No more immigration petitions for married children and siblings of US citizens?
ONE of the more compelling reasons why many kababayans are pushing for the passing of a comprehensive immigration reform is to facilitate the speeding up of family reunification. This is especially true…
Are you living on the financial edge every month?
I KNOW that the current economy has caused a lot of financial problems for a lot of people. Most families are struggling financially every month and are living paycheck to…
Smoking tolerance among Pinoys lead to smoking-related illnesses
LOS ANGELES – Filipino-American Rico Foz was only seven years old when he was first exposed to an environment of smoking. His father was a smoker who worked for a…
Great expectations
Habemus Papam. “We have a pope.” The Vatican has finally chosen its new pontiff in 76-year-old Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who has been named as Pope Francis. As the…
Habemus Papam!
“REMEMBER not the events of the past, the things of long ago, consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:16)….
A new dawn in the Catholic Church: Long live Pope Francis!
I HAVE been following and writing about the conclave and the election of Pope Benedict XVI’s successor. But I was pleasantly surprised by my own emotions, when I saw white…
Hope and inspiration from Greenfund Philippines
I was summoned by an invitation to attend a presscon at a quaint café called LA Rose. Green-topped tables groaning with mouth-watering dishes made an auspicious start of a thoroughly…
That time of the year: H-1B visa applications will soon be accepted for filing
MANY people, employers and employees alike, have been in our office recently requesting information on H-1B visas and whether or not that is an option for them. The rush to…
When is an employment termination illegal?
Q: I WORKED in a company for more than 10 years. A new supervisor was recently transferred to my department. This person and I do not get along. Last week,…
A Medical Beacon for Pinoys in UAE
FOR the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos working and living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dr. Rosario B. Tigno is widely known as a generous hero. The first Filipino…
How much are the banks penalized for failing to help homeowners stay in their homes?
THERE has been a lot of fines and penalties that the banks have assessed from all these claims of foreclosure abuses, including bungled loan modifications and wrongful evictions of borrowers…
My close encounters with terrestrial stars, Part II
After a brief respite and heaps of social commitments that I had to cover, the continuation of my celebrity encounters resumes. Brace yourself for some more of my interesting nostalgic…
Cerritos City Councilman Mark Pulido elected Mayor Pro Tem
For 2013-2014 term CERRITOS – Filipino American Cerritos City Councilman Mark E. Pulido was elected to serve as Mayor Pro Tem for the 2013-2014 term by his city council colleagues…
Fil-Am fugitive arrested in Pampanga
LOS ANGELES – A man wanted for criminal raps here in California was arrested by operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Pampanga in the Philippines. Rodolfo Suacon,…
Fil-Ams reenlist to US Navy on PH shores
LOS ANGELES – For five Filipino-American sailors serving under the 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge, it is a tremendous honor to take their Oaths of Reenlistment to the US…
Alyssa Shoemaker takes her bid to stardom via The Wizard of Oz
A young Fil-Am unprecedentedly shines in the recent staging of Lyman Frank Baum’s classic fantasy novel, The Wizard of Oz, at the Quibbletown Middle School’s Drama Club in Piscataway, New Jersey….
Hepatoma: Deadly
Hepatoma is a common and deadly cancer among Asians. I lost a close friend, a Fil-Am physician, a couple of years ago, and a few others before that, all to…
Shedding Filipino blood in Sabah
THE joke among so-called undocumented Mexicans in California is that they did not illegally cross the US border. The US border crossed them. The other joke is that Europeans were…
The April 2013 Priority Dates
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…
What compels Filipinos to campaign and vote?
VOTING in American Idol. Campaigning for Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle for the Papacy. Voting for a Pinoy to be CNN Hero of the Year. Participating in the Philippine and US Presidential elections. What…
Do you, or does someone you love, have diabetes?
NEARLY everyone knows someone who is directly or indirectly affected by diabetes. Not only can diabetes be difficult to manage, but it can also increase a person’s risk for other…
Over 80 Pinoys to attend free citizenship workshop in LA Public Library
LOS ANGELES – As of press time, it has been confirmed that over 80 Filipinos will be attending a free citizenship workshop, to be hosted by the Asian Pacific American…
Reodica trial moved to May
LOS ANGELES – The trial for disgraced car dealer Eminiano Jun Reodica has been moved again, this time to May 21, 2013. Citing the case’s unusual and complex nature, United…
Keeping it safe
Fire was an essential discovery that eventually helped man in taking control of his surroundings. If we trace the origins of fire, we might as well say that the first…
Humor laughs its way into the heart
Unlike the poisoned barb of satire and the killing point of wit, humor is healing. It is not only wholesome, but re-creative and rejuvenating — a jest that breaks no…
H-1B visas for FY 2014 will be used faster than last year
WITH the US economy steadily improving over the past several months, US employers are hiring again. Last weeks Federal Jobs Report showed that US employers were again hiring at a…
Chapter 13: How to pay debts on limited income
CHAPTER 13 is the section of the US Bankruptcy Code that allows individuals in the United States to reorganize their finances. If you are having difficulty paying your debts (credit…
The Power of VAWA
An alien of good moral character who married and resided with a US Citizen (USC) or lawful permanent resident (LPR) spouse but who was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty…