SW Law Group wishes everyone peace, happiness, and a prosperous new year. We are here to guide you and assist everyone. 新年明けましておめでとうございます。シンデル外国法法律事務所から皆様にお幸せ、そして、健康、ビジネスの成功も祈ります。2023年、よろしくお願いします。シンデル デービット。
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Ever notice that Jews don’t traditionally wish each other “happy new year”?
Instead we say the Hebrew phrase “shanah tovah” which — in spite of the mistaken translation that appears on almost all greeting cards — has no connection at all to the expression “have a happy new year.”
Shanah tovahconveys the hope for a good year rather than a happy one. And the reason for that distinction contains great significance.
This past January, the Atlantic Monthly had a fascinating article titled There’s More to Life than Being Happy. The author, Emily Esfahani Smith, points out how researchers are beginning to caution against the pursuit of mere happiness. They found that a meaningful life and a happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately very different. Leading a happy life, the psychologists found, is associated with being a “taker” while leading a meaningful life corresponds with being a “giver.”
The U.S. State Department recently announced that consular operations at various consular posts in China, will be reduced because of operational impacts caused by the surge of COVID-19 infections” across the country.
The U.S. Consulates General in Guangzhou, Shenyang and Wuhan will only be providing emergency consular services until further notice.
Beginning Dec. 19, the Guangzhou Immigrant Visa until will be closed for regular visa services until further notice due to limited resources.
The U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai are only providing passport and emergency citizen services at this time.
All routine visa services, with the exception of some previously scheduled at the Consulate General in Shanghai, are temporarily suspended; all regularly scheduled appointments at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the other Consulates General have been canceled.
Welcome Xiomara Alina Mendez to our Tokyo team. Alina studied in the US and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from The University of California, Berkeley. She grew up in Hiroshima and is trilingual.. English, Japanese, and Spanish. She worked for a year in an immigration firm in the Bay Area prior to joining us.