WITH the olympic torch still fired up for the London 2012 Olympics, inspiring Filipino athletes (and an NBA champion coach) seem to come out of the woodwork. 2012 NBA champ and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra leads the pack, bringing the token of his team’s sweet victory to the Philippines — a two-foot, 14.5…
SEVERAL months ago, a Filipino brother and sister team made history in the United States Navy, when they became the first and only siblings of Filipino descent to hold flag-officer ranks simultaneously. The Naval Public Affairs department has dubbed Rear Admiral Raquel Cruz Bono and her brother Rear Admiral Anatolio B. “AB” Cruz III as…
WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today launched its online Multilingual Resource Center, a new feature on www.uscis.gov. The center provides a central location for USCIS resources in a variety of languages, to include – Haitian Creole, Polish and Vietnamese. Offering certain immigration application information in other languages helps ensure USCIS communicates across…
Dear Atty. Gurfinkel: I have a 10-year multiple B-1/B-2 visa. I entered the US, and was given six months by the Immigration Officer at the airport, but overstayed by only a few years. I would like to take a brief vacation to the Philippines, in order to visit my family during the holidays, but I…
FILIPINOS, who are old enough to remember the Marcos regime, would clearly understand what kind of impact Corazon Cojuangco Aquino made in freeing the Philippines from the clutches of oppression and dictatorship. Tita Cory, (as many of Filipinos called her), only became president for one term, and never sought re-election. She, however, continued to serve…
WITH the August 15, 2012 start date for the filing of Deferred Action Status (DAS) and work authorization for otherwise “DREAM ACT” eligible people, thousands of applicants are preparing to file in advance and gain a jump start on processing delays inherent within the USCIS. On Friday, June 15, 2012, Department of Homeland Security (DHS)…
(Part 2) THE composition of the board should complement the knowledge and skill set of the owners. Good advisory boards will have at least one member with strong financial skills, one with good content or industry knowledge, and others with strong business backgrounds. However, board composition can change over time depending on a number of…
THERE is a moving painting hanging in our memory. It is filled with hues of blue and green. The masterstrokes glibly flowing as the waves carry the music that bellows the power of the ocean. Slowly these waves journey through a great distance. In a moment of grace, they meet the sand. The sound of…
ON JUNE 15, 2012, Pres. Obama announced from the White House Rose Garden that the Department of Homeland Security will grant deferred removal action for undocumented youth who meet strict eligibility requirements. This is welcome news to thousands of alien youth illegally in the United States who will be saved from unjust removal. But their…
ON OR about March 21, 2012, in South Gate, California, the crime of home invasion robbery, in violation of Penal Code Section 211, a felony, was committed by four individuals, who unlawfully and by means of force (two guns) and fear took personal property from four victims in an inhabited dwelling. Counts and gun enhancements…
“WHERE can we buy enough food for them to eat?,” Jesus asked Philip, one the disciples, as he saw a vast crowd of about five thousand in number following them. “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little,” Philip replied. “There is a boy…
AT HIS third State of the Nation Address, President Benigno Aquino III mentioned four priority measures, one of which is the controversial Reproductive Health Bill (which he referred to indirectly as “the need for responsible parenthood.”) This brought the controversial bill back to the forefront — re-igniting heated debates and opinions in social media, from…
ELEVEN Pinoy athletes will try to achieve what no other Filipino Olympian has ever done before – bring the Philippines that elusive gold medal. All eyes will be in London the next couple of weeks as the 2012 Olympic Games is upon us. The Philippines has sent over 11 athletes and if it all goes…
CALLER: My neighbor has a loan modification package that reduced their loan balance by about $200,000; this reduced their payments about $600-700 per month. I have a very similar situation and we have the same lender, what do you think my chances are to get the loan modification like my neighbors. They seemed to be…
Another weapon in the taxpayer’s arsenal that stops the IRS in its tracks is bankruptcy. The filing of a bankruptcy petition will generally stop the IRS from collecting your tax debts. This article will discuss what taxes are covered and how a bankruptcy petition can freeze IRS collection activities and even eliminate your tax debts….
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 such cases should be terminated or administratively closed and the Respondents in those proceedings should be allowed to stay and work legally in the US….
IN MY work as a Bankruptcy Attorney, I usually have the privilege of meeting all kinds of people from all walks of life. Some are poor, some are rich. Some are humble, some are arrogant. There are those who are in a state of denial, never acknowledging responsibility for anything they have ever done or…
The greatest show on Earth will happen again from July 27 to August 12 at the London Olympics. It will be another spectacle and the stage is set for this planet’s greatest athletes to give glory to their respective countries in the name of competitive sport. Will it be another fantastic summer for the gold-hauler…
A MAN who goes to the gym, where I work out , would flaunt a t-shirt with bold lettering, IT’S ALL ABOUT ME. “Hmmm,” I would often muse, “what message is he trying to say?” Definitely, the message sounds narcissistic, but I wonder what leads this man to walk around wearing this t-shirt. Is he…
DUAL Tracking is the practice of negotiating with clients to modify a mortgage so that payments become more affordable while simultaneously pursuing foreclosure. What most of the calls I am getting is that the Governor signed a bill to “Stop the Foreclosure” process — which is totally incorrect. The banking and real estate industries opposed…
FILIPINO-American George Samson has dedicated his life to helping the poor, the sick and the needy, but has never sought fame and honor for his work as the President of World Medical Relief Inc. Yet, that is exactly what he has been getting the past years — honors, awards, accolades, salutes and standing ovations from…
BOTH the President and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have recently issued statements urging people who may qualify for deferred action status and work authorization under the DREAM Policy initiative to gather evidence necessary to prove the five requirements for DREAM treatment. Since perhaps more than one million people could potentially benefit from this…
YOU’VE probably heard the saying, “The failure to plan is a plan to fail”. And yet so many of us don’t realize how we so easily neglect to plan for our financial future. Ask as many people as you can what kind of financial planning they have done for the next 5-10 years and see…
Recently, there was a story making national news, about a high school student who got stuck in Mexico while applying for her immigrant visa. Shewould not only miss her high school graduation, but she would also bebanned from returning to the US for three years. According to news reports, this student was brought to the…
The symbolic significance of the number seven goes way back in the Creation Story when God created the world in seven days and took a breather on the seventh day. The ancient world had the Seven Wonders, and students of antiquity studied the Seven Liberal Arts. Popular culture has James Bond (007), the Seven Dwarves,…
A MULTICULTURAL advertising agency in Toronto owned by two Filipino women recently won the top award for print in the annual Summit International Awards, highlighting the two immigrants’ incredible journey from packing bagels in a factory to handling multi-million dollar marketing campaigns for major companies. AV Communications, owned and managed by Filipino partners Anna Maramba…
JOINING the Goliaths of the world choirs! That’s what I thought as our children’s choir sung in front of the international judges of the World Choir Games in Cincinnati, Ohio last week to qualify for the Champions’ Competition. That meant that despite not having received any national or international awards yet, Immaculate Heart of Mary…
IF YOU are buried in debt, you may be feeling trapped at the moment with no way out. You realize you need help but don’t know where to go for help. You may even be embarrassed about your situation that you find it uncomfortable to turn to family and friends for help. So you try…
CALIFORNIA would prohibit the charging of advance fees to homeowners in connection with a loan modification, and require anyone who wishes to charge a fee for loan modification services (after performing them) to provide a state mandated notice beforehand regarding the availability of non-fee options for the borrower. Tens of thousands of Californians face default…
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 priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning that immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority…
