IF you are adopting a child from a foreign country and wish to bring the child to the United States, you must comply with the adoption laws of the child’s country of origin, the laws of the United States and the laws of your state of residence (“home state”). In addition, you must comply…
The growing threat of international terrorism, which apparently is without territorial boundaries, has prompted the Department of State (DOS) to tighten its rules of entry into the US. DOS is the governmental entity that works hand in hand with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is in charge of prospective immigrants to the US. …
THREE years ago President Obama made an important announcement and made clear his intent to help “Dreamers”; young people who were brought to the U.S. unlawfully by their parents. He announced his plan for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”), an executive measure that allowed him to provide certain benefits to these young people due…
MANY fathers and mothers have their own ideas of child custody and the standard to which Courts use in determining custody of children. Automatically, most parents believe that the children would naturally go to their mother. This perception is incorrect—the children do not automatically go to the mother. Rather, the Family Code statutes have a…
AN action under the DVPA (Domestic Violence Protection Act) seeking a restraining order often is necessary to protect parties from abuse or domestic violence perpetrated by the other spouse or significant other. At times, it is effective in preventing harm to one of the parties. At the same time, this process is sometimes…
QUESTION: The last thing I want to do is go through Probate. Can you let me know if there are any other options? Answer: It is possible. There is what is known as a Small Affidavit of Estate. Generally, small estate transfers can be made if there is a probate or a Trust or if…
We have recently discussed how criminal convictions could lead to removal or inadmissibility. However, under INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i), an alien is also inadmissible if he admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) or a controlled substance violation. Thus, to be inadmissible due to a CIMT or controlled substance…
(For a good faith marriage) MOST people in love profess their 100 percent unconditional, eternal love of another person, with all of their heart and with all of their soul. For immigration purposes, their love need only be 51 percent to establish a bona fide, good faith marriage. This is because the standard of proof…
MARIO and Leila were granted legal permanent resident (LPR) status in May 2008, through the petition of their son who is in active duty in the United States Navy. After only 7 months, Mario went back to the Philippines and for the past 7 years have been in and out of the United States, staying…
IF you are contemplating divorce, have you ever wondered the exact date you “separated” from your spouse? The date of separation is one of the most litigated issues in a divorce case. Its determination can have a significant economic consequence in the outcome of the case. The reason being, a spouse’s “earnings and accumulations” after…
DEAR Atty. Gurfinkel: I received my green card through my employer’s petition, but the priority date on my petition suddenly retrogressed (went backwards) before I was able to bring my family from the Philippines. In fact, in just a few short months, the priority date retrogressed from October 2014 all the way back to January…
WHAT happens when my green card expires? Lawful Permanent Resident status is not affected by the expiration of the Form I-551, or the “green card.” A person does not lose his or her status as a lawful permanent resident of the United States by the mere fact that their green card has expired. However, individuals…
JUNE 12 marked the three year anniversary for President Obama’s program to shield young people often referred to as DREAMers from deportation. During these past three years, DACA has given countless opportunities to young people who once had no ability to secure a job, attend a university, or obtain a driver’s license legally in the…
LEGAL Separation is an alternative to a dissolution or divorce. Although a legal separation can be maintained on the same grounds as a dissolution action i.e. irreconcilable differences, a judgment of legal separation does not terminate marital status. In other words, the parties cannot remarry. Most people pursue this alternative action due to religious or…
A criminal conviction for a firearm offense may affect an alien’s immigration status or his eligibility for relief. The immigration consequences of a firearm conviction would depend on the status of the alien. If an alien is applying for a visa or for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, a firearm conviction would not necessarily disqualify…
IN November 2014, President Obama announced he was implementing various immigration executive actions, including Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). These programs would enable certain children brought to the US before age 16 and certain parents of US citizen or immigrant children to obtain relief from deportation…
ONE way of obtaining an immigrant visa here in the United States is through a petition filed by the US citizen or legal permanent resident spouse. The US citizen or legal permanent resident spouse must file an immigrant petition with the US Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS) to start the immigrant visa process. Depending on…
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…
AS early as April 7, 2015, the USCIS announced that the statutory cap for the fiscal year (FY) 2016 of 65,000 H-1B visa applications for the general category and 20,000 under the advanced degree exemption have been reached. As you may be aware, the H-1B visa program allows US employers to temporarily hire alien workers…
QUESTION: I did my Will many years ago and I need to add some items and change some items. What can I do? Answer: A codicil is a testamentary document that supplements, amends, qualifies, or republishes a prior testamentary document. Question: Can I just draft a codicil and sign it? Answer: A codicil must be…
The Supreme Court recently ruled, in Kerry v. Din there is no constitutional “due process right” for the spouse of a US citizen to immigrate to America. The US citizen wife claimed the government did not provide an adequate explanation why her husband’s immigrant visa was refused and violated her constitutional right “to live in…
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 include the areas of divorces, custody, child/spousal support, paternity actions, wills/trusts, property rights,…
QUESTION: I ran away from my country because my husband kept beating me. Is there anything that I can do? Answer: There were actually no way you could have claimed asylum just a couple years ago. However, times have changed and it is now possible to claim asylum based on different factors. In a case…
THE July 2015 Visa Bulletin continues to provide disappointing news for Filipinos, as the priority dates in the employment based categories (EB-3 and Other Workers) retrogressed (moved backwards) yet again, and are now “unavailable”. This means all EB-3 and OW’s will no longer be eligible to adjust status or receive an immigrant visa, unless and…
IF you acquired permanent resident status through a marriage of less than two (2) years, you are a conditional permanent resident. You and your spouse must file a joint Petition to Remove Conditions within ninety (90) days before the 2nd year anniversary of the date of your adjustment or the date of your arrival in…
DEAR Atty. Gurfinkel: I am a US citizen (I got my green card through my US citizen husband), and I petitioned my mother. But she was denied at the Embassy because the consul said I am not her daughter. During her medical exam at St. Luke’s, the doctors were questioning her how I could be…
DURING initial consultations, some debtors contemplating filing bankruptcy have expressed their personal preference of filing Chapter 7, instead of Chapter 13, for various reasons such as a shorter time frame to get a discharge under a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. While a majority of bankruptcy filings may qualify for Chapter 7, some might not. One…
RECENTLY, I had a third year international college student do a consultation with me. She had married her US citizen boyfriend. She hired an “immigration consultant” referred to her by her aunt in Chinatown. This consultant helped her complete an I-130 petition, but failed to file a green card application. Additionally, he had filed an…
QUESTION: I have a bunch of assets in other places than California. Also, I will be moving soon. Is there a Will I can use here for my Last Will and Testament? Answer: There are those people who come from other countries, or will move to another country or who will move to another State….
A QUESTION that invariably arises during divorce proceedings is whether assets are properly characterized as community or separate property. If property is characterized as community property, it must be divided between spouses equally upon dissolution of marriage. Fam. Code Sec. 2550. Under California community property principles, a general presumption exists that property acquired during marriage…
