Client files Chapter 13 to handle $120K credit card debt
The client is 50 years old and divorced. She owns her residence by herself. Ex-husband quitclaimed the house to her in the divorce and she agreed to buy him off…
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Women & minority employees continue fight for pay equality
INGRID Avendano, Roxana Lopez, and Ana Medina are female Latina software engineers employed by Uber, a multi-billion dollar company that provides on-demand transportation and food delivery services globally. The engineers…
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…
Is the IRS Appeals Office independent?
IF you lose an IRS audit, you have two choices: pay or appeal. Your decision depends on how you feel about the fairness of the auditor, amount of assessment, cost…
Fil-Am teen among the 17 killed in the Parkland, Florida mass shooting
Balitang America has confirmed that one of the kids who died when a 19-year-old man opened fire using an AR-15 war weapon in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland,…
The presumption of “undue influence” in transactions between spouses during the marriage
California law on the nature of spouses’ rights and obligations with respect to management and control of community property has evolved over the last thirty years from less stringent “good…
Disaggregated data among Asian Americans a risk in upcoming 2020 Census
The 2020 Census is underway with only two years left to go, and for Asian Americans, the upcoming census is being seen as either an opportunity for being accurately counted,…
Can my relative petition me for an employment-based green card?
Dear Attorney Gurfinkel: My aunt owns a care home, and wants to petition me as a caregiver. However, I was told that employers cannot petition relatives for green cards through…
‘Stop the heart?’
Why do cardiac surgeons stop the heart during surgery? The conventional technique in coronary bypass surgery includes, among other elaborate procedures, arresting the heart in order for the surgeon to…
Filipina nanny wins $827,506 in wage trial
Judgment one of highest verdicts to a domestic worker on pure wage claim A live-in Filipina domestic employee has won a wage claim of $827,506 against her former employers who…
The Love of Country Global Ambassadors Program Welcomes New Applicants
The Love of Country Global Ambassadors Program selects women and men that represent four different categories. Our mission is to inspire four specific age groups and generations which we believe…
For ‘Dreamers,’ the dream to become a doctor now ‘at the mercy’ of courts
Among the young people known as “Dreamers,” Ever Arias belongs to a select group. Of the roughly 700,000 unauthorized immigrants who have temporary but tenuous protection from deportation, only 99…
China hits United States provocation
The Chinese government has criticized the United States after one of its warships sailed in the disputed waters of the South China Sea near Panganiban (Mischief) Reef in the Spratly…
Did you know? Fascinating facts about Easter
Those of the Christian faith will mark the end of the 40-day Lenten season with Easter, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. While the day is widely symbolized by the Easter…
In pursuit of lasting peace (Part 3)
(PART 3 of 3) (Remarks of Hon. Jose De Venecia, Former Speaker, Philippine House of Representatives; Founding Chairman, International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP); Co-Chairman, International Association of Parliamentarians…
Pope Francis’ Lenten message to Christians on manipulative ‘snake charmers,’ false prophets, selfishness, greed & violence of our time
Pope Francis is perhaps one of the biggest reasons why many Catholics have found renewed faith in the Church. This simple, humble, loving and inclusive spiritual leader has not only…
Asian Americans and other minority groups risk misrepresentation in 2020 Census
The 2020 Census is underway with only two years left to go, and for Asian Americans and other minority groups, the upcoming census is being seen as either an opportunity…
Thousands mistakenly enrolled during state’s Medicaid expansion, Feds find
California signed up an estimated 450,000 people under Medicaid expansion who may not have been eligible for coverage, according to a report by the U.S. Health and Human Services’ chief…
Business owner seeks Chapter 7 relief from employee lawsuit for backpay of $100K
Secured creditor client seeks relief from buyer who filed Chapter 11 “ In any event, client does not have $100K. Client decides to have a fresh start in life with a Chapter 7…
Preventing abandonment of your greencard due to travel abroad
A GREEN card holder can travel outside the US and return with some limitations. If a green card holder is outside the US for an extended period of time, he…
Who else is liable for unpaid wages?
WHAT happens when your employer faces difficulties paying a significant claim for wages? Information regarding the identity of the various “employers” becomes important when employees have serious claims for unpaid…
IRS audits schedule C of sole proprietors
IRS loves to audit Schedule C. This form is filed by taxpayers who conduct their businesses as sole proprietors (popularly referred to as “DBA” or doing business as) instead of…
3 reasons why bankruptcy might be the best solution for debt problems
IF you’re in debt and are considering bankruptcy as an option for you to get needed relief, perhaps just hearing the word “bankruptcy” makes you extremely nervous. Maybe the word…
Do I need a premarital agreement before getting married?
”This becomes a problem if you are the spouse that has the substantially higher income or the one who accumulates the majority of the assets during the marriage.” IN the absence of a…
Boracay is just the tip of the garbage dump
I’m one of the few who have never been to Boracay, so I won’t know what I will be missing if President Rodrigo Duterte makes good his threat to close down…
Students and supporters across America ‘march for their lives’ to demand stricter gun control laws
“NEVER AGAIN.” “Enough.” Can you hear them now, President Donald J. Trump and the Republicans in Congress, as over half a million students and their supporters march in Washington DC…
House committee to release GOP report claiming ‘no collusion’ in Russia-Trump probe
Release of report formally shuts down the House investigation into allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian hackers The House committee responsible for the congressional Russia investigation has voted…
ICE targeting those with DUI convictions
AS part of its “enforcement priorities,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the recent arrest of over two dozen people with DUI convictions in connection with “Operation Secure Streets.” According…
What to do if ICE comes to your home, workplace or public space
ON April 10, 2017, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) released a “Know Your Rights Handouts” available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Portuguese to inform the public about the…
Realities of aging
Last February 28, 2018, my wife, Farida, and I arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport from Manila, following our two medical missions in the Philippines. While waiting at the…