Immigration

by – Glen P. Hubahib, Esq.

We will take a side trip to the pressing event. For the FilAm’s, the November elections has taken a life of its own. The failed assassination of former Pres. Trump and his VP pick of Sen. JD Vance skyrocketed his stock. Only to be deflated by Pres. Biden withdrawal and Sen. Vance’s reference to the presumptive Democratic nominee, VP Kamala Harris, as a “childless cat lady”. The comment angered various women’s groups. As has been true in the last two political exercise, the suburban women may decide the presidential contest which is now essentially a dead heat.

Below is a recent CNN comparative poll before and after Pres. Biden withdrawal on the critical voting block that will tilt the needle for the winner.

A screenshot of a graph

Two-step Process:

The US presidential election is a two-step exercise. First, is a direct popular vote per State. Second, the winning candidate’s local party will get chance to appoint electors who will eventually vote for President. Electors are allocated per State based on the number of Congressional districts. For example, California has fifty-three. Most electors, if not all do not hold public office. They are regular party members. The winner must have 270 electoral votes, otherwise, the House of Representatives elects from the top three candidates.

The founding fathers already forestall the danger of the “tyranny of majority.” So, they add a check and balance to safeguard the rights of the majority and minority and the competing interest of large and small states. Hans von Spakovsky (former Federal Election Commissioner) wrote, “It prevents candidates from winning an election by focusing only on high-population urban centers (the big cities), ignoring the smaller states and the more rural areas.”

Case in point is the Philippines, national candidates focusing Metro Manila, Cebu, Pampanga, Davao, among others. It leaves far flung areas bereft of development because they do not have the leverage to demand development funds. Additionally, it encourages showbiz politics. Person that does not have the ability to run the government that the electorate erroneously perceived as qualified. John Adams correctly emphasized practical understanding and civic awareness on the citizenry to maintain democracy and guide them in voting wisely.

In my July 22 appearance on the top-rated Open Forum program of Ma’ams Ardy and Gloria of the Araneta fame, I discussed that the presidential election will be decided in the battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. These are the States that former Pres. Trump won in 2016 and lost in 2020. There is a chatter that the State of Georgia is also in play when VP Harris becomes the Democratic nominee. What had been a boring contest between two octogenarians suddenly energized the political base of the Democratic and Republican parties. Because of the closeness on the contest, we expect virulent attacks on each side and the promises of heavens.

For illustration, I constructed an electoral map below using the Real Clear Politics create your map app tracking the last two presidential election behavior. Shading full blue and red for likely Democratic and Republican respectively. Light blue for leaning Democratic and light red for leaning Republican. Grey being a toss-up, meaning it can go either way. As you can see, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania are part of the so-called “blue wall” that prevents the encroachment of red states (Republican) to the Northeast. If that falls, then we have Trump.

A map of the united states

Hence, the Democratic party is playing offense and old school defense on these States.

Consular Processing:

Now, we go back to the main topic of processing the green card at the consular office. Once the petition is approved, the file will be processed by the National Visa Center (NVC) for the beneficiary who will apply for green card at the US Embassy in Manila. The petitioner and the beneficiary will then receive an email on the next steps, i.e. payment of the affidavit of support fee and visa application fee. It is important that your email is correct and accurate because the NVC will not send paper notices.

After that, you will upload electronically the civil documents, e.g. passport picture, passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate etc. as well as the secondary documents if applicable to https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx. You will use your case number that usually starts with MNL and the invoice number that starts with IVS. Make sure that the characters and numbers is correctly entered.

When completed, the NVC will then forward the file to the US Embassy in Manila. The office will schedule your medical examination at St. Luke Medical Office and your visa interview. When successful, the consul will affix a temporary green card in your passport. Within 90 days from arrival in the United States you will then receive the actual green card and the social security card.

If you have any questions to the NVC, you can send to https://nvc.state.gov/inquiry. They do not accept letters and telephone calls anymore.

(Note: The article is for informational purposes only and not intended to provide legal advice. Each immigration case is unique, however simple. It is recommended that you consult an immigration attorney to avoid costly mistakes. “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.” Send your comments and suggestions to the author at hubahibg@gmail.com. Thank you.)