Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks
THANKSGIVING is when people 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…
Category: Immigration
Covering the week’s most noteworthy immigration news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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Criminal convictions and immigration law
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….
Automatic citizenship and the US Department of State
In this day and age, the best travel document in your hands would be a U.S. passport. Hence the sense of urgency among immigrants to become U.S citizens. International travel…
Will incorporating a separate property business during marriage make it community property?
YOU own a successful business, as a sole proprietor, prior to marriage. You later meet the love of your life and decide to marry her. Years into the marriage, you…
December 2017 priority dates
F-1 and F-2B retrogress! THE December 2017 priority dates bring bad news for those Filipinos petitioned as adult single children of US citizens (F-1) or green card holders (F-2B). •…
Policy changes for employment-based petitions, heightened scrutiny for fraud and misrepresentation
CHANGES in adjudications of H-1B renewal petitions. On October 23, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that under updated policy guidance USCIS is instructing its officers to apply…
Disclosure and characterization of overseas assets in divorce
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…
Don’t let ICE agents bully you!
QUESTION: I have a friend that was ‘visited’ by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. They told him that he had no rights and that he was going to detention…
You don’t need a Philippine annulment to get married in the U.S.
DEAR Attorney Gurfinkel: I have been out of status in the U.S. since 2010. I’ve been separated from my husband since 2003, and he already has another family in the…
Petitioning children of your spouse from a previous marriage
“ Instead of marrying the biological parent, the U.S. citizen petitioner can just file a fiancé petition for the biological parent.” A STEPPARENT may file an immigrant petition for a stepchild even…
Disclosure and characterization of overseas assets in divorce
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…
Extension requests to be thoroughly reviewed, despite prior petition approval
SINCE about 2004, USCIS had a policy that if an initial H-1B petition was approved, and the alien later applied for an extension, the officer adjudicating the extension was to…
New USCIS policy: Adjustment interview for Employment-Based petitions
IN the past few months, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, beginning October 1, 2017, it will expand in-person interviews for employment-based adjustment of status (“AOS”…
CBP “inspects” domestic flight from SFO to JFK
ON October 12, 2017, several passengers aboard a domestic Delta flight from San Francisco to New York, filed a lawsuit against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), alleging a violation…
How important is it to have a living trust?
THINKING about one’s demise is not something people want to spend time thinking about. However reality is that we all have to face this one day. It is just a…
How to obtain a waiver for certain criminal grounds of inadmissibility
IN ur prior article, it was pointed out that an application for an immigrant visa and certain non-immigrant visas may be denied due to certain criminal grounds of inadmissibility. In some…
Do I need a premarital agreement before getting married?
IN the absence of a premarital agreement, the general community property presumption under California family code section 760 controls which provides “ ….all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired…
What do you do after you win asylum?
QUESTION: I have won asylum as of about two years ago. Is there anything I need to do? Answer: If you have come to the U.S. as a refugee or…
The November 2017 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…
Appealing a visa denial
ORDINARILY, there is no appeal process for visa refusals at the Embassy. Under the doctrine of “consular non-reviewability,” a person cannot even sue the embassy or appeal their visa refusals…
Petitioning children of your spouse from a previous marriage
A STEPPARENT may file an immigrant petition for a stepchild even without the stepparent having to legally adopt the stepchild. However, before a stepparent may be able to file an…
Will I qualify for a work permit?
QUESTION:: I entered the United States a couple of months ago as a visitor and would now like to work in the United States. I have a degree in Business…
Can the CBP search your electronic devices?
RECENTLY, he merican Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the ACLU of Massachusetts, on behalf of 10 U.S. citizens and a permanent resident, sued the Department of Homeland Security…
When exactly am I considered separated from my spouse in a divorce case?
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…
‘Your tanong, My sagot,’ part 1
A POPULAR segment on my weekly immigration television show, “Citizen Pinoy”, is “Your Tanong, My Sagot”, where people ask immigration questions on a variety of subjects, and I offer my…
Criminal convictions and immigration law
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….
Do I need a premarital agreement before getting married?
IN the absence of a premarital agreement, the general community property presumption under California family code section 760 controls which provides “ ….all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired…
Is real estate property purchased prior to marriage considered community property in a divorce?
Generally, in California, property acquired by a spouse prior to marriage is considered separate property under family code section 770 while those acquired after marriage are considered community assets under…
Think of getting married after 2 months of entry? Think again
Question: I entered a couple of months ago to the U.S. I want to get married and file my adjustment application. Do you see any problems with that? Answer: Yes,…
Things that could make your case suspicious
(Part 2) In a previous article, a reader, who was scheduled for his visa interview, asked about some of the things which could trigger suspicions or investigations by the Embassy,…