Under 8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(i)(C), an approved Form I-130 petition for an alien relative is automatically revoked upon the death of the petitioner if the beneficiary has not obtained lawful permanent residence prior to the petitioner’s death. In Matter of Varela, 13 I&N Dec. 453 (BIA 1970), the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) held that an…
I’m not impervious to bad news. In my years of crime reporting, I ate tragic, earthy and shocking news for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had access to people’s emotional pains and tragedies. With a tourniquet in my heart, I watched careers derailed and homes fractured, but I wrote it with complete understanding of wounded souls, void of literary…
AMERICAN investors were seriously woken up when the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 1,000 points minutes after the market opened on Monday, Aug. 24 in a worldwide wave of selling following a historic plunge in Chinese stocks. The industrial average closed with a loss of about 588 points, down about 3.6 percent. Though the declines…
Gov. Brown expected to sign The state Senate on Monday, Aug. 24, approved a measure that would allow about 5,000 California high school students that fulfilled graduation requirements this year but did not pass the exit exam to obtain their diplomas. In a 37-0 vote, the California Senate advanced SB725, following the Assembly’s 77-1 approval…
A recent study from the Pew Research Center suggests that subconscious preferences for different racial groups persist, even among multiracial adults. Researchers at Pew say that “most humans display a bias against out-groups—people who are different from them.” They wanted to find out whether biracial adults were less likely to have implicit racial biases because…
The US marine charged with the murder of Philippine transgender Jennifer Laude admitted in court to choking Laude in self-defense but denied killing her. Defense lawyer Rowena Flores said her client, Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, told the court in Olongapo City on Monday, Aug. 24 that Laude was unconscious but still breathing when he…
A California Senate committee has approved a measure that would increase the state’s gas tax by 12 cents per gallon as a means of addressing California’s transportation crisis. The new fuel levy, passed on Wednesday, Aug. 19, would be California’s first tax hike since 1994, the San Jose Mercury News reported. It would be collected in addition…
The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific gathered at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona campus on Friday, Aug. 21, for a field hearing about property rights, development, and land ownership in Southeast Asia. For years, the United States has sought to help promote security and economic growth in dependent countries like…
Investigators unsure of cause, but say incident unrelated to an earlier fire A FILIPINO family in Northern California woke up to find their house threatened by flames during the predawn hours of Saturday, August 13, less than a day after firefighters had put out an earlier blaze in the same area. Fire crews extinguished a…
“Uncle, how do I give everything to God? How do I offer my life to Him so he can take over? I just don’t know exactly how to do that.” My sixteen year-old niece surprised me with these questions a few weeks ago. I looked at her tenderly and answered, “Prayer, keep praying, Ann Jillian.”…
I agree with Ateneo’s Dean Tony la Viña, a legal luminary, that the disqualification case filed with the Senate Electoral Tribunal by losing senatorial candidate Rizalito David against Sen. Grace Poe should be thrown out. Not being a legal expert, I can only react with disapproval over the purported ground for disqualification: her being a…
Picture this: A homeless man was sleeping near a train station, then wakes up to two men urinating on him. Not satisfied, these men beat the homeless man with a metal pole repeatedly and walked away laughing. When apprehended, these men told police they attacked the victim because he was “homeless,” “Hispanic,” and an “illegal…
” As you can see, by terminating the loveless marriage legally, it could result in your priority date already being current in the F-1 category, instead of waiting for years for the F-3 category to be current.” DEAR Atty Gurfinkel: Years ago, my US citizen parent petitioned me as a married child (Category F –…
Client seeks Chapter 11 reorganization to save business; senior seeks Chapter 13 reorganization instead of reverse mortgage after two loan modification denials CLIENT NO. 1 is 58. Divorced and remarried. He has spent the last 20 years building up his business in Los Angeles. He started with importation of construction materials direct from manufacturers in Asia,…
FOR most people, being served with divorce papers by your spouse is probably one of the biggest surprises in your life. The spouse in the receiving end of the divorce sometimes are not offered any explanation for the divorce petition by their spouse. You may start getting upset about how this can happen to you…
Privacy suit filed against doctor and hospital Norma Lozano was a patient at UCLA Medical Center. According to the Daily Journal, she had been fighting with Dedreck Harris, her ex-boyfriend. Harris’ current girlfriend, Alexis Price, worked as a medical assistant for Dr. John Edwards, a private doctor who had access to UCLA’s health records. Even…
In the past couple of weeks, I have discussed two types of restraining orders i.e. a stay-away order and a restraint on personal conduct. Both of these restraining orders are judicial orders (granted by a judge or commissioner) preventing a person from doing certain things to a “protected person.” Usually, this means that the person…
The bankruptcy court issues a pamphlet containing explanation of bankruptcy basics like the reaffirmation agreements. All debtors are required to read the pamphlet and the trust during the 341 hearing will inquire whether the debtor has read the same. This is to ensure that debtor understand the consequence of bankruptcy filing and executing reaffirmation agreements….
The IRS issued new guidance requiring individuals with an interest in a “specified foreign financial asset” to attach a disclosure statement to your income tax return for any year in which the aggregate value of all such assets exceeds $50,000. Use new form Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) starting in 2011. Q….
Life is all about making choices. The choices we make today determine our future. What will my life be like 3, 5 or 10 years for now? Will I be financially secure? Will I remain in the same dead-end job or perhaps move somewhere else that makes my time more worthwhile? Will I be able…
HI Dr. Vicki! I have been a fan of your TV show ever since I saw it 3 years ago! I was even more thrilled when I saw that you have a column so I took the courage to send you an email. Doc, I was born with brown skin as most Filipinos are. However,…
THOSE that can, do; those that can’t teach…well, that is so insulting. Teaching is the most exalted position — that prestige will always be there. Teachers bring some kind of coherence into a relationship with disciplinary modes, so students can think and explore ideas as they evolve and take shape and consider what might have…
When it’s 12:09am and it’s too hard to fall asleep, what should a high school student do? Earlier this year, the scenario is one that played out for 18-year-old Krizza Baniaga, a Filipina who recently graduated from Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles. “I should do something with my life,” she recalled thinking. “I…
According to a new study, the California drought has some serious effects. If the drought were to continue for two to three years, rural communities and wildlife would suffer most–but urban populations have readied themselves to withstand further restrictions in water deliveries. The “what if” report from the Public Policy Institute of California released on Thursday, August 20…
LOS ANGELES – The executive directors of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) and FilAm ARTS formally announced Wednesday, Aug. 19, that they will be transitioning out of their leadership roles to pursue separate professional and personal goals. For more than 23 year years, Joel Jacinto has served as head of SIPA, while Jilly Canizares…
Intersectionality, privilege, human trafficking, social justice, healthcare, incarceration, prison complex, interracial identity — these are all terms used regularly in the Dream Summer National Program, which has wrapped up nearly three months of immigrant rights work across the country. The Dream Summer program, through the Dream Resource Center (DRC) at the University of California Los…
A hospital in Los Angeles announced Wednesday, August 19 that some of its patients have contracted an antibiotic-resistant “superbug,” which has been linked to a type of medical scope used in the procedure, and has infected dozens of people around the country. Huntington Memorial Hospital said in a statement that it notified public health authorities,…
Intersectionality, privilege, human trafficking, social justice, healthcare, incarceration, prison complex, interracial identity — these are all terms used regularly in the Dream Summer National Program, which has wrapped up nearly three months of immigrant rights work across the country. The Dream Summer program, through the Dream Resource Center (DRC) at the University of California Los…
Although there were some rumors that Sarah Geronimo’s parents still don’t approve of her relationship with actor Matteo Guidicelli, it seems that the Popstar Princess’ lovelife is blooming. In fact, in the July 18 episode of The Voice Kids 2 (where Sarah serves as one of the coaches), the Popstar Princess commented on one of…
FILIPINOS in America are divided between two ends of the spectrum: those who believe Donald Trump is their “Messiah” who will help “reclaim” America (but from whom?) and all her glory; and those who abhor Trump and see him as a caricature, no more than a rich real estate mogul and reality star on TV…
