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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 Posted on January 29, 2014 in Personal Injury

January's severe winter weather caused hazardous traveling conditions across most of the country. Not only did many places see significant snow accumulation, but the frigid temperatures alone also played a role in making for dangerous conditions. Now, officials in Chicago are trying to determine if the weather played a part in a series of accidents that occurred on the city's commuter trains last week.

According to news outlets, 14 people were hurt in an accident while riding the commuter train in Chicago on Monday. The accident was the second one that occurred that day, and happened when the train hit what is known as a bumping post at a station in the city's downtown area. The cause of the accident was not readily apparent, but possible causes include slippery tracks or a problem with the train's brakes. While the cause of the accident was under investigation, the remainder of the commuter trains on the railways were instructed to slow their speed significantly in an effort to prevent further incidents.

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 Posted on January 26, 2014 in Personal Injury

Car accidents can be caused by any number of factors, from dangerous weather-related conditions on the roadways to distracted drivers and anything in between. Usually, in the event of a car crash, especially those involving significant damages or injuries to car occupants, a host of third parties become involved, including insurance companies, attorneys, and law enforcement. However, the most serious crashes involving significant injury or death can result in not only civil lawsuits, but in criminal liability.

A recent crash reported by The Southern Illinoisan will result in criminal charges for a teen from Carmi. The driver and several teen passengers were involved in an accident early Tuesday morning in White County in which one of the occupants died. The crash occurred on White County Road when the vehicle left the roadway and flipped on its side into a ditch along the side. The victim, also from Carmi, was partially thrown from the car, and was pronounced deceased at the location of the crash. It was reported that none of the vehicle's occupants were wearing seat belts. The driver and the other passengers were moved to Fairfield Memorial Hospital to receive medical attention for the injuries they sustained in the crash. No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

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 Posted on January 22, 2014 in Personal Injury

According to an article recently published by the Rockford Register Star, this spring lawmakers in Illinois will consider newly introduced legislation regarding liability in the state's worker's compensation laws. Specifically, the proposed legislation seeks to point out which party is responsible for injuries an employee may suffer in a traffic accident while traveling to work.

Senator Kyle McCarter, a Republican from Lebanon, is the one who proposed the law, which would serve to exempt the employer from being responsible for their employee's hospital bills and other costs associated with an injury sustained in a car accident if the employee is not traveling specifically for work purposes. His reasoning is that if the employer is not to blame for the accident, he or she should not have to pay for the associated damages. The legislation specifies that an employee who is injured is allowed to receive compensation only if they suffered an injury that occurs during and in the course of their employment, and while the worker is actively carrying out duties of their employment.

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 Posted on January 21, 2014 in Family Law

If you are a parent facing divorce, you may be overwhelmed with the idea of breaking the news to your children. Divorce is scary in itself, but throwing kids into the mix can make it even more difficult. However, it is possible to reduce the stress sitting down and having “the divorce talk” with your kids if you prepare correctly and follow a few simple steps.

When preparing for your conversation, you and your spouse should sit down together and write out exactly what you will say. It is important for the two of you to agree on what you will and will not tell the kids, especially if you are unable to give the speech together. Planning things out will help you to avoid sending your children mixed messages and adding even more chaos to the situation.

When you are planning things out, be sure to also plan when and where the talk will happen. For example, you do not want to break the news to your children the evening before someone’s big soccer game or at a time when you have relatives visiting.

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 Posted on January 20, 2014 in Immigration

Maria Enchautegui from the Urban Institute recently published some interesting statistics on the impact that immigration reform may have on families across the United States. Most news sources around the United States hold the number of people that will be affected by immigration reform at around eleven million. Enchautegui, however, explains that most media outlets forget the nearly nine million people who co-reside with those 11 million undocumented immigrants. U.S. born children with undocumented parents, for instance, make up some of the people who will be directly affected by an immigration reform bill, despite the fact that they hold citizenship. Hence, although estimates of undocumented workers are certainly relevant to the immigration reform debate, they in no way paint the whole picture.

Other numbers on unauthorized immigrants and the households they live in are staggering, and really show just how badly reform is needed. Over four million children ages 13 and younger reside with unauthorized immigrants in the United States, and over 70 percent of the undocumented immigrants that live in this country act as the heads of their household.

The fact that so many young people have such a big stake in immigration reform should be considered with the fact that there has been a slow growth in the population of undocumented immigrants over the past year. A decline in the U.S. population of undocumented workers paralleled the recession starting in about 2007, but as of early last year, there have been some indications that the number of undocumented immigrants is again rising.

So, what does all of this mean for the prospect of immigration reform? Although, traditionally, passing any fundamental legislation in an election year is difficult, next year may not follow the same mold as latino voters become a larger percentage of the electorate. With so many latino voters coming of voting age within the next few years, and with the fact that republicans will almost certainly work harder this election cycle to obtain a larger piece of the latino voter pie, the chances for immigration reform are unusually high. This is especially true given a recent poll that shows that, of the latinos who voted in the midterm elections, almost half said they may vote for a republican instead of a democrat, if republicans lead the way in Congress to pass an immigration reform bill.

To follow up on all immigration reform developments, and for all of your immigration law questions, contact a DuPage immigration law attorney today.

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 Posted on January 19, 2014 in Personal Injury

If you are injured as a result of another's negligence--perhaps in a car accident or via medical malpractice--then you may file a civil lawsuit seeking "damages" for your losses in the accident. Asking "What is my case worth?" is simply another way of questioning what damages are likely to be awarded either by a judge or jury after trial or via a settlement. It is impossible to predict with certainty exactly what one might recover, but an experienced attorney can explain what is reasonable based on the specifics of your case.

Compensatory damages, frequently referred to as "actual damages," includes all those losses most commonly associated with an injury. These are the costs directly associated with the accident, including the physical, mental, and emotional damage inflicted on the plaintiff. In other words, actual damages strive to make a plaintiff "whole" by repaying them in an attempt to place them in the position they were in before the accident. In Illinois accident cases, actual damages that are likely to be awarded include compensation for medical bills, property damages, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

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 Posted on January 14, 2014 in Personal Injury

According to the chtribune, the Illinois Department of Transportation reported that 2013 marked the second consecutive year that traffic deaths within the state were on the rise. The 956 traffic fatalities of 2012 were an increase from the 918 number the year before, and 2013 marked another increase with 973 crash-related deaths. That is a nearly four percent rise over the last two years.

While the numbers reflected above may not seem promising, 2013 actually marked the fifth year in a row in which traffic fatalities in Illinois did not break the 1,000 mark. This echoes the national trend of decreased crash fatalities overall, and the recent rises represent normal fluctuation within the historically low numbers.

Experts suggest that rather than putting too much emphasis on the data year-to-year, the focus should be on the larger picture and how one year's numbers compare to previous decade's data. For example, in 2009, Illinois experienced 911 traffic fatalities; the lowest since 1921. In 2004, 1,355 people died from crash related injuries, and the number hit its highest in 1941 with 2,600 deaths.

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 Posted on January 12, 2014 in Immigration

Reuters recently reported that there are concerns among Latinos and other immigrant communities that signing up for healthcare under Obamacare may bring increased inquiries into whether those that have signed up are legally residing in the United States.

Most on both sides of the aisle agree that the success of Obama’s healthcare law depends on how many people sign up for the program.The Obama Administration has made a substantial effort to bring Latinos into the fold, and many pundits agree that Latinos are key to the success of the Affordable Care Act. Not only are Latinos in the United States younger than the population as a whole – which means they are healthier and as a group are considered net contributors – but there are roughly 10.2 million Latinos in total that could be signed up for new insurance plans.

Although well over 900,000 previously uninsured Latinos adults under 25 now have insurance through the expansion of some health insurance plans, enrollment across the country has not been as high as hoped for. In California, for example, roughly 13 percent of the marketplace’s new members are Latino.

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 Posted on January 12, 2014 in Family Law

Divorce is painful, emotional, and complex. It touches every part of your life, and if you have children, you will likely have to deal with the fallout for years. Once the marriage is dissolved, new problems can easily crop up. One such problem that lawmakers, family law attorneys, and divorced people have tackled with varying levels of success is child custody and visitation.

In Illinois, the involvement of both parents in the raising of the child is a matter of public policy written expressly into the Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. To this end, both parents have the right (if not the duty) to participate as much as they can in the upbringing of their children. If either parent interferes with the visitation or custody order from the court, absent a good reason, they open themselves up to liability from the courts. The parent with whose rights have been interfered has options on how to correct the interference.

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