Finished my STWC classes and submitted through the new website. I know in the beginning of the year when they were shutdown it took guys 5-6 months. And they had a letter it was going to take 8 months. I’m hoping that has changed…
H.R. 10153 would let U.S. mariners who serve 90+ days in a 12-month period on qualifying U.S.-flag vessels treat that income as foreign earned income same treatment other Americans working abroad already get. We do the same time away from home; the tax code just hasn’t caught up. Basically 0% FEDERAL INCOME TAX. Email your representative!
Do this:
Find your rep: house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
Find your senators: senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
Sample message (personalize it):
I’m a U.S. merchant mariner asking you to support H.R. 10153, the American Mariner Tax Fairness Act. It extends the foreign earned income exclusion to mariners on qualifying U.S.-flag vessels in foreign trade the same treatment other Americans working abroad get. Please cosponsor/support it.
If your union (MM&P, MEBA, SIU, AMO) is running a push on this, add your voice there too. Doesn’t move without noise.
I brought some of my collections here and went to a show. I was getting offers at 70% consistently. While they’re selling 10/20% above market on slabs and raw cards lol.
Meanwhile in the US, buy rates run 80-90% and rarely dip below 80%. So it’s not like fair pricing is impossible PH vendors.
Obviously it’s the buyers choice to do the sale but at least make it fair.
H.R. 10153 would let U.S. mariners who serve 90+ days in a 12-month period on qualifying U.S.-flag vessels treat that income as foreign earned income same treatment other Americans working abroad already get. We do the same time away from home; the tax code just hasn’t caught up. Basically 0% FEDERAL INCOME TAX.
Status: Introduced by Rep. Fitzpatrick (R-PA) w/ bipartisan cosponsors (Suozzi, Malliotakis, Boyle). Sitting in House Ways and Means since 8/27/2026. Backed by MEBA and the American Maritime Congress. No Senate companion yet.
Do this:
Find your rep: house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
Find your senators: senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
Sample message (personalize it):
I’m a U.S. merchant mariner asking you to support H.R. 10153, the American Mariner Tax Fairness Act. It extends the foreign earned income exclusion to mariners on qualifying U.S.-flag vessels in foreign trade the same treatment other Americans working abroad get. Please cosponsor/support it.
If your union (MM&P, MEBA, AMO) is running a push on this, add your voice there too. Doesn’t move without
noise.
Situation: My relative was born in the Philippines in 1996 to a U.S. citizen father and a Filipina mother. The parents were never married. Both parents went to the embassy together and applied for CRBAs for her and her older sister at the same time.
The sister was approved and has been a U.S. citizen ever since. Hers was disapproved and per a recent letter from the Passport Vital Records Section, the only stated reason was that a requested DNA test from the father was never submitted. A Lookout was entered in her name. It was never denied on the merits.
Where things stand now:
**•** She’s still in the Philippines, now in her late 20s
**•** The father is alive but out of contact and won’t cooperate no DNA, no documents
**•** Her father did sign her Philippine birth certificate
**•** The sister (approved, U.S. citizen) is willing to do sibling DNA testing; the mother will test if needed
**•** We’ve requested the disapproved file and Lookout file from State
My questions:
**1.** Since the parents weren’t married, this falls under INA 309(a) including the written agreement to provide financial support until 18. As far as anyone knows, no such document was ever executed. Has anyone gotten past this prong without one? Does actual support (remittances, affidavits) ever substitute?
2. Does the sister’s approval under the same unmarried father carry any weight? The government clearly found he met the requirements once.
3. Anyone actually completed embassy coordinated sibling DNA testing for a citizenship claim? How did it go?
4. Passport application at Embassy Manila vs. N 600 which first, given the Lookout?
We’re lining up an immigration attorney, but I’d like to hear from people who’ve been through it. Thanks.
Location:California
My mom passed in California without a will. Her estate is insolvent she owed the IRS $850k, way more than her only asset, a house we’re letting go to foreclosure. We’re not planning to open probate (talking to an estate attorney in a couple of days).
My siblings and I are the named beneficiaries on her life insurance policies. My understanding is that named beneficiary life insurance passes outside the estate, so it’s not reachable by the IRS, and we’re not personally liable for her debts the IRS only gets estate assets (the house), and the rest dies with the insolvent estate.
Do I have this right? Can the IRS reach life insurance paid to a named beneficiary in any scenario? And does staying out of the estate entirely keep us clear? Thanks.
Location: California
Handling my late mom’s estate in California. We’re forgoing formal probate since her main asset (the house) has an IRS lien that exceeds the equity, so we’re just letting that go to foreclosure.
Separately, she owned a life insurance policy on my dad (he’s still alive) an Accordia Life universal policy. Since no contingent owner was named, ownership defaulted to her estate. Me and my siblings want to keep the policy active. Accordia wants either Letters of Testamentary, or an affidavit of heirship plus an Ownership Change Request form, to move ownership to an individual.
The policy’s cash value is only about $800. The death benefit is $500,000.
My question: if I use an affidavit of heirship to claim this, does that make me personally liable for my mom’s other debts (specifically anything the IRS could still come after), even though the amount is tiny? Or is liability capped at the value of what’s actually being transferred ($800)?
Trying to collect every tag team. Looking for near mints.
I’m trying to help a childhood friend of mine get into the industry. I’ve been sailing deep sea for a decade. For my drug test it’s a union form I take to any drug test place and I get a letter back.
What’s the drug test form for someone applying for first time with their MMC? Is it CG-719P?
My mom passed away recently and left behind 3 pre-selling condo unit with Megaworld that she’d been paying for over 2 years but she had it in my name. I decided to cancel it, and under the Maceda Law I’m entitled to at least 50% of the total payments back.
Megaworld first said everything would be forfeited because of a clause in the reservation agreement. I pushed back and told them that clause is void under Maceda Law. Now they say they’re still “reviewing” whether the account qualifies, with no clear timeline.
For anyone who’s dealt with Megaworld on this:
• How long did it take from filing your refund request to actually getting paid?
• Did you have to file with DHSUD, or did they pay without it?
• Any tips to speed things up?
Trying to figure out if I should keep waiting or just file with DHSUD now.
My mom recently passed and me and my sister is named beneficiary. She worked for Kaiser as an RN for 15 years. I remember her telling me she will get 1 million when she reaches 65. She was 55 when she passed away. We’re named beneficiary for her 401 and 403 which we know total amount. We haven’t contacted Kaiser Pension. But just trying to get an idea of how much it could possibly be? Because she hasn’t done 20 and was only 55 we know it’s significantly less. Any information would be helpful. Thank you!
My mom has stage 4 cancer. She has days if not less. I feel like I’m going to have a panic attack at any moment.
My mom has stage 4 cancer. The last few days have been rough where she isn’t comfortable in bed at all. I keep waking up to help her. I’m now exhausted. It seems like there’s something every minute that needs to be done.
So my fiance and I are in the Philippines and spotted this puppy 4 months ago around the beach. Philippines is littered with feral dogs. We adopted her and she’s doing better now. We’ll eventually move back to San Francisco and bring her with us.
As a seafarer there’s always birds hitching a ride on the ship. Noticed this little guy who I haven’t recognized in on my years as a sailor. This was late December.
Could be a big investment or a small everyday item — what purchase made the biggest difference in your nomad lifestyle or made traveling/living abroad easier?
My mom was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and we’re trying to understand how life insurance works when there is IRS debt involved.
She has significant IRS tax debt and is currently on a payment plan with the IRS. She also owns a house in SF, but my main question is about the life insurance policy.
The policy has her children listed directly as beneficiaries
We recently spoke with a lawyer we found online and left a little confused because it sounded like the IRS debt would still need to be paid and possibly from the life insurance proceeds.
From what I’ve been reading online, life insurance with direct named beneficiaries usually bypasses probate and does not become part of the estate. But I also know the IRS has broader powers than normal creditors.
My mom was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and we’re trying to understand how life insurance works when there is IRS debt involved.
She has significant IRS tax debt and is currently on a payment plan with the IRS. She also owns a house in SF, but my main question is about the life insurance policy.
The policy has her children listed directly as beneficiaries
We recently spoke with a lawyer we found online and left a little confused because it sounded like the IRS debt would still need to be paid and possibly from the life insurance proceeds.
From what I’ve been reading online, life insurance with direct named beneficiaries usually bypasses probate and does not become part of the estate. But I also know the IRS has broader powers than normal creditors.
So we’re hoping to find one here in the city. Any recs?
My mom was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and we’re trying to understand how life insurance works when there is IRS debt involved.
She has significant IRS tax debt and is currently on a payment plan with the IRS. She also owns a house in California, but my main question is about the life insurance policy.
The policy has her children listed directly as beneficiaries.
We recently spoke with a lawyer and left a little confused because it sounded like the IRS debt would still need to be paid and possibly from the life insurance proceeds.
From what I’ve been reading online, life insurance with direct named beneficiaries usually bypasses probate and does not become part of the estate. But I also know the IRS has broader powers than normal creditors.
Has anyone here actually gone through this situation?