Affected transactions and sanctions under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)
AFFECTED Transactions A. Currency Transaction Report (CTR): You must report cash transactions in excess of $10,000 during the same business day. The amount over $10,000 can be either in one transaction or a combination of cash transactions. It is filed with the Internal Revenue Service. B. Monetary Instrument Log (MIL): You must indicate cash purchases…
USCIS tightens policy on student and exchange visitor violators
THE USCIS issued another Policy Memorandum on May 10, 2018, that imposes significant restrictions to F and M students, as well as J exchange visitors, who violate their status. The new policy will impose additional hurdles for legalizing the immigration status for those who violate their F, M, or J nonimmigrant status. The new policy…
Residing removal/ deportation order to allow for adjustment status
“ A typical scenarion involves a person who entered the US years ago on a B-2 tourist visa, overstayed and was ordered removed by the Immigration Court.” WE have all heard the popular saying, “Timing is everything.” Unfortunately, this saying often adversely applies to those persons who have found an avenue from which to obtain…
Clients seek to discharge $100K and $30K in credit card debt
Both qualify for different chapters of the bankruptcy code MOST debtors prefer to have a Chapter 7 wipe-out of debt. This is called a fresh start without debt. Most debtors who qualify for Chapter 7 debt relief get to keep everything they own but are able to get rid of all of their debt, thus,…
What is unlawful discrimination and how to protect against it
ON May 29, 2018, about 175,000 Starbucks workers at about 8,000 locations will undergo a training on race discrimination. The training session will focus on understanding both racial bias and the history of racial discrimination in public spaces in the United States. Starbucks announced the training session after two black men were arrested for allegedly…
Reinstating a deceased petitioner’s family-based petition
IT is very common for beneficiaries of family based petition to wait many years before their petition’s priority date becomes current. This is usually the case with US Citizen parent petitions to adult son or daughter. This is also common among petition’s between Siblings. What happens when the Petitioner dies? Are all those years of…
To be prophets of the world
THE Book of Jeremiah presents the most powerful passage regarding the role of a prophet. In Chapter 20:9 of the book, Jeremiah confessed that he could not be silent to speak in God’s name: “I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes…
Bankruptcy: Should you file now or later?
“If you’ve come to the end of your financial rope and don’t know what else to do, it is time to face your debt problems with dignity and do what your situation calls for.” THE last several years have been financially difficult for a lot of people. When the real estate marked crashed a few…
Filipina Iraq War veteran earns Democratic ticket in Texas runoff
If elected, Gina Ortiz Jones could be the first openly lesbian and first Filipina to represent the state of Texas in the U.S. Congress On Tuesday, May 22, Filipina American Gina Ortiz Jones won the Democratic nomination in the primary race for a Texas seat in the United States House of Representatives, advancing her to…
Silverlake Adult Day Health Care provides a ‘second home’ for seniors and the severely injured
SADHC and its wide range of services are free to anyone who has Medi-Cal Whether you are a senior citizen or a seriously injured individual, boredom can creep up on you rather early on. You’re often spending whole days at home, remaining stagnant instead of maintaining an active lifestyle. It’s easy to get into the…
Actor-model Juan Felipe Restrepo scores big, winning best in acting awards in Hollywood
Hollywood, CA – In living his American Dream, Hollywood actor-model Juan Felipe Restrepo is continuously setting goals for his international career. Back in his country of Colombia, he was involved in a popular theatre group named “La Maleta Roja.” This led him to performing in numerous plays inside and outside Colombia and Ecuador via the…
Global Browning
The wedding of Prince Harry and bi-racial TV star, Meghan Markle, is a milestone in race relations as significant as the assumption of the U.S. presidency by half Black Barack Obama. The White supremacists who continue to cling to the fantasy nurtured by Adolf Hitler, fanned by American neo-Nazis and abetted by President Donald Trump…
A young Fil-Am survivor’s journey toward progressive leadership
Dear Mama, I remembered that Saturday morning in late August in 2015 when I first told you that I was sexually assaulted. I remembered sitting on the couch and I couldn’t look at you, dad, or Andrew in the eye. It felt like the entire room froze, and no one ever expected those words to…
‘Time’s Up’: Covered California to enforce quality and safety targets
by April Dembosky, KQED Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace under the Affordable Care Act, has devised what could be a powerful new way to hold hospitals accountable for the quality of their care. Starting in less than two years, if the hospitals haven’t met targets for safety and quality, they’ll risk being excluded…
Pentagon disinvites China from major US military exercise
The Pentagon withdrew its invitation for China to participate in a major U.S.-hosted naval drill after a strong evidence showed that Beijing has deployed weapons in the Spratly Islands, violating China’s promise not to militarize the South China Sea. “As an initial response to China’s continued militarization of the South China Sea we have disinvited…
Trump doubles down on MS-13 during immigration roundtable
For the second time in his presidency, President Donald Trump made way to Long Island on Wednesday, May 23 to convene a roundtable for tougher immigration laws. Central to the discussion were the gruesome crimes of the notorious MS-13 gang. “It’s a menace, a ruthless gang that has violated our borders and transformed once-peaceful neighborhoods…
PH ‘alarmists’ creating fear over Dengvaxia vaccine
FORMER Health Secretary Janette Garin said the Philippines is the only country letting “alarmists” cause uproar over the Dengvaxia vaccine controversy, on Thursday, May 24. The Dengvaxia vaccine, created by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur, has been tagged in the deaths of over 80 Filipino children. During the preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice…
Philippines and US want to move forward with a bilateral trade deal
The United States and the Philippines want to move forward with a bilateral free trade deal, said the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The consensus followed a visit to the Philippines on Wednesday, May 23 by Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jeffrey Gerrish and his delegation to further trade and investment ties…
Palace to activists: Prove military violated human rights in Mindanao
Malacañang has dared human rights activists to prove allegations of human rights violations committed by members of the military in Mindanao under martial law. During a press briefing on Thursday, May 24 in Marawi City, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque called on the presentation of proof or “let us not accuse our soldiers.” “Many soldiers offered…
Ozamiz City Councilor Parojinog nabbed in Taiwan
OZAMIZ City Councilor Ricardo “Ardot” Parojinog was arrested in Taiwan for illegal entry on Wednesday, May 23. Parojinog is a younger brother of slain suspected drug kingpin Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. He been the subject of a 10-month police hunt for his alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade. He was placed on the Bureau of…
KIDS Philippines, Inc. provides educational opportunities for disadvantaged children
“This is the most opportune time where we are needed to fill up the huge barrenness that affects the lives of millions of less privileged children. Our assistance is judiciously on call. Let us not allow poverty to be wide-reaching while appallingly impacting our children’s lifelong struggles. Pulling them out of their abysmal situation through…
Celebrating the rich flavors of the Philippines at Filipino Restaurant Week 2018
FRONT AND CENTER Filipino Restaurant Week (#FRW2018), that annual, much-awaited foodie event among fans of Filipino cuisine, has grown so much after its inception back in 2015 when 13 Filipino restaurants across the boroughs of New York as well as Jersey City offered fixed priced lunches and dinners. This was in reaction to the then…