I’ve been called many things in my life, especially when it comes to my last name: Garfield; Garfunkel, Garfinkle, to name a few. But my actual name (as listed on my “timely-registered” birth certificate) is spelled with a “u”: Gurfinkel.
The reason I bring this up is because recently, a Filipino family came to my office, and were frustrated over the difficulty they encountered in trying to schedule a consultation at my office. They said they had filled out the entire intake questionnaire, submitted it online to my office, and wondered why we didn’t have it on file. It turned out that they were communicating with another immigration attorney, in a different state, whose last name was spelled similar to mine. They thought that the other attorney was me, because they had misspelled my last name. (I can only imagine that the other attorney was wondering why he was suddenly having all these Filipinos contacting him for consultations!)
Of course, you are free to consult with, or retain, any attorney of your choosing. However, if you are trying to reach me, it is helpful if you have my last name spelled correctly. In fact, if you are not sure how to spell my name, you can always check my weekly immigration columns, newspaper ads, go to www.gurfinkel.com, or even watch Citizen Pinoy on TFC, all of which have my contact information (and correct spelling of my name).
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WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com
Four offices to serve you: PHILIPPINES: 8940258 or 8940239; LOS ANGELES; SAN FRANCISCO; NEW YORK: TOLL FREE NUMBER: 1-866-GURFINKEL (1-866-487-3465)