The English language exception in US citizenship applications
A LEGAL permanent resident is eligible to apply for citizenship if he or she has been a permanent resident for at least five (5) years and meets all the eligibility…
Category: Immigration
Covering the week’s most noteworthy immigration news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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You cannot make up your own marriage laws
MARRIAGES are usually governed by the laws of the place of celebration. In the Philippines, the Family Code deals with the validity, invalidity, and termination of local marriages. Despite these…
Criminal history and US Immigration Laws: Deferred Action (DACA)
WITH all the news surrounding Immigration, noncitizens cannot lose sight of current programs still in place for those who are eligible. For example, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)…
What immigration benefits are available to same-sex marriages post DOMA?
ON June 26, 2013, the US Supreme Court struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional in the landmark case US. V. Windsor. The BIA…
U Visa for victims of criminal activity
THE U Visa is a non-immigrant visa intended for certain people who have been victims of one or more of specific crimes or similar activities punishable under federal, state, or…
Do you need to be living in separate residences to be considered ‘separated’ from your spouse under the California family law?
FAMILY Code 760 provides that all property acquired by the spouse during the marriage is community property. That means each spouse has a half interest on any assets that are…
Things that can mess up your child’s CSPA eligibility
ELIGIBILITY for benefits under Section 3 of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) is based on a mathematical formula, where you subtract from the child’s age the length of time…
Humanitarian Parole for urgent medical and family cases
CARLOS is a married child petitioned by his US citizen father. His priority date is October 30, 1992 and it’s just a matter of months before his visa becomes available. …
Paternity actions
I HAVE had many clients who come into my offices and ask questions about what to do with their child or children that are born out-of-wedlock, meaning the biological parents…
The March 2016 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…
Love and pain: Domestic violence and US immigration laws
IT’S Valentine’s Day and Malena woke up to a bouquet of bright red roses and a box of chocolates by her bedside. There was a handwritten note from her husband…
I filed my own divorce but I am having problems finishing it
MANY people try to file and open their own divorce case without an attorney in an effort to save on legal fees. Often, the self-represented divorce litigant would seek the…
H-1B Visa 101
SINCE it is practically “H-1B season” once again, this is an appropriate time to discuss the H-1B visa applications. The USCIS will start accepting new H-1B quota- based applications on…
Fraud waiver under INA section 237(A)(1)(H)
IMMIGRANTS sometimes find themselves in immigration removal proceedings (deportation) because they have obtained their green cards through fraud and or misrepresentation. A common example would be married children of US…
USCIS reverses itself and grants citizenship to Australian lawful permanent resident
ON December 16, 2015, a female Australian lawful permanent resident was allowed to take her oath of allegiance and granted U.S. citizenship. Previously, by Decision dated June 25, 2015, her…
Child support in California
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…
A new family petition could be faster than waiting for your pending employment case
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…
What makes you deportable
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…
It could be possible to retain and transfer your old employment-based priority date
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…
The ‘Grace Poe’ dilemma
(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…
Tax consequences of divorce, non-custodial parents
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…
April deadline for H-1B visas
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…
Supreme Court to hear and review the expanded DACA and DAPA case
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…
Supreme Court agrees to review Obama’s executive action on DAPA and expanded DACA
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…
The new visa bulletins – when can you file your green card application?
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. …
Why Ted Cruz is a natural-born US citizen
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,…
The February 2016 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…
Debtors’ rights against unscrupulous collection agencies
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…
What happens when spouse files 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…
Why Grace Poe has 10-year Philippine residence
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…