Testing in LA County gradually expands, but the criteria for obtaining a test remains stringent A FILIPINA from Orlando, Florida — who was in Los Angeles visiting family — died on March 10 from the novel coronavirus, making her the first death by COVID-19 in LA County. The woman, whose first name was Loretta and…
Foreigners will be temporarily barred from traveling to the Philippines starting Sunday, March 22, following the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)’s suspension of visa issuances amid the threat of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The DFA announced the travel ban on Thursday, March 19, which cancels previously issued visas and those currently being processed for foreigners…
Thirteen additional cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in the Philippines, bringing the official count to 230, the Department of Health reported on Friday, March 20. The department announced that one of the patients with COVID-19 has died, bringing the total number of fatalities to 18. Ten of the new cases are…
President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, March 20, appealed to the local government units (LGUs) to abide by the directives set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. “We are in a critical time [and] the national government needs your help during this time. Do not make this quarantine more…
Taxpayers in the United States will have three additional months to file their federal taxes, the U.S. treasury secretary announced on Friday, March 20. Tax Day will now be moved from April 15 to July 15 to give taxpayers more time amid the coronavirus pandemic. “All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to…
ANG H1B application process ay inumpisahan na noong Marso 1, 2020 sa pamamagitan ng H1B cap electronic registration. Ayon sa USCIS, ang electronic registration ay mananatiling bukas hanggang Marso 20, 2020 para sa 2021 fiscal year (FY). Ito ay sang-ayon sa pormal na pahayag ng USCIS noong Enero 9, 2020 ukol sa implementasyon ng H1B…
Q: I work for a company that provides 40 hours of paid sick leave. This is about five days of work. If I ever need to take leave due to COVID-19, five days may not be enough. What are my options? A: As of this writing, the recorded cases of COVID-19 is approaching 11,000 in…
MANY parents believe that if you are a working parent, then the other non-working parent will get physical custody of the minor children automatically. This is a misperception of the law and simplifies the law too much that it trivializes it. There are many more issues that a court must look at in determining which…
THE Covid-19 Pandemic is a scary reality which affects everyone globally and has shut down the global economy. Individuals over 65 are more at risk of having serious complications with this virus. Although we cannot completely control how we would respond to such virus, we can prepare our finances and estate incase the worst happens. …
DIGEST and follow this information if you hope and pray that you and your family will survive the coronavirus pandemic because your lives really depend on them. As of press time on Friday, March 20, COVID-19 has infected more than 258,000 people around the world and has killed more than 11,300. Here in the United…
“ This is now the best time for our light, our Christian faith, to shine!” AS I was praying in the rectory chapel last Tuesday morning, the glaring light of the sun came through the room and hit my face, prompting me to look out from the window. Then I saw the morning sun beaming…
“Loss of earnings is often a significant part of an injured person’s claim for economic damages.” DEAR Attorney Tan, I was driving home and was at a complete stop when another driver rear-ended my car. I was not feeling well after the accident, as my back seemed very tight and stiff. I took some days…
‘SAFER AT HOME’ RESIDENTS in Los Angeles County can still go to the grocery store, pick up takeout orders at restaurants or go on hikes with proper social distancing, but trips to the shopping mall or other nonessential retail businesses will be prohibited for the next 30 days. LA County officials and LA Mayor Eric…
THESE are trying times indeed. We have been advised to self-isolate in the meantime that we are waging a war against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Sure, social distancing makes a whole lot of sense. But what happens to all those new bankruptcy cases I just filed on behalf of my clients with 341A hearings coming…
The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles has temporarily suspended its consular services indefinitely in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spread. The suspension, which took place on Thursday, March 19, is in place until further notice. The services include passport renewal, notarization, dual citizenship, civil registry, visas, overseas voter registration and outreach. The consulate…
By: Seema Nanda, Rep. Grace Meng, and Bel Leong-Hong ACROSS the country, COVID-19 is taking its toll. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that despite the continued lack of widespread testing, they have identified more than 10,000 infections across all 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin…
FILIPINO restaurants in New York are feeling the pinch as the lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic forced them to drastically cut their operations, doing away with dine-in and focusing only on pick up, to go or delivery. Restaurants in the city are among the particularly hard-hit and the restrictions made by the governors of…
The Philippine Consulate General is set to reopen on March 27, Friday after the mandatory 14-day isolation period for close exposure incidents. Upon its reopening, the consulate will be implementing some limitations in order to conform to current COVID19 mitigation measures. Among these measures are the immediate suspension of dual citizenship applications and processing, personal…
Watch Atty. Gurfinkel’s latest immigration update on COVID 19, where USCIS is cancelling all in-person services until at least April 1, 2020, and Immigration Courts (EOIR) have cancelled all non-detained hearings (Master and merits).
Actress Vanessa Hudgens, who is part Filipina, came under fire after making dismissive remarks about the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a live video on Instagram. “I’m sorry, but like, it’s a virus, I get it, like, I respect it, but at the same time I’m like, even if everybody gets it, like yeah, people…
AS attorneys, we get frantic or panicked phone calls from our clients worried about their cases. It’s a natural response – nobody wants to be in a place of unknowing – and we try our best to walk people through the process. For the most part, the panic comes from information gathered from the wonderful…
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 priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date…
SAN FRANCISCO Mayor London N. Breed on Tuesday, March 17 announced a moratorium on commercial evictions for small and medium-sized businesses related to financial impacts caused by COVID-19. The moratorium will prevent any small- to medium-sized business from being evicted due to a loss of income related to lost revenue or other economic impacts caused…
MANILA — Vice President Leni Robredo in a video released on Tuesday evening, March 17 called for more social safety nets for the poorest Filipinos affected by a month of quarantine. The vice president appealed to the private sector to provide meals and financial aid to affected barangays and communities. Robredo backed the strategy of social distancing to…
COUNTY and city officials from seven Bay Area counties issued a “shelter-in-place” order this week for its residents in a bid to stop the spread of the newly-discovered coronavirus (SARS-CoV2), which has been designated as COVID-19, in areas where cases are increasing. The order, announced on Monday, March 16, affects about 7 million people in…
HERE are some medical facts and practical Do-It-Yourself (DIY) measures to ward off the COVID-19 infection that is now a serious pandemic. CAVEAT: A clean well-ventilated home is our safest sanctuary. Self-quarantine by everyone around the world will help end this pandemic much sooner. Wisdom and a healthy dose of rational fear and paranoia (medical…
