Cable Barriers on Illinois Roadways: An Issue Revisited

 Posted on February 14, 2014 in Personal Injury

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How One Big IT Company Sees U.S. Immigration

 Posted on February 13, 2014 in Immigration

Infosys and U.S. immigration policy have a tumultuous relationship that gives just a glimpse at some of the big business interests behind the U.S. immigration system.

Infosys Immigration Fine

As we reported in an earlier blog, every year, companies rush to apply for H-1B employment visas because of the 65,000 yearly cap on visas the United States will award. Last October, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department accused Infosys, an Indian company of bringing employees to the United States through B-1 visas instead of H-1B visas. B-1 visas are much easier to obtain, and are significantly cheaper, but are only meant for short business-related visits. They allow foreigners to enter the United States for short-term business conventions or consultations, for example, and can be obtained within a few days for under $200. H-1B visas, on the other hand, take several months to process, and cost roughly $2,000. Although the company denied the charges that it was fraudulently and intentionally using B-1 visas to cut costs, it settled the claim made by federal prosecutors for $34 million.

This settlement, which was one of the largest in U.S. history, has come along at a time when immigration policy is in flux, and U.S. employment numbers are low. Regardless of if Infosys hired employees through B-1 visas intentionally or did so accidentally, the action allowed Infosys to outbid other companies for programming projects. It also took employment opportunities away from others that should have had them.

Immigration Reform

With immigration reform on the horizon, it is reported that companies like Infosys have begun moving work overseas to avoid the potential increased visa costs and increased minimum salaries for H1-B visa holders. These companies argue that IT service companies will be harmed across the board if visa costs increase or there are directives for added U.S. citizen hiring.

For their part, U.S. policy makers have been trying to balance technology company requests for an increase of H-1B visas with new enforcement protections. While Silicon Valley has stated that there is a shortage of Americans with sophisticated technological skills, those in the House of Representatives are trying to protect American jobs.

With over 40 years of experience on immigration matters, if you have any questions regarding your employment status or visa in the United States, contact an Illinois immigration attorney today. We are here to help and confident in our ability to effectively represent you.

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Poll Shows 94 Percent of Married Couples Happy in Their Marriages

 Posted on February 13, 2014 in Family Law

The chtribune is reporting that a staggering 94 percent of married couples claim to be “happy” or “very happy” in their marriages, according to a poll commissioned by Thomson Reuters. The poll questioned over 1700 married or cohabiting American adults. While on the surface this poll belies the 45 percent divorce rate in America, experts are quick to advise that these results be taken with a grain of salt.

“Direct observation and analysis of the interactions is the way to really learn what’s going on in a relationship,” said certified couples’ therapist Donald Cole of the Gottman Institute. Cole did say of the poll that the statistics gleaned are “a good starting point.”

The poll shows that arguments between married couples are frequent, but that a majority of those polled report having “heated arguments” less than monthly or never. This reflects a growing understanding amongst couples’ therapists that attempts to solve problems are often counterproductive. Carrie Cole, a certified therapist, said that “[r]esearch shows only 31 percent of our problems are solvable; 69 percent are perpetual.” This means that acceptance of differences may be better for the health of the relationship than trying to solve every problem. “Problem-solving is highly overrated,” said Donald Cole who, incidentally, is married to Carrie Cole.

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Illinois Lawmaker Works to Make High School Football Safer

 Posted on February 12, 2014 in Personal Injury

With the recent superbowl, there will be no shortage of news stories and media reports about the game and the sport of football in general. Many football fans are aware of the relatively recent concerns that have been voiced over the safety of the game and the long-term health consequences of taking repeated hard hits on the football field. And perhaps it is no surprise that a lawmaker in Illinois is trying to ensure the safety of high school football players.

A recent article from the Daily Herald reports that State Representative Carol Sente is working with the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) to ban full-speed tackling during football practices in the summer. Their proposal is aimed at reducing contact at practices in which the high school players participate before their regular season. Further, the measure would do away with live contact during practices in the summer, and it would require coaches to teach players safe tackling techniques. The Executive Director of the IHSA clarified that some contact would be permitted, but would not include full contact and students being tackled to the ground during practices in the summer months. The proposal is expected to be finalized at a meeting on February 19th.

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Jury Awards Illinois Teen $910,000 as Result of Bicycle Accident

 Posted on February 07, 2014 in Personal Injury

Media outlets are reporting that a high school student from southwestern Illinois and his parents will get a combined $910,000 award as a result of injuries the teen suffered in a bicycle accident almost four years ago. The defendant in the lawsuit was a construction company, which was in the process of constructing an office building in the city of Alton. It was alleged and the company admitted it had misplaced the steel beam that the teen hit while riding his bicycle to school in March of 2010.

According to an article published by the Edwardsville Intelligencer, the award was divided into $725,000 to the teen and $185,000 to his parents. That article said that at the time the teen was riding his bike to school the day of the accident, construction workers were working on adding the roof to the building they were completing. The project supervisor testified that just before the accident, one of the workers had just loaded multiple steel beams into the front of a backhoe that was then parked next to the sidewalk. The supervisor then left that area and the worker followed him, leaving no one to monitor the front of the building where the backhoe was parked.

The ends of the beams extended beyond the backhoe's bucket by about six feet, and was four feet off the ground.

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‘Special Situation’ Benefits under USCIS

 Posted on February 04, 2014 in Immigration

There are a number of special immigrant programs that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offers to people from certain countries. These programs include special benefits for people who lost citizenship by marriage, people who lost citizenship by serving in foreign armed forces, and certain employees and former employees of the U.S. Government abroad.

One of the benefits programs involves what USCIS calls “special situations”. Put simply, USCIS will provide some additional services to people who have been affected by natural catastrophes or other extreme situations. If you faced such a ‘special situation,’ your USCIS application, petition, or immigration status may be affected.

What Benefits Can I Receive?

Some of the benefits you can receive include the following:

• Extensions – If you have fallen out of status with USCIS because of a disaster, you can apply for an extension or change in status if you can show a direct connection with the disaster;

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France Considering Plan to Expedite Divorce

 Posted on February 04, 2014 in Family Law

The Social Affairs Minister of France is considering a plan whereby couples would not need to appear before a judge to obtain a divorce, the Associated Press reports. Dominique Bertinotti delivered a report to France’s Justice Minister that contained over 200 plans, including the expedited divorce plan. Bertinotti, in support of the plan, cited statistics that say 54 percent of French divorces are uncontested, and that the average hearing time for uncontested cases is eight minutes. Under the new plan, couples seeking an uncontested divorce could appear in front of a clerk of the court, rather than a judge. Said Bertinotti, “one couple in two will divorce. Do we have to make it more difficult?”

Some argue that this measure will weaken the institution of marriage. But while the “one couple in two” statistic may be true in France, it is arguably not in the US. In fact, divorce has been steadily declining since at least 2000.

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Civil Suit Added to Criminal Charges for State Trooper's Death

 Posted on February 03, 2014 in Personal Injury

In March, an Illinois State Trooper was killed as the result of a truck driver from Wisconsin falling asleep at the wheel as he was driving a semi. According to an article recently published by NBC Chicago, the state trooper's widow has decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver, as well as the companies he was working for at the time of the accident.

Court records show the suit was filed at the end of 2013. The driver, who is 26 years old, is already facing criminal charges in Cook County for allegedly violating safety laws put in place by the Federal government aimed at keeping tired drivers off the road. Cook County Prosecutors are saying that the driver had already put in a 12-hour shift before the accident, which occurred when he began to fall asleep while driving around 11:00 PM on March 28th, 2013. Records from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration state that the driver and his employer had been fined for violating a federal rule which prohibits drivers from operating a vehicle for more than 14 hours without getting 10 hours of rest.

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Mass Muslim Marriages Bring Up Questions of Comity in the US

 Posted on January 30, 2014 in Family Law

The Quincy Herald-Whig reports that Islamic religious authorities have conducted a mass marriage ceremony involving over 1000 couples in Kano, Nigeria. Amongst the reasons given for conducting the mass ceremony were: financial protection for widows and divorcees; children being born out of wedlock; a rise in illicit behavior like drinking and prostitution; and as relief for less affluent bachelors who wish to marry. Under Nigerian custom, a dowry must be paid to the bride in order to marry, in addition to costly ceremonies leading up to the wedding. Bachelors, too poor to afford the price of marriage, are reportedly resorting to the less-expensive option of prostitutes.

And many prostitutes themselves are being swept up in mass weddings like these (which are becoming more and more frequent; according to Deputy Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, nearly 4500 couples have been married in mass ceremonies in the last 18 months). Most couples welcome the opportunity to marry so inexpensively. However, convicted prostitutes are given the choice to either go to jail or get married. Many choose to get married.

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H-1B Visas

 Posted on January 29, 2014 in Immigration

From debates on immigration reform in Washington to discussions on the future of the tech industry in Silicon Valley, the use of H-1B visas often takes center stage. H-1B Visas are established under section 101(a)(15)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and allow businesses in the United States to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations such as scientists, computer programmers, and engineers. And according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the statutory cap of 65,000 H-1B visa holders for 2014 was reached within the first week of the filing period.

Due to the effectiveness of the program, and in light of its potential expansion through immigration reform, it may be useful to review some of the basic rules surrounding H-1B visas.

Specialty Occupation

First, although only people who work in “specialty occupations” are eligible for H-1B visas, the regulations provide a relatively broad definition for application. A “specialty occupation” exists where a theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge in a certain field is required. The position must also be one for which the attainment of a bachelor’s degree is necessary. Additionally, for anyone that is in the modeling industry, there is a special category of visas with less stringent restrictions if you are a fashion model of prominence.

Sponsorship and Duration

Work authorization through the H-1B visa is limited to employment by the sponsoring business. Additionally, under most circumstances the maximum stay is limited to six years, although in some circumstances there are exceptions to this rule. If an H-1B visa holder wants to stay in the U.S. beyond the normal six year period, and has not received permanent resident status, he or she has to stay outside of the United States for one year before obtaining another visa.

Family Considerations

If you obtain an H-1B visa, you can bring your spouse and all unmarried children under 21 years old to the United States under a related visa category for dependents. Although dependents are not allowed to work in the United States, they are allowed to go to school, drive, and participate in other aspects of life in the U.S.

As the world continues to globalize, and as the United States continues to inch ever closer to reforming immigration rules, the laws regulating H-1B visa will surely be updated along the way. If you or someone you know is interested in applying for an H-1B visa, contact an Illinois immigration attorney today.

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