 2 of the Philippines 1987…
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…
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. …
