Posted on February 11, 2015 in Personal Injury

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 10, 2015 in Immigration

Before 2009, it had been the stated policy of the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS, formerly INS) that if a petitioner died while his or her family member’s petition was still in process, that family member had to begin the process again, going back to their country and waiting even longer than he or she already had to immigrate. A change to the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) made that no longer the case, and yet so many people still misinterpret and wrongly state the law.

Section 204(l)

Section 204(l) was added to the INA officially in 2010, with the express purpose of making it easier for those already in the process to continue. Previous controlling immigration decisions had simply chalked up anyone who had to start over as a casualty of time. Section L states that certain immigrants with a “qualifying relative” who passed away before the alien’s priority date may have their petition approved, providing they meet certain criteria. The criteria are:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 09, 2015 in Personal Injury

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 06, 2015 in Family Law

In our increasingly connected and globalized world, exposing our children to international travel, language, and culture is extremely beneficial to their development and teaches them adaptability. Making the decision to go abroad, whether for a short time or for a longer duration, can be an already difficult decision. It can become impossible if you are a divorced parent who shares custody with your ex-spouse and there is little to no trust between you too.

Traveling Abroad: Preliminary Matters to Discuss and Consider

Taking a child abroad (or letting an ex-spouse take a child abroad) can be extremely difficult, especially when the post-divorce relationship between parents is acrimonious. The biggest concern may be present when one of the parents is from another country and would like to bring the child abroad to visit his or her family, but the other spouse is worried that his or her spouse may abduct the child. What can divorced parents in this situation do to assuage each other’s concerns about the motives of the other?

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 04, 2015 in Personal Injury

A tractor-trailer jack-knifed in the early morning hours on Wednesday, January 21, 2015. The truck driver dozed off at the wheel and caused an accident in the eastbound lanes of I-74 west of Tilton. The Freightliner veered off into the right shoulder of the interstate and when the driver overcorrected in the opposite direction, the truck jack-knifed and fell on its side, blocking both lanes.

Illinois Truck Accidents

In its 2012 Traffic Safety Data Report, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that 333,000 large trucks (i.e. tractor trailers or semis) were involved in accidents in the 2012. Nearly 4,000 people were killed and 104,000 were harmed in accidents involving large trucks. Most of the victims in these fatal car accidents were the drivers of the other vehicles. And of the almost 4,000 people killed in these accidents, 73 percent were in other vehicles—only 18 percent were in the large trucks. The number of fatalities and overall accidents involving large trucks increased from the previous year.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 03, 2015 in Immigration

When someone enters the United States without inspection, he or she may be arrested and deported. Afterward, the individual must wait to re-enter the country for a specific period of time, lest he or she face consequences. Many people confuse this “re-entry bar” with the bars against permanent residence. It is extremely important for potential immigrants to understand the difference between the two, lest they make a mistake that leaves them on the outside looking in—permanently.

After Removal

When you are granted a visa to enter the United States, it will have a specific expiration date of which you must abide. If you do not, and you are caught, you will be issued an Order of Removal. A final Order of Removal means that you are not being granted any form of immigration relief, and gives you a specific time frame in which to leave the country. You may be granted voluntary departure, which allows you to leave without being compelled and no bar will be assessed against your return. However, you may not be—and if you are not, you will have some time to wait before you are permitted to apply for re-entry into the United States.

Those who are not granted voluntary departure must wait out a bar before they can try to obtain a new American visa, unless they can obtain a waiver. Temporary bars are five, 10 and 20 years, depending on several factors. The Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) generally states:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 02, 2015 in Personal Injury

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 29, 2015 in Immigration

The word ‘quota’ has an ugly past, especially in the context of visas. In years past it was used as a bludgeon with which to deny safety to people in need. Today, there are more exceptions and protections for those truly in need, while visa quotas are reserved for those not in immediate danger. Still, there is a lot of misinformation about how the yearly caps work. If you are planning to apply for certain categories of visas, you must understand how the quota works lest you inadvertently disqualify yourself.

Family-Based Immigration

There are two classifications for visas available to those attempting to immigrate via a family-based petition. The first is for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens such as parents, children and spouses. There is no quota limit in force in this category. The second is for what are called preference categories—non-immediate relatives or people who are the wrong age to apply themselves (such as the child of a non-immigrant visa holder who is in the process of adjusting status).

For the second classification, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows 226,000 family-based visas to be granted per year. However, it is important to note that this is a minimum, not a maximum. The statutory wording refers to “at least” that amount being issued. The number actually issued each year varies. It is arrived at by subtracting the number of immediate relative visas and paroled immigrants from 480,000, and adding the number of unused employment preference visas.

Congress attempts to seek balance in nationality and also relationship to ensure that not too many of one category are permitted entry in any one year. Per-country ceilings are established under the INA that mandate that any given country may not exceed 7 percent of the number of permanent immigrants in a given year. This is not to restrict solely for restriction’s sake, but to ensure that no country dominates the number of visas granted each year. Such a thing would become a fairness issue.

There are four categories of preference for family-based petitions. They are:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 28, 2015 in Personal Injury

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 27, 2015 in Family Law

In Illinois, couples may decide to divorce either by claiming that a divorce is fault-based or no fault-based. A no fault divorce basically provides that there are no specific reasons for which a couple may decide to divorce, other than their desire to separate. However, there are fault-based reasons by which a spouse may use.

Fault-Based Grounds for Divorce in Illinois

The following are the fault-based grounds for a divorce in Illinois:

• Impotence throughout the marriage;
• The spouse was already married at the time of the second marriage;
• Adultery;
• Habitual drunkenness for two years;
• Use of addictive drugs for period of two years;

Continue Reading ››