Roberto and Rosalie immigrated to the United States in May 2013 through the petition of their only son Carlos, who is in the military, and who lives in North Carolina. They have a comfortable life in the Philippines owning several fish ponds and rice lands in Bataan. They did not really want to migrate, but…
AMONG the series of executive actions on immigration which President Obama announced last 11/20/14 is the expansion of the use of provisional waivers of unlawful presence to include the spouses and sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents and the sons and daughters of US citizens. As you may be aware, only immediate relatives of…
Over the course of my practice, I have had people come to me for consultation on their immigration situation. They may have been out of status, were not “grandfathered” under Section 245(i), had no employer or family member to petition them, etc. But they did have a child born in America. So, the advice for…
ALTHOUGH the Republican-dominated House of Representatives has passed a bill to reverse President Obama’s recently announced Executive Actions on immigration policy, it appears that the bill is already dead in its tracks. On Friday, January 16, 2015, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned House Republicans that he cannot make a “miracle” happen on Immigration. In fact, McConnell…
The February 2015 Visa Bulletin provides more great news for Filipinos, as the priority dates in the various family and employment categories continue to move forward. In fact, the priority date for workers has moved forward to January 1, 2014!! Each month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the…
On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced that its administration will stop deporting certain undocumented parents of US citizens and parents of legal permanent residents. These individuals will also be allowed to get work permits to enable them to work and get a driver’s license. This program has been named as Deferred Action for Parental…
Among the executive actions on immigration announced by President Obama last 11/20/2014 is the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability or DAPA. DAPA is a form of a prosecutorial discretion program to be administered by the Department of Homeland Security, through the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) which allows a qualified undocumented parent of a…
On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced a series of executive actions that would benefit certain classes of aliens. In the coming months, USCIS will come up with guidance in implementing these policies. DACA expanded Deferred Acton for Childhood Arrivvals (DACA) has been expanded to include individuals born prior to June 15, 1981 provided they…
On December 9, 2014, President Obama attended a Town Hall meeting in Nashville Tennessee, where he answered questions from those in attendance and further explained the benefits of his recent Executive Action (EA). The full transcript of that town hall meeting can be found on the Internet at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/09/remarks-president-immigration-town-hall-nashville-tennessee. However, I will summarize some of…
TO many people, the New Year signifies a chance to have a fresh beginning. People dispose of old personal items and clean out the closet in order to make room for the new. The same line of thinking goes with getting rid of the spouse upon realizing over the holidays that your spouse is stuck…
After Pres. Obama announced Executive Action (EA) on November 20, 2014, many people asked whether a new Republican Congress can or will attempt to block those measures, especially Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA). In my opinion, once these programs are implemented, the Republicans cannot or will not…
It is typical, if not natural, for Parties to a divorce case to start hiding assets and income from each other as soon as divorce is anticipated. Spouse’s are thinking ahead of the game on how they can outsmart the other spouse so that they end up with the larger portion of the pie. This…
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.” In fact, on November 20, 2014, President…
Under Family Code Section 2320, a judgment of marriage dissolution (divorce) may not be entered unless one of the spouses has been a “resident” of California for six months and of the county where the proceeding is filed for three months immediately preceding the filing of the petition. This poses a problem for divorcing couples…
On November 20, 2014, President Obama unveiled a number of executive proposals, which will provide deportation relief to many hardworking immigrants, documented and undocumented. The proposals are also aimed at clamping down on illegal immigration at the border and prioritizing enforcement efforts to remove dangerous felons and individuals who pose threat to national security and…
The January 2015 Visa Bulletin provides more great news for Filipinos, as the priority dates in the various family and employment categories continue to move forward. 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….
ON November 20, 2014, President Obama announced a series of executive actions which will greatly benefit many individuals residing in the United States without proper documentation. The main premise of the executive order is to promote family unity in the United States. To meet this goal, President Obama has announced DAPA, which stands for “Deferred…
AFTER months of speculation as to what President Obama’s Executive Action would bring for immigration reform, President Obama delivered a speech last night announcing executive action that provides immigration relief to millions of undocumented persons in the US. The focal point of the executive action is relief for undocumented parents of US Citizen children and…
Under INA 216(a)(1), an alien who: (1) applies for lawful permanent residence (LPR) based on marriage to a US citizen (USC) or LPR spouse; and (2) such marriage was entered less than 2 years at the time LPR status is granted, such alien acquires LPR status on a conditional basis. There are two ways to…
ESTABLISHING parentage rights for Moms is a lot easier than establishing one for unmarried Dads. Moms can establish this by simply showing proof of her having given birth to the child. Family Code §7610. Establishing parentage rights, including custody and visitation rights, becomes more problematic with unmarried Dads because proving yourself as the biological father…
On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced Executive Action (EA) concerning immigration. While there are many aspects or changes brought about by his announcement, one of those changes is the creation of a new “Deferred Action for Parental Accountability” (or DAPA), which is similar to the benefit he announced in 2012, Deferred Action for Childhood…
ON November 20, 2014, President Obama announced a series of executive actions that would benefit some undocumented aliens and improve some business-related aspects of the immigration process. Due to the scope of these executive actions, we shall first focus on actions that benefit undocumented aliens, which are expected to be the bulk of the beneficiaries…
Recently, the USCIS published 2014 statistics concerning filing of DACA applications, by the various countries. Although the Philippines has traditionally been one of the top-filing countries when it comes to immigration benefits, for some reason, Filipinos are not fully taking advantage of the marvelous immigration benefits presented through DACA. Those benefits include: • work authorization…
Many Filipino families are excited about President Obama’s announcement on November 20, 2014 concerning Executive Action (EA) which has, among other things, expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and now includes so many more young people. I know that when DACA first came out, many Filipinos were reluctant to come forward and apply. While…
AFTER months of speculation as to what President Obama’s Executive Action would bring for immigration reform, President Obama delivered a speech last night announcing executive action that provides immigration relief to millions of undocumented persons in the US. The focal point of the executive action is relief for undocumented parents of US Citizen children and…
Thanksgiving is when people take a step back and reflect on all of the wonderful things and events to be grateful for, and to give thanks to those people who played such a key role in helping us achieve them. At this Thanksgiving, I would like to once again give thanks to all of the…
The November elections have come and gone. The Republican Party has regained control of Congress. A passage of immigration reform seems more contentious than ever. Many immigrant advocate groups continue to urge meaningful reform in our broken immigration system. On November 12, 2014, the Obama Administration announced that it will unveil a comprehensive immigration plan…
In most cases, in order for a person to adjust status (obtain a green card) in the US, the person must prove he or she was “inspected and admitted” by an immigration officer at the airport or border (port of entry). This means that the person presented himself to an immigration officer who reviewed his…
IT IS estimated there are over 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US. Many hard-lined Republicans believe the solution to our immigration problem is to deport everyone in the US who is out of status or undocumented. Even Mitt Romney, when running for president, believed that the undocumented should “self deport”, meaning voluntarily go back…
SINCE the enactment of Section 204(l) in 2009, USCIS has issued official guidance to implement the provisions of the “Surviving Relatives Law.” USCIS has amended the USCIS’ Adjudicators’ Field Manual (AFM) to provide consistency in adjudications under the Surviving Relatives Law at USCIS offices throughout the Country. USCIS has been taking immediate action on many…
