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ATTY. MICHAEL J. GURFINKEL DOES IT AGAIN
Christopher de Leon's eldest son also gets
"instant" U.S. citizenship
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON. Like his famous father,
actor Christopher de Leon, Rafael is now an "instant" American
citizen, thanks to Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel. Just like Christopher,
Rafael did not have to be petitioned, or wait for 5 years as a
greencard holder, before applying for naturalization. Father and
son skipped the long process, as Atty. Gurfinkel established their
eligibility to U.S. citizenship by virtue of their American bloodline.
Above, Rafael, flanked by Christopher and Atty. Gurfinkel, proudly
shows his newly acquired Certificate of Citizenship, issued by
the INS.
Almost every Filipino has heard about the famous
case of actor Christopher de Leon getting "instant" American citizenship
and a U.S. passport because Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel was able
to trace Christopher's "American" roots. Christopher was able
to completely skip the normal process of a relative petition,
lengthy immigration processing, green card interview, or a five-year
wait for naturalization and interview.
Little did Christopher know that after getting his own "instant"
American citizenship, his own children would also be eligible
to continue the "American Bloodline".
Rafael de Leon (Christopher's eldest son with Sandy Andolong),
once again assisted by popular immigration attorney Michael J.
Gurfinkel, was granted his own citizenship and his own "instant"
U.S. passport on January 3, 2001, giving Rafael a good start for
the new year.
But, in order for Rafael to get citizenship, Atty. Gurfinkel resorted
to a little-known law allowing acquisition of citizenship through
a grandparent. Ordinarily, the law requires that in order for
a U.S. citizen parent to pass (or transmit) citizenship to his
children, the parent must have lived on U.S. soil or territory
for a required period of time.
The problem was Christopher never lived in the U.S. He had lived
all his life in the Philippines, as we all know, having adoringly
followed his colorful acting career through the years.
However, Atty. Gurfinkel relied on a provision in the law that
provided for an exception to this rule, allowing a child of a
U.S. citizen to obtain a "certificate of citizenship" if his or
her grandparent had satisfied the required "physical presence"
in the U.S. or a U.S. possession for at least five years.
Based on this provision, Atty. Gurfinkel filed Rafael's application
and argued that Rafael's grandmother, former actress Lilia Dizon,
who was also a U.S. citizen by birth, met the residency requirement
and, thus, Rafael was entitled to U.S. citizenship. Lilia, who
is the mother of Christopher, had lived in the United States and
in the Philippines, while it was still a U.S. possession.
Rafael had to avail of this citizenship provision before he reached
the age of 18. Since Rafael is a minor, the INS required that
the father, Christopher, be present with Rafael during the interview
at the INS office in Los Angeles. (The Embassy does not handle
these types of "grandparent citizenship" cases. Only INS in the
U.S. does.)
Christopher, who sought and got American citizenship not so much
for himself, but for the sake of his children, flew to Los Angeles
the night before the interview. (He had to fly back to Manila
on the same day of the interview to catch his TV hosting job of
the Philippine version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?")
Christopher and wife Sandy are both happy that their "U.S. citizen
son" can now pursue his dream of studying and seeking better opportunities
in America. They thanked Atty. Gurfinkel for again helping their
son to obtain American citizenship, without Christopher having
to petition Rafael.
Atty. Gurfinkel helped Christopher obtain his U.S. citizenship
in 1999, after Christopher had originally approached Atty. Gurfinkel
asking about a green card for "alien of extraordinary ability,"
as Atty. Gurfinkel got for fellow FAMAS awardee Gina Alajar. Atty.
Gurfinkel, who looks at every possible angle of a case, discovered
that Christopher's middle name was "Strauss."
Atty. Gurfinkel immediately conducted a document research, and
concluded that Christopher was entitled to U.S. citizenship.
News about Christopher obtaining "instant" citizenship through
his American bloodline has inspired other similarly-situated
Filipinos to seek the help of Atty. Gurfinkel, and many of them
are glad they did because they are now "instant" American citizens,
too. Rafael's case could inspire even more people to pursue "instant
American citizenship" for their own children.
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