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…
“THE success of Donald Trump has so defied the conventional wisdom of political punditry that a new genre of analysis has come into being. Call it Trumpology. It consists of reaching for exotic explanations from surprising sources. For example, Barton Swaim, who wrote ‘The Speechwriter: A Brief Education In Politics,’ hears magic in the Donald’s…
DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to stop crime and corruption if elected president of the Philippines in 2016. It seems that he will stop at nothing to get there. The no-nonsense presidential aspirant is on a mean streak lately and has been engaging his rivals in a political mudslinging. His first target was…
“IF you want to civilize a man, begin with his grandmother.” – Victor Hugo So, one moment you’re just a mother — and before you can blink and think that you have escaped the ties of children, their troubles and their demands; you feel a little tug, and next moment, you’re past that certain age,…
AS countries across the globe continue fighting against the Islamic State (IS), President Barack Obama on Monday, Dec. 14, said the US-led coalition is hitting ISIS “harder than ever.” “ISIL leaders cannot hide, and our message to them is simple: you are next,” Obama said at the Pentagon on Monday, following a briefing from his…
AFTER 13 days of negotiations on addressing climate change on a global scale, 195 countries on Saturday, Dec. 12, approved a historic, unprecedented climate accord that seeks to address global warming. Under the accord, known as the Paris Agreement, individual countries have committed to slash emissions and pledged to assist poorer nations to adapt to…
Asian Americans will benefit, experts say THE nation’s highest court has been debating a landmark case regarding US affirmative action in college admissions. The Supreme Court appeared sharply divided last week, as conservatives, including Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., believe that using affirmative action in admission decisions is “unneeded and unconstitutional,” reported the Los…
Client with good income wants chapter 7 to discharge $70K credit cards NO one has anything good to say about the IRS. Tax collectors were much hated even during the time of Jesus two thousand years ago. Jesus was walking along the street when He saw Matthew sitting in his tax collector booth, then Jesus called…
THIS column has often stressed the general rule that most employees should be paid overtime rate if they work more than 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week. However, there may be exceptions in the case of some who work in certain industries. It is in this instance that the employers’ classification…
HERE are the top 10 things the Internal Revenue Service wants you to know about this valuable credit: 1. If you qualify, it could be worth up to $6,143 this year. EITC not only reduces the federal tax you owe, but could result in a refund. 2. The amount of your EITC is based on…
COUPLES get divorced for various reasons. California is a no fault state. The reasons why a couple is getting divorced are often irrelevant to the issues of the family law case. Divorce is often a difficult and negative experience for most families. However, getting divorce may have some unintended benefits in the immigration law arena. …
FILING Bankruptcy is a serious decision for most people. Most don’t have a clue about how the process works until they actually consult with an attorney. Confusion often results from hearing conflicting personal opinions from people they know. Sad to say, well-meaning friends and family often give the wrong advice and the results can sometimes…
FOLLOWING the San Bernardino massacre that claimed the lives of 14 people and injured 21 others, people ask: when will these senseless killings end? When will Congress pass sensible gun control laws to keep high-powered firearms out of the hands of people who are not fit to own guns? Republicans argue against this — contending…
WOMEN who are terrorized by tape measures and scales know that there is nothing relaxing about this kind of fight. The result is apparent: a race among women to be thinner and considerably younger. You see the price paid in tension, harassment and preoccupation. If she cannot diet nor exercise, she is lost to fashion….
It’s hard not to be affected by the recent terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. It’s so close to home, only less than a hundred miles away. It makes us think of our own security and that of our children. Are we all safe even to worship in our churches and to shop in public…
WATCHING excessive TV can lead to cognitive decline over time, a new study has found. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) conducted a study on more than 3,200 participants throughout a 25-year period starting when they were young adults. They checked in with them every five years to ask for an estimate…
THE Supreme Court has declined to review an appeal of an Illinois ordinance banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, marking a victory for gun control advocates. The decision on Monday, Dec. 7, comes after a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California and nearly a month after such an incident in Paris, which have fueled fierce…
A DIVIDED Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved on Tuesday, Dec. 8, a motion to welcome Syrian refugees to the county. The vote comes days after a mass shooting in San Bernardino killed 14 people and less than a month after 120 were killed in a mass shooting in Paris, where a Syrian passport…
AS reports continue to develop regarding the Dec. 2 shootings in San Bernardino, California, survivors of the attacks carried out by a radicalized Muslim husband and wife are beginning to speak out. “I was under the table with some of the staff and we just kind of held on to each other. I think just…
EVERY year, more than 2,700 appointments are made to various boards and commissions in the State of California, each of whom have to go through California Gov. Jerry Brown’s Appointments Secretary, Mona Pasquil. Pasquil, a Filipino-American who has served in her current role since 2011, said she has often been asked what the process of…
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…
ALTHOUGH her wedding to fiance Ali Khatibi was supposed to take place this month, sexy actress Cristine Reyes said that they had to move the date to January next year. The reason for the postponement was to be able to have more time to prepare. “Kasi ganito yan, super excited ako na ikakasal na kami…
MY column on “Aspirin, the Wonder Drug,” came out in 2002, when this common household item was in the spotlight for some time for its new role in staving off a heart attack, medically termed acute myocardial infarction (the killer, Acute MI). In 1962, a year after I graduated from medical school, my 46-year-old father…
ONE. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Standing before a wall lined with seven large mirror panels, Fil-Am Van Jovi Wong, 21, counts out loud while demonstrating a dance move called the wave./breaking down the moves involved in the wave. On the first count, he moves his wrist. At two, he lifts his elbow….
IN April 2010, towards the end of the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, I wrote a biting piece entitled, “May Angal???” I wrote it out of sheer frustration over the abuses of the Arroyo administration that we, as citizens, could only helplessly protest. Here’s how that piece read: “If you grew up in the streets…
Donald Trump once again shook the nation with yet another plan to purportedly keep America safe following the San Bernardino massacre that killed 14 people and injured 21 others. The Republican presidential frontrunner wants a total shutdown of all Muslims entering America — whether they are immigrants or tourists. While Trump’s fans cheered when he…
RECENT climatic and environmental events warn that the world is doomed for disastrous consequences. The Philippines—who is among the countries that bear the brunt of this phenomenon—seeks adaptive measures that would strengthen livelihoods, food security and ecosystems. In his trip to Paris, France last week, Pres. Benigno Aquino III called for significant actions to address…
Some love or hate it, others write or repeat it. But the obsession with gossip seems here to stay. From what we read about the unholy and unchanging trinity of the subject, the reporter and reader have stoked the human appetite for gossip, dating back to the salad days of the silver screen magazines to…
TUESDAY, Dec. 8 marked the beginning of an important year in the Catholic Church–the beginning of the Year of Mercy, a special holy year for Catholics. Pope Francis opened the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday morning, officially launching the yearlong celebration of mercy, compassion and forgiveness for Catholics around the world. Francis…
CALIFORNIA Governor Jerry Brown is calling for action on the part of the federal government, pushing for stronger gun laws and vigilance against potential terrorist threats. Speaking from the convention center in Paris on Monday, Dec. 7, where he is attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Brown told CNN, “People are concerned. And I…
