Posted on April 03, 2019 in Immigration

Buried in the headlines during the December 2018-January 2019 government shutdown was the expiration of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which is a federal law helping to fund domestic violence shelters, regulate civil and criminal penalties against abusers, and establish community resources for abuse victims. However, what is often lost in the shuffle is that VAWA also grants a potential avenue for immigrants who have been victims of abuse to acquire lawful permanent residence in the United States. As of this writing, VAWA has been extended through February 15, 2019, but if it expires again, it could leave applicants fleeing abuse in the proverbial lurch as funding for legal assistance dries up.

Domestic Violence Is an Immigration Issue

The average person may not connect the dots as to how domestic violence and immigration have anything to do with each other, but in reality, the two are closely intertwined, especially for spouses. It is not uncommon for a foreign national to meet and marry a U.S. citizen, only to have that U.S. citizen abuse or mistreat them, up to and including refusing to help them obtain legal status in the country. Many immigrant spouses, especially women, feel that they have no choice but to remain in abusive marriages, especially if they have U.S. citizen children - often, they are told that if they try to leave, they will be deported and never see their children again.

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 Posted on March 28, 2019 in Family Law

After a divorce, a child’s connection to their grandparents and other close relatives can provide a much-needed sense of stability. But what if one parent does not care for their in-laws and does not support the children having visitation time with those grandparents? What rights does a now-divorced step-parent or half-sibling have to spend time with a child that they lived with for years? Illinois law (750 ILCS 5/602.9) provides a mechanism for grandparents, great-grandparents, step-parents, and siblings--including half-siblings and step-siblings--to assert their right to visit and electronically communicate with a minor child who is at least one year old.

Conditions Necessary to Petition for Grandparent Visitation

Four conditions must exist in order for the aforementioned relatives to petition the court for visitation and electronic communication with the child:

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 Posted on March 27, 2019 in Immigration

When someone comes to the United States and states intent to seek asylum, they must prove that they have what immigration law refers to as ‘credible fear.’ If someone is able to show that they have a fear of returning to their home country, and that fear is legitimate or credible, they will be permitted to remain in the U.S. and apply for asylum. However, there are many misconceptions about what actually goes on at a credible fear interview. If you are in a position where you will face a credible fear interview, it is a good idea to understand what exactly will occur.

Screening at a Port of Entry

Credible fear, as defined in U.S. immigration law, is when a “significant possibility” exists that you can establish (in an asylum hearing, before an immigration judge) that you have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution “on account of your race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion” if returned to your country. In other words, you will pass a credible fear screening if you can demonstrate a tangible and genuine fear that you would be subject to physical, mental or emotional mistreatment upon return home as a result of any of the characteristics specified in the law.

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 Posted on March 25, 2019 in Personal Injury

From Lollapalooza and South-By-Southwest to Madison Square Garden and Carnegie Hall, the United States is filled with venues used for hosting musical and other performing arts events. Throughout the year, people flock to these venues to catch the latest and greatest top performers. Having a large gathering of persons in a venue can, unfortunately, lead to injury for some, including some that are severe or even deadly. If this occurs, retaining the services of an experienced premises liability attorney can be crucial to receiving compensation for costs relating to one’s injuries.

Unfortunately, due to the law at the time, a Springfield man was able to only recover the legal maximum of $100,000 (a year later the law was amended to allow a recovery of up to $2 million) as a result of injuries he suffered from a 25 foot fall at the Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois at Springfield, which occurred as the man was actually trying to save another concertgoer who suffered fatal injuries.

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 Posted on March 21, 2019 in Family Law

Conflicts over the division of assets in a divorce are sometimes based more on emotional or sentimental value than on financial value, particularly when family heirlooms or gifts are involved. There can also be a dispute over whether an item qualifies as marital property that must be divided or not.

Under Illinois divorce law, most income earned and assets acquired during the marriage are considered marital property. However, per 750 ILCS 5/503(a), “property acquired by gift, legacy or descent” is non-marital property. Anything acquired in exchange for such property is also a non-marital asset.

To help clarify these rules, let us consider the following items and how they would be treated in a divorce:

An antique desk that your spouse inherited from a grandfather while you were married. Inherited assets that have not been commingled with marital assets are non-marital property, so your spouse would get to keep the desk. Suppose, though, that your spouse sold the desk for $3,000 and used it to make a down payment on a new family car, and you made payments on the car loan out of your joint checking account. Because the inheritance was commingled with marital assets, its value is now marital property. Your spouse cannot claim that $3,000 as non-marital property.

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 Posted on March 20, 2019 in Immigration

With the unsettled state of U.S. immigration law in recent years, many immigrants who apply for U.S. citizenship are also retaining citizenship in their former country of origin. This status is referred to as dual citizenship, and contrary to many people’s beliefs, it is possible for a person to hold more than one nationality at once, at least according to U.S. law. If you are looking to naturalize, it may actually be to your advantage to retain your old citizenship in addition to applying for U.S. citizenship status.

Why Keep Both?

In theory, one naturalizes to a new country because something in their old one is insufficient. However, given the potentially precarious state of the U.S. immigration system, as well as its ever-increasing wait times for naturalizations and green cards, it simply seems safer to many to refuse to give up their original nationality, if possible. Under U.S. law, it is not necessary for a new citizen to formally renounce their old country of citizenship; thus, many simply do not. The primary reason given by many, in addition to wanting a backup plan of sorts if the U.S. immigration system changes, is ease in traveling back and forth to maintain business relationships and see family.

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 Posted on March 18, 2019 in Personal Injury

Exercise is an activity that many people enjoy, not only for the health benefits but also for relief from the stress of everyday life. Nevertheless, it should be understood that, as with any physical activity, there is a risk of injury while working out at a gym. In most cases, the injury is due to overexertion – sprains, strains, pulled muscles, even broken bones. However, in some cases, the injury is more appropriately attributed to either an employee of the gym or to the gym itself, either a machine breakdown or an aspect of the physical building. If such an injury occurs, retaining the services of an attorney experienced in premises liability can be crucial to obtaining compensation for the costs associated with recovering from the injuries.

Recently, a Missouri jury found in favor of a gym and against an attorney who claimed that a weightlifting coach’s inadequate training caused her to suffer a herniated disc. If you have been injured at the gym, it is important to understand the various options available to you for recovering compensation.

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 Posted on March 14, 2019 in Family Law

Illinois child support payments are determined by the “income shares” method, meaning that each parent pays a portion of the child’s expenses based on their share of the parents’ combined net income.

When both spouses have stable annual salaries, this calculation is straightforward. But what if your or your spouse’s income fluctuates significantly from month to month or year to year?

Income fluctuations may be due to:

• A small business with an uneven or unpredictable income stream.
• A regular job that is supplemented with freelance work that comes and goes.
• A job that often involves overtime pay.
• An employment compensation plan that involves commissions or bonuses.
• A professional who has an ownership stake in their company which pays out a share of profits at the end of each year.

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 Posted on March 13, 2019 in Immigration

In today’s highly volatile political environment, it can be easy to encounter misinformation about immigrants and immigration law, but this can yield negative consequences, especially if you are an immigrant yourself. One of the most commonly confused issues nowadays is in discussing the difference between improper entry and unlawful presence in the country. One is a crime, while one is not, and misunderstandings on this score might imperil your ability to obtain immigration benefits in the future.

Unlawful Presence Is Not a Crime

In many situations, when the average person is complaining about “illegal immigrants,” they mean those who are present in the United States but are not authorized to be in the country. This is referred to as having or accumulating unlawful presence. It is important to understand that these people, and there are a significant amount of them, may possibly have committed crimes (for example, identity theft may occur when an undocumented person uses another person’s Social Security number so they can work) - but their simply being present in the U.S. is not one of them.

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 Posted on March 11, 2019 in Personal Injury

Being involved in an automobile accident is an overwhelming experience. Often, those involved suffer physical injuries, and it takes time and money to recover from them. Additionally, there is damage to the vehicle, which also costs money to fix. In the majority of automobile accidents, someone is at fault. Although the injured victim must bear these costs upfront, the possibility exists that he/she may be able to seek reimbursement from the person at fault. Retaining the services of an experienced personal injury attorney, and one especially versed in car accidents can be instrumental in receiving this reimbursement.

Part of this strategy is to determine whether expert witnesses should be used. Expert witnesses do provide a basis for establishing damages. Nevertheless, they are not appropriate in all situations, and the Illinois Supreme Court recently held that photographs of damage to automobiles which have been involved in an accident can be used at trial to combat a personal injury claim brought by an individual involved in the crash, without supplying expert analysis. In other words, a picture is worth a thousand words that an expert witness would provide in his/her opinion, and, as such, an expert witness is not necessary.

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