Love and deportability: Divorce, domestic violence and immigration laws
WHAT if I do not have legal papers, and my spouse is abusive? If safety is a concern, we urge people to seek help first, particularly if there are minor…
Category: Immigration
Covering the week’s most noteworthy immigration news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
Read More
Can a divorcing couple agree to pay for their adult children’s college expenses in their divorce judgment?
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…
Should the family pay for an ‘expensive approval’?
After the Petitioner died, three Humanitarian Revalidation requests were denied TATAY Samuel petitioned his eldest child, Ismael, in 1996. However, Tatay Samuel died in 2014, and his petition “died” with…
Can I get a green card if I had previous marriage petition denied based on fraud?
DEAR Attorney Tan, I recently married a US Citizen, who is my second husband. He has filed an immigrant visa petition and green card application for me. My husband recently…
Can a divorcing couple agree to pay for their adult children’s college expenses in their divorce judgment?
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…
The new H1B cap registration system
NOONG Enero 9, 2020, ang USCIS ay nagbigay ng pormal na anunsyo ng implementasyon ng H1B registration process para sa Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 H1B cap-subject petitions. Kasama sa H1B…
Filipino church leaders arrested in immigrant trafficking scam
Three Filipino church leaders based in the United States were arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents on Wednesday, January 29, for allegedly trafficking its members from the Philippines…
PH not on list of countries eligible for H-2A and H-2B visa programs
THE U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State (DOS), announced last week the list of countries whose…
Should the family pay for an ‘expensive approval’?
After the petitioner died, three humanitarian revalidation requests were denied TATAY Samuel petitioned his eldest child, Ismael, in 1996. However, Tatay Samuel died in 2014, and his petition “died” with…
No visas for ‘offspring’
Children of derivatives, called “Offspring,” are NOT eligible for immigrant visas. This would include any babies of Derivative Children (or grandchildren of the Primary Beneficiary). DEAR Atty. Gurfinkel: Years ago,…
Supreme Court allows ‘public charge’ rule expansion that could impact legal immigration
The United States Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with enforcing changes to the public charge rule that could deny legal permanent residency status to certain immigrants if…
AAPI organizations in LA launch collaborative for 2020 census outreach
Community organizations in Los Angeles launched a collaborative campaign this week to encourage participation in the 2020 census as Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) risk being undercounted. Led by…
K-1 fiancé(e) visa: Getting your significant other to the United States
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 country in which he/she…
Inadmissibility due to false claim to US citizenship
ANG isang dayuhan na may false claim ng US citizenship upang makakuha ng mga benipisyo sa ilalim ng federal law o state law ay maaaring maging inadmissible. Ang mga sumusunod…
What is a postnuptial agreement?
A POSTNUPTIAL agreement is a contract between you and your spouse entered into after you get married resolving issues in your marriage. It is similar to a prenuptial agreement except…
Puerto Rican and Filipino groups join forces for 2020 Census
NEW YORK — For the first time, community organizations in New York and Florida are coming together to ensure Puerto Ricans and Filipinos are correctly counted come Census Day on…
February 2020 priority dates
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…
California divorce with a twist: The military spouse
SAN Diego is “military town” and Navy and Marine Corps families abound, as well as retirees from different branches of our military. The military life is a test of resilience…
Putative spouse status as a defense to a petition for nullity of marriage
“A putative spouse must have had a good faith belief in the existence of a lawful California marriage.” ALL property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person…
USCIS announces new H-1B visa procedures
ON January 9, 2020, the USCIS finalized the implementation of a significant change to the processing of H-1B visa petitions this year. Consequently, there will not be a short filing…
Studying in the US under F1 Visa
ANG isang dayuhan na nagnanais mag-aral sa US bilang full-time student ay kailangang kumuha ng student visa mula sa US Embassy o US Consulate sa kanyang bansa. Ang F1 academic…
Putative spouse status as a defense to a petition for nullity of marriage
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…
Filipino and Puerto Rican diasporas band together for 2020 Census outreach
For the first time, community organizations in New York and Florida are coming together to get an accurate count of many Puerto Ricans and Filipinos there are, come Census Day…
Vegas AAPI organizations gear up for 2020 census outreach
LAS VEGAS — With Census Day approaching on April 1, local Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations are beginning to encourage community members to fill out the questionnaire. The…
NVC will shred your case if you don’t respond
DEAR Atty. Gurfinkel: I petitioned my married son in 1998 while he was still in the Philippines. He later came to the U.S. on a visitor’s visa and overstayed. We…
Census poses no risk to DACA holders, experts say, encouraging participation
by Pilar Marrero (Ethnic Media Services/La Opinion) In this issue, we continue with our occasional series meant to answer the most frequently asked questions regarding the census. If you have…
Job changes after approved I-140 immigration petition
UPANG makakuha ng employment-based green card, karaniwan ay may tatlong yugto para dito. Ang unang yugto ay ang PERM Labor Certification, kung saan ang US employer ay magpapakita sa US…
Can I obtain a divorce if my spouse refuses to sign?
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…
Lessons learned: Family should always come first on a brand-new episode of Citizen Pinoy!
NANAY Rosita left her children in 1984 to find greener pastures in the U.S. She took various jobs while she was TnT, until she finally got her green card in…
Changing visa categories and priority dates
WHEN a petition is filed for a family member, the beneficiary (the person being petitioned) is assigned a “priority date,” which is their “place in line” for a visa. They…