Sick man no more
In a recent conference held in Washington, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima shed some light on what took the Philippine government to achieve its current state, as one of the…
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'Prosecutorial discretion' also available for gay and lesbian partners
In June 2011, John Morton, the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a memo on “prosecutorial discretion”, whereby ICE would refrain from going after, or removing\deporting, certain people…
Deferred Action (DREAM) application process available beginning August 15, 2012
DHS current policy is to focus its enforcement resources on the removal of individuals who pose a danger to national security or a risk to public safety, including individuals convicted…
Weight gain/weight loss foods
THE average adult gains one pound (0.45 Kilos) a year. Packing an additional 20 pounds (9 Kilos) a year multiplies the health risks of every one of us. The question…
9th Circuit holds that aged-out beneficiaries retain original priority dates under CSPA!
THE US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit last week joined the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and reversed its previous decision in De Osorio et….
Peace and all good for the Azkals
Another feel-good moment is added to the highlight clips of Philippine Sports with the Azkals winning the Philippine Football Peace Cup crown that was held last September 25 to 27….
How to know it’s time to consider bankruptcy
ARE you being harassed by your creditors day and night due to unpaid bills? If you are, you know that this is a pretty unpleasant experience. You may feel scared,…
Of faith and action
YEARS ago, a parishioner was complaining to me that our church was not doing enough work to alleviate the sufferings of the poor in our neighborhood. Being the new pastor…
Perception
TODAY, more Filipinos are tightening their belts to sustain themselves not only through the rainy days, but for as long as the prices of commodities continue to rise. Despite the…
The high costs of employer retaliation
A FEDERAL jury in Los Angeles recently awarded a former supervisor of the United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) more than $18 million in damages after he was fired for filing…
Don’t let debt ruin your financial future
A client of mine said he never saw it coming. Everything he ever wanted in life, he always purchased on credit. The “pre-approved” credit cards just kept coming in the…
How to stop the IRS from seizing your property
OBVIOUSLY, the easiest way in stopping the IRS from seizing your property or rights to property is by paying the taxes you owe. In today’s economy, however, it is not…
The NVC is not your attorney, for 'free' legal advice
Many people, desiring to save money, try to handle their immigration matters on their own. They may have a relative in the Philippines being processed for an immigrant visa, and…
Drinking 101
The abuse of alcohol is the leading risk factor for disability and premature death in the world. Alcohol-related deaths claim almost 80,000 lives each year in the United States alone….
Immigration court appeals: Make your last chance count!
EACH year, I consult with hundreds of individuals who have been ordered to leave the US by Immigration Judges. In the vast majority of these cases, the person had applied…
Getting there
Once again, they had their chances. Pitted against the competition, they fought it out, and the outcome was somehow satisfactory. With the afterglow of its successful golden campaign in the…
Bankruptcy: Lose your debts, not your sanity
IF YOU’VE ever been in a situation in your life where you had to file bankruptcy as a last resort in order to get out of debt, you know exactly…
Dying to look good
To take the risk of possible death from surgery that is necessary to save life or to maintain or restore health makes intelligent sense. But to die from an elective…
On being the least of all
WE often hear that “politics” exists not only in governments but also in corporations, schools, civic organizations, and even in churches. We find this contention to be true when we…
Give me a break: Who really won in that lunch break case?
Q: I HEARD that the Supreme Court recently decided a case about the employer’s obligation to provide lunch breaks. Some say the employers won the case. But others say the…
DACA program off to a jump start
JUST one month into the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) more than 75,000 applications for deferred action and work authorization have been submitted to the USCIS….
The Voice of Filipino-Canadians
WHEN Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper made his appointments to the Senate in Canada, no one was more surprised than Filipino Canadian Tobias Enverga Jr. Enverga, a long-time bank executive,…
A tale of two DUIs: One with enhancement and the other without
On February 19, 2012 and May 26, 2012, respectively, two males of Filipino descent committed driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) as first offenders in Glendale, California. The Mercedez…
Old debts from the past have a way of coming back to haunt you
IF YOU are like a lot of people who have old, unpaid debts, collection accounts and judgments from their past that they don’t even remember, you may feel that it…
The October 2012 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…
Billion germs in the kitchen!
Yes, billion microorganisms! That’s not a typo. That’s how many unwanted and potentially dangerous bugs there are on average in almost any kitchen. So, it is not the bathroom that…
Reinstating A Deceased Petitioner’s Family Based Petition
It is very common for beneficiaries of family based petition to wait many years before their petition’s priority date becomes current. This is usually the case with US Citizen parent…
Fil-Am Stories: Nic Belasco
THE mark of a great athlete is his ability to transcend generations of spectators. In the past, the glory of being an athlete was immortalized in poetry and the other…
The purpose of prayer
A FEW days ago, I was telling my parishioners in a homily about a Catholic priest who was traveling by train through Siberia. Sitting next to him in the train…