With the many significant events that occurred on April 12, 1944 (a Wednesday), the NYC premiere showing of the American feature film based on Lilian Hellman’s play at the Fulton Theater, “The Searching Wind,” overshadowed the rest of the occurrences mainly due to its lead stars Robert Young, Sylvia Sydney and Ann Richards who were…
IF YOU fail to file on time or pay on time, penalties kick in. Here are 10 reasonable causes to abate (forgive) penalties for late filing or late paying: 1. Tax returns were mailed on time. A return used to be considered filed on time if it is postmarked on or before the due date. …
BY RATING Decision dated January 8, 2014 (mailed March 13, 2014), the US Department of Veterans Affairs, through its Pension Management Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, granted a Marine Corps Veteran during the Korean Conflict Era, aid and attendance monthly pension of $1,715.00 starting December 1, 2013. Indeed, the Author filed Marine Corps Veterans claim…
(Are you paid for all hours worked?) THE cheer squad for the Oakland Raiders, the Raiderettes, recently sued their employer for back wages and reimbursements. The lawsuit claims that the football team withholds pay from the employees until after the football season is finished and does not pay for hours worked outside the games. The…
THE H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows business professionals to work in the United States for a specific amount of time. The purpose of the H-1B visa is to give US employers the opportunity to hire foreign professionals if a US citizen or resident is not available. In order for the H-1B visa…
USCIS recently informed representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association that about 40,000 asylum cases are currently pending at its asylum offices throughout the US An estimated 28,000 of those 40,000 were filed last year alone. Asylum applicants are frustrated, and sometimes perplexed – some applicants are called in for an interview within one month…
ARE you having trouble paying your bills every month? Are you being harassed by bill collectors who will not leave you alone no matter how many times you tell them that you have no money to pay? Are you worried about being sued by a creditor, losing your home or your car? Are you afraid…
PARENTS that are going through divorce and legal separation sometimes have to make a decision to move out of state for various reasons. It may be because their family network is in another state. This decision often have a significant impact on the visitation of the other parent because it would be more difficult for…
EVEN as the Obama Administration has espoused some more lenient policies toward persons who have violated their immigration status in the US, such as prosecutorial discretion, USCIS over the past several years seems to have increased the rate of denial of applications for adjustment of status. With the denial of these applications, particularly employment-based adjustment…
Dear Atty. Gurfinkel: Years ago, I entered the US under a different name but have been law-abiding and paying my taxes since then. My child, who was born in the US, will be celebrating his 21st birthday soon. I would like my child to petition me so I can finally get a green card. …
LOS ANGELES – Another Filipino has been elected to a key city council position for a quaint suburban city in Southern California. 60-year-old Sonny R. Santa Ines, was recently elected by his fellow members in the Bellflower City Council to become the city’s next chief executive. He was elected to the city council in March…
For Christians, Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the fulfillment of God’s promise for deliverance of man. But what precedes God’s rising again is his agony and death, which to me is also a poignant manifestation in His own life, the message delivered in John 12:24:…
“Humility provides everyone, even him who despairs in solitude, with the strongest relationship to his fellow man, and this immediately, though, of course, only in the case of complete and permanent humility.” – Franz Kafka (1883-1924) The Holy Week and Easter Sunday are very spiritual and significant times for the Christian faith. In observance of…
I ALWAYS remember what my spiritual mentor, Nim Gonzales, once said: “At times, the unpleasant things that we reject in our lives, such as our struggles, our pains or our crosses, become our cornerstone.” He made this remark in reference to Jesus’ words that “the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” Nim…
DESPITE opposition from the mighty Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines, key provisions in the controversial Reproductive Health(RH) Bill have been upheld by the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) as constitutional on Tuesday, April 8. The long and bumpy road to the SC’s decision started almost 14 years ago. After several presidencies, senate and house representation…
IT was a hard-fought battle, but on April 8 success gleamed when the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) deemed the basic principles of the controversial Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RH) law as constitutional. Parts of Section 7 (Access to Family Planning) and Section 23 (prohibited acts) of the law were struck down by the High…
The capacity to be skilled in the many facets of parenting remains to this day a gargantuan challenge for Singer-supermom Maureen Javier-Varco. Now that her kids are in the adolescent and young adult stages, she needs to assess their independence preferences, explore their limits, analyze their capabilities, and attend to their individual needs that they…
IN 2003, Vicente Salas started work for Sierra Chemical in its production line filling containers with chemicals used for water treatment. The company hires seasonal workers because demand for its products rises during spring and summer. During fall and winter, the seasonal workers are laid off. They are rehired the following year when product demands…
A CRIMINAL conviction for domestic violence might affect an alien’s eligibility for immigration relief or benefit. This conviction might qualify as a ground for inadmissibility under crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). It might also qualify as a ground for deportability under aggravated felony or domestic violence. Grounds for inadmissibility disqualify an alien who is trying…
YOU already know that your home is in foreclosure. You’ve received that dreaded Notice of Default. You know that after 90 days, your home can be scheduled for a Trustee Sale. You don’t have a lot of time left. Your home with all its memories, hopes and dreams will be gone. What are you going…
ONCE again, the USCIS has announced that the H-1B cap has been reached within one week of opening on April 1, 2014. Even though we are talking about visas that are not even available until October 1, 2014 for FY 2015 and despite the fact that this has happened in each of the past several…
The May 2014 priority dates indicate that the F-2A priority date still remains at September 8, 2013, which is almost the same as being “current.” It is phenomenal news for spouses and minor children of green cardholders (Category F – 2A). That means that spouses and minor children of green cardholders would be eligible to file…
LOS ANGELES – On April 8, Rachelle Arizmendi became the first non-white and first Filipino-American member of the Sierra Madre City Council. Arizmendi edged out re-electionist Gene Goss and two other newcomer candidates for the council seat during the general municipal elections on Tuesday in Sierra Madre. Arizmendi joins the five-member Sierra Madre City Council…
ROSEMEAD, Calif. — Congratulations to 30 high school seniors across Southern California Edison’s (SCE) service territory who have been named 2014 Edison Scholars, each winning a $40,000 scholarship offered by Edison International, parent company of SCE. The scholars live in or attend public or private high schools in SCE’s service area and plan to pursue college studies in the…
There is always a legend of a hero — one who fights and dies in the name of freedom. The word freedom does not seem to have a synonym, only forms of it: freedom of expression, freedom of worship, freedom of press and all other assumptions challenged by a myriad of possibilities. Heroes are unparalleled…
The situation we are going to discuss involves the debtor’s homestead claim of exemption for his residence in a bankruptcy proceeding. In California, the homestead claim of exemption is $75,000, $125,000, and $175,000 depending on certain factors. For example, debtor is 65years old. His residence has a fair market value of $700,000 at the time…
Even as the Obama Administration has espoused some more lenient policies toward persons who have violated their immigration status in the US, such as prosecutorial discretion, USCIS over the past several years seems to have increased the rate of denial of applications for adjustment of status. With the denial of these applications, particularly employment-based adjustment…
In 2005, the late Samuel Ong, then deputy director of the NBI, blew the whistle on the Hello Garci phone calls that resulted in the “election” of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the sinking of Ronnie Poe’s presidential hopes. For that, Ong was charged with sedition, instead of being praised. It was for that reason that I…
By this time, Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquiao would already be prepped and psyched for his rematch fight with Timothy Bradley at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Amid put-downs made by his opponent Bradley (who said that Manny no longer has the “killer instinct”), the good-natured Filipino boxing champ took the high road and viewed Bradley’s…
Three senators believed to have been key players in the multi-billion pork barrel scam in the Philippines have already been charged with plunder. One of them, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, is in the United States for medical reasons. Estrada sat down with Balitang America’s LA Correspondent Steve Angeles for an exclusive interview, and talked about what…
