Variety Services by Leo

11/07/2024

BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP is in line to be eliminated under the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION! If you or any family members fall under that category, please send in your application before JANUARY 2025.

United States citizenship can be acquired by birthright in two situations: by virtue of the person's birth within United States territory or because at least one of their parents was a U.S. citizen at the time of the person's birth.

Variety Services By Leo can assist you with the process. For more information, please send a message to [email protected].

02/17/2024

Very sad....our children are not safe! Lord please continue to keep my children safe!

WORCESTER - Two men recently arraigned on child r**e and trafficking charges in Worcester Superior Court are also facing federal charges. Michael J. LaMountain, 41, and Jalen Latimer, 25, were each recently charged with one count of sexual exploitation of children in U.S. District Court in Worcester...

08/10/2023

GREAT NEWS FOR HAITAIN & CUBAN FAMILIES WHO WANT TO FILE FOR THEIR FAMILY TO MIGRATE TO THE US!

"Eligible beneficiaries must be outside the United States and are no longer required to be physically present in Cuba or Haiti."

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/08/10/dhs-modernizes-cuban-and-haitian-family-reunification-parole-processes

05/29/2023

Happy Memorial Day from Variety Services By Leo!
774-578-4749 [email protected]

03/24/2022

Massachusetts To Start Mailing $500 ‘Premium Pay’ Checks To Eligible Essential Workers

Keep an eye on the mail – Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration said Wednesday that $500 checks are starting to go out to eligible Massachusetts residents as part of the “Essential Employee Premium Pay Program.”

Half a million low-income workers will be the first to get the payments, which are being mailed out over the next week. This is the first round of funds to go out under the $460 million program approved by the Legislature in December.

The legislation Baker signed into law called for payments of between $500 and $2,000 for essential employees who worked in-person – not remotely – during the state of emergency that was declared on March 10, 2020 and lasted for more than a year. But Baker’s administration, in an effort to get money out the door as fast as possible, is determining eligibility for this round of payments solely based on 2020 tax return information, as there wasn’t a faster way to assess who worked in-person and who didn’t during the state of emergency. And the administration decided to keep the check amount at $500 to get money to more people.

Baker vetoed a section of the bill that would have set up an advisory panel to determine who exactly would be eligible.

“Massachusetts residents will be eligible for first round payments if, based on filed 2020 Massachusetts tax returns, their income from employment was at least $12,750 – the equivalent to working 20 hours/week for 50 weeks at minimum wage as of 2020 – and their total income put them below 300% of the federal poverty level,” the administration said in a statement.

Income eligibility for the premium pay checks (Image credit: Baker Administration)

Anyone who received unemployment compensation in 2020 is not eligible in the first round. Residents who have questions about their eligibility can contact a call center at (866) 750-9803 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Baker’s office said it will release plans to distribute the remaining money in the future based on information from 2021 tax returns.

Eligibility Parameters
In order to be eligible to receive a Round 1 Premium Pay check:

You must have:

Filed a 2020 tax return;
Been a Massachusetts resident in 2020, or a part year resident that lived in Massachusetts between March 10, 2020 and December 31, 2020;
Earned income of at least $12,750 in 2020 employment compensation; AND
Had a total household income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level in 2020 (see table below).

And you must NOT have:

Received any unemployment compensation in 2020;

OR

If you are an employee of the Commonwealth’s Executive Branch, received a one-time COVID-related payment from the Commonwealth as your employer.

All eligible individuals will automatically receive a check in the mail. If you do not receive a check, you may be eligible for a future round of premium payments.

03/20/2022

IMMIGRATION UPDATES!!!

Certain EADs for TPS Somalia Automatically Extended through Sept. 12, 2022.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has automatically extended the validity of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) with a Category Code of A12 or C19 issued under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia through Sept. 12, 2022.

03/18/2022

IMMIGRATION UPDATES

Secretary of Homeland Security Designates Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 Months.

On March 3, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an initial period of 18 months.

-Provides work authorization and a stay of deportation.

-Must submit an application (Form I-821), pay fees and submit evidence.

Requirements
-Be a national of a country designated for TPS, or a person without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country;

-File during the open initial registration or re-registration period, or you meet the requirements for late initial filing during any extension of your country’s TPS designation (Late initial filers see ‘Filing Late’ section below);

-Have been continuously physically present (CPP) in the United States since the effective date of March 1.

-Have been continuously residing (CR) in the United States since the date specified for your country. (See your country’s TPS web page to the left). The law allows an exception to the continuous physical presence and continuous residence requirements for brief, casual and innocent departures from the United States. When you apply or re-register for TPS, you must inform USCIS of all absences from the United States since the CPP and CR dates. USCIS will determine whether the exception applies in your case.

03/11/2022

Tax Rules to Know if You Give or Receive Cash
Cash is king, but you may have to tell the taxman if you're giving or receiving it.

Whether you work in the gig economy or are the recipient of a cash gift from a relative, you need to know if and how to report that money to the IRS. There are different rules and reporting requirements depending on whether it's money that has been earned or gifted.

In general, these are the basics you need to know about cash gifts and cash payments:

Report Payments of $2,200 or More Made to Household Employees
While most cash payments don't have to be reported to the IRS, the rules are different for some domestic workers, including nannies. If a person works exclusively for you and you dictate how they spend their day, the IRS would likely classify that person as a household employee.

Once an employee is paid $2,200 or more per year, you need to begin withholding Federal Insurance Contribution Act taxes for Social Security and Medicare. The cost of F**A is split between employees and employers so you will need to pay half of the 15.3% tax. Plus, you may be required to pay unemployment taxes as well.

"The important part is being proactive about when you're going to go over that ($2,200) threshold," Ryan says. If you have a household employee, you might want to apply for an employer identification number from the IRS. You also need to give your worker a W-2 each year and file a Schedule H (Form 1040) with your own taxes to report the income paid. An accountant may be able to assist with this process or some tax software companies have programs for those who want to manage payroll themselves.

03/11/2022

You Can Get Up to $8,000 Back on Your Tax Return if You Paid for Child or Dependent Care in 2021. Here’s How:

American families pay between $8,000 and $10,000 per child for annual child care costs, a 2021 Treasury report found, citing data from the Child Care Aware of America. But this year, parents and other qualifying caretakers can get a big tax break on care costs.

The Child and Dependent Care Credit, a tax credit for parents and other caregivers with qualifying dependents, was expanded by more than double thanks to 2021’s American Rescue Plan. This is similar to the expanded Child Tax Credit under the American Rescue Plan, which was also a temporary expansion for tax year 2021.

The expanded Child and Dependent Care Credit allows eligible taxpayers to claim a credit worth up to $4,000 in care expenses paid for one qualifying dependent or $8,000 for two or more dependents.

03/10/2022