10 strategies during an IRS appeals conference
YOU have just lost an audit and have decided to bring your case before the appeals office of the IRS. You have learned the basics of the appeals process and…
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Presenting a compelling case for prosecutorial discretion
WITH the USICE Prosecutorial Discretion program under way, thousands of cases pending before the US Immigration Courts and Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) are ripe for review to determine whether…
The Street Sweeper
WHAT a noble trade, the sweeper’s trade. It consists of sweeping the filth we produce, of making our existence less infected. Mindless and ungrateful are those who use the word…
The world as my tabernacle
REMEMBERING Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, “An Altar in World,” I caught myself saying to a friend as we were driving along California coast that the world is my “tabernacle.” By…
SCE Calls Save Power Day as First Summer Heat Wave Blankets Southern California
The Save Power Day will take place July 14. Customers who are enrolled in the program can earn up to $100 in bill credits each year. You may have noticed…
Jericho Rosales echoes at the 2014 Fiesta in America
The road to success has always been hurdled with enormous encumbrances and impediments to test one’s endurance and capability to survive. We’re all brought to this world destined to bear…
When is misrepresentation material for purposes of INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i)?
About a year ago, we discussed inadmissibility under INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i), which bars an alien from receiving a visa or admission into the U.S. if this alien has previously obtained or…
There is hope in the world of immigration court cases
Not a week goes by that our office receives inquiries as to whether a comprehensive immigration reform, or any type of immigration reform, is likely to happen soon. As immigration…
Filipino groups sign on for petition for Admin Relief, TPS for PH
LOS ANGELES – Filipino groups in Los Angeles recently signed on for a letter of petition asking the US government for administrative relief to address the country’s broken immigration system….
The August 2014 Priority Dates: Single children of US citizens (F1) moves forward
Employment based EB-3 and OW also advances The August 2014 Visa Bulletin provides great news for Filipinos petitioned as single children of US citizens (F-1), as the priority date move…
Sam Milby still looking for the right girl
ATTENTION girls—handsome actor, model and singer Sam Milby is available, single and still searching for the right girl. Mind you, he is not just looking for a one-night stand, or…
PAPC launches 3rd Annual Plaridel Awards
South San Francisco—The Philippine American Press Club, U.S.A. (PAPC) proudly announced that they are now accepting submissions to the 3rd Annual Plaridel Awards excellence in Filipino American journalism. The Plaridel…
Brotherhood
THE Philippines will not be a free and independent country that it is today if it wasn’t for the groundwork laid out by a valiant organization formed more than a…
Cebu priest exemplifies how to drive away believers from the Catholic church
IF YOU are active in social media, you may have already seen the video or read about the shocking incident involving a Catholic priest from Cebu, who humiliated a 17-year…
Buying up ballots
IF YOU haven’t heard of BUB, you will be seeing a lot of its effects in the next several months leading up to the 2016 elections — P20.1 billion worth…
Are you facing financial stress and anxiety?
AS WE continue to go through turbulent economic times, a lot of people are in a state of panic and anxiety. Thousands of families are overwhelmed with the difficult choices…
T’was that river
Where fishermen tossed their rods, where women laundered cloths and washed dishes, where children jumped off a bridge—that was Pasig River. Pasig River was a major source of food and…
Judge reschedules Pinoy bar shooting suspect’s trial
LOS ANGELES – The jury trial for a Filipino man suspected of killing three people in an Ohio bar shooting was moved to a month later than the original schedule….
The daughter I could never have
THE apple that fell far from the tree…one I could only dream of—a perfect newshen. God’s little pencil. I would have taught her to begin each work by having a…
Sterling trial gets underway after delay
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A neurologist testified Monday that Donald Sterling likely has Alzheimer’s disease as a trial over the $2 billion Los Angeles Clippers sale finally got underway. Dr….
Report says: Filipino elderly caregivers work past retirement age
Lack of protection and benefits, family’s continuing needs, cited as factors preventing retirement LOS ANGELES – A policy report authored by three Calfiornia-based researchers found that most Filipino elderly caregivers…
Despedida Bienvenida for Filipino Clergy
The Filipino-Americans of Northern California Organization (FANCO) honored some Filipino priests with a despedida-bienvenida party at the Ignacio Community Center in Novato last June 22. The Catholic Archdiocese of San…
Alagad ng Sining
If there is a topic both sophisticated enough to be the talk over a hotel table or common enough to be heard along the hallways of a wet market, it…
An evening at the opera
I CAN never quell stirs of fascination, dread and longing when the house lights dim and the curtain parts, but the enjoyment of an opera can begin, not with the…
Reactions to PNoy’s decision not to give Nora Aunor the National Artist Award
RESPONDING to the clamor for Malacanang to explain why Nora Aunor was not given the honor of being recognized as Philippine national Artist, President Noynoy Aquino explained and let me…
Civil cases with fraud allegations should be litigated in bankruptcy court not state court
IN THE last two weeks, 3 clients with state court cases in their late stages based on complaints for very large amounts arising from business transactions sought bankruptcy relief. One…
INA 237(a)(1)(H) waiver for misrepresentation
INA 237(a)(1)(H), commonly known as the fraud waiver, provides relief to lawful permanent residents (LPR) and battered spouse self-petitioners in removal proceedings. To understand this waiver, we must first examine…
How insolvent taxpayers can exclude debt forgiveness income
AS you know, cancellation of debt income can surface from the foreclosure of your residence or any other real property. Like adding salt to an open wound, you are then…
Are undocumented workers entitled to back wages if fired due to disability discrimination?
CA Supreme Court issues an answer EARLY this year, we related the plight of an undocumented worker who was terminated by his employer because of his disability, and whose fate…
212(c) relief for those ordered deported for crimes-BIA sets new rules
IN accordance with the US Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in Judulang v. Holder, the BIA issued a decision on February 28, 2014 that makes Section 212(c) relief available to thousands…