SECTION 523(a)(8)(A)(ii) of the current bankruptcy code states that “an obligation to repay funds received as an educational benefit, scholarship or stipend;” is not dischargeable in bankruptcy unless excepting such debt from discharge would impose an undue hardship on the debtor and the debtor’s dependents. An adversarial proceeding is required to determine if a student…
THE Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) recently discussed the immigration implications of certain gang-related offenses. In Matter of Hernandez, 26 I&N Dec. 397 (BIA 2014), the respondent was charged with committing vandalism that caused over $400 in damages in violation of California Penal Code (PC) section 594(a) with a gang enhancement allegation pursuant to PC…
TAX scams via email have become widespread over the last year. Thieves have become bolder. Their bogus IRS website has improved graphics and looks so real that even a veteran IRS auditor unwittingly logged into it. If he can be duped into this bogus website, what about ordinary folks like you and me? The IRS…
When employees are entitled to higher pay ANDREW Prizler worked as an hourly retail sales consultant at AT&T Mobility Services. Being in sales, he was also paid commissions. In June 2012, Prizler sued his employer, alleging that employer failed to pay him and other employees like him, all wages due, including overtime wages. Additionally, when…
ARE you having problems paying your debts? Are creditors calling you day and night threatening you with a wage garnishment, repossession or foreclosure? Are you starting to feel hopeless and depressed about your situation and don’t know where to turn for help? The last few years have been tough for a lot of people. You…
ALTHOUGH the volume of newly-filed applications for benefits is down at the USCIS, the processing times for some applications pending at the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) are longer than ever before. The USCIS holds a monopoly over all immigrants applying for green cards, citizenship and other applications, since the USCIS is the only…
BEING a writer on the frontlines of culture and music, I am faced with the task of writing a piece that will not only tell about a performance, but the story behind the performer. So with grace, tenacity and skill (which I sometimes doubt that I have), I start to dutifully prepare questions; and set…
LOS ANGELES — The LA City Council voted on Wednesday to impose a higher minimum wage, at least $15.37 an hour, to workers at big hotels in the city. The new minimum wage requirement is one of the highest in the country. With a 12 to 3 vote, it was a huge victory to the…
LOS ANGELES – Filipino Ralph Deleon from Ontario, Calif., and his colleague Sohiel Omar Kabir were found guilty Thursday, Sept. 25 for their involvement with radical jihadist militant groups and plotting to kill Americans overseas. Both Deleon and Kabir, who initially pleaded not guilty during the first few weeks of trial, were each charged with…
Police and protestors clashed briefly on the streets of Ferguson, Mo., hours after Chief of Police Tom Jackson issued a video apology to the family of Michael Brown, the black 18-year-old who was fatally shot by a white police officer just last month. Jackson appeared outside the St. Louis suburb’s police department, not dressed in…
Standing tall beyond his actual stature following the recent successful stage production of his latest play, prolific Filipino-American writer-actor-stage director Florentino Aquino Capili couldn’t contain his ecstatic sensitivity by merely sitting on his laurel enjoying the view from the top. Sans a much-needed respite the low-key playwright has his mind crowded with more ambitious ideas…
LOS ANGELES – Filipino Ralph Deleon from Ontario, Calif., and his colleague Sohiel Omar Kabir were found guilty Thursday, Sept. 25 for their involvement with radical jihadist militant groups and plotting to kill Americans overseas. Both Deleon and Kabir, who initially pleaded not guilty during the first few weeks of trial, were each charged with…
LOS ANGELES — The LA City Council voted on Wednesday to impose a higher minimum wage, at least $15.37 an hour, to workers at big hotels in the city. The new minimum wage requirement is one of the highest in the country. With a 12 to 3 vote, it was a huge victory to the…
CERRITOS – Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that serves the Filipino-American community in Southern California, held a small business seminar in Cerritos on Wednesday, Sept. 24 to promote entrepreneurship. In staging the event, SIPA partnered with the City of Cerritos and three local Filipino American Chambers of Commerce: Orange…
LOS ANGELES – A Filipino marketing professional and social media expert recently launched a blog that celebrates all things Los Angeles, and promotes local brands and companies that show the diversity and color of the city. Gwen Paja is the lady behind www.thelagirl.com, a blog that ‘spills LA’s secret sauce on cool brands, hot spots…
In previous editions of this article, the process of obtaining permanent residence through marriage was explored. Discussion of that procedure began with the supposition that the couple was married, and continued with the various steps to ultimately gain permanent residence. In many cases, however, a problem exists in even getting to the point at which…
NEW YORK— Manila has called on the US government to approve its request for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), allowing undocumented Filipinos living in the US to help the Philippines rebuild from the devastation wreaked by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. In letters to Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, Foreign…
In 1973, Rizal Governor Adelina Rodriquez sponsored the first Green Revolution Trade and Exposition Industrial Fair in Pasig that was highlighted by the nationwide search for Miss Green Revolution. I was the chairman of the beauty competition, whose winner was none other than Rosario Navarro Santos, now known as Charo Santos-Concio, president of ABS-CBN 2,…
Despite having only limited knowledge or understanding of immigration laws, some people attempt to strategize and handle their immigration case on their own. They follow the advice of friends or relatives or listen to gossip or rumors they hear on the streets or at parties. Partial or incomplete information about immigration law and benefits can…
A Filipino-American’s success is generally measured by the steady flow of balikbayan boxes that show up on our relatives’ doorsteps in the Philippines, as well as our ability to readily provide for their needs. Sadly, though, the real stories of our day-to-day struggles are hardly ever told. People come to the US with hopes of…
LOS ANGELES — The LA City Council voted on Wednesday to impose a higher minimum wage, at least $15.37 an hour, to workers at big hotels in the city. The new minimum wage requirement is one of the highest in the country. With a 12 to 3 vote, it was a huge victory to the…
What is Body Art? Body Art is a popular fad among adolescents and young adults, which includes tattooing or body part piercing. The tattoos are usually on the chest, arms, belly, butts, ankles, or on just about any area of the body. They come in different shapes, design, color and various objects, like a girl,…
LOS ANGELES—International passengers arriving at the Tom Bradley International Terminal can now expect to see a shorter waiting period at the customs checkpoints at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). On Wednesday, Sept. 24, LAX officials, together with LA City Mayor Eric Garcetti, unveiled 40 Automated Passport Control Kiosks, which are expected to expedite the…
OAKLAND—The Filipino Advocates for Justice (FAJ), a Bay Area organization dedicated to making social change and realizing democratic and human rights for all, is launching a new campaign to get Filipino and Fil-Am voters to get out there and vote in the upcoming November general elections. The “Get Out the Vote” campaign is part of…
In a new study by the Brookings Institution, the Las Vegas metropolitan area is ranked 17th highest in the nation for the number of working-age adults with limited English-speaking skills. Ranking the 89 most-populated metropolitan areas on both US coasts, the study found that almost 1 in 10 working-age adults—that’s about 19.2 million people ages…
Have you ever found yourself asking this question? I asked myself the same 20 years ago, but found the answer. I’ve had many opportunities to work with Asian-owned small and medium-sized businesses. I quickly realized then the lack of knowledge these business owners had when it came to marketing. The most common statements heard were,…
Barely a year into his presidency, Barack Obama was awarded the most prestigious Nobel Prize for Peace. In its citation, the Nobel Committee noted that: Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international…
Each season, the fashion collections released by certain brand apparels greatly help people decide on what goes comfortably with the weather. Not in a tropical country like the Philippines, though. The Philippines has two sets of climate: rainy and dry; and “rainy” does not totally mean “cold.” Therefore, Vogue’s Winter Collection cannot completely set a…
City officials in Ferguson, Mo., the site of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in August, faced more tension after a memorial for the slain teen burned down earlier this week. The makeshift memorial had been set up in a grassy area along the road where Brown was killed. It is…
LOS ANGELES — According to a new report, some Los Angeles schools have astoundingly low vaccination rates not far off from those in developing countries, such as parts of Africa. An investigation by The Hollywood Reporter found that vaccination rates are surprisingly low in wealthier LA neighborhoods including Malibu, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills. The…
