Posted on February 13, 2019 in Immigration

U.S. immigration law defines a crime of moral turpitude (CIMT) as being a crime involving conduct that shocks the public conscience, and is “contrary to the rules of morality.” In immigration law, being convicted of a CIMT can render someone deportable. The only way to avoid deportation in such a situation is either to seek a waiver or to avail oneself of what is called the petty offense exception. The exception is not well understood, but it can be very helpful in some immigration cases.

CIMTs Are Subjective

The category of crimes of moral turpitude came into being only within recent memory, and there is no specific written definition of a CIMT within U.S. immigration law. It has been described in various cases as “being inherently base, vile, or depraved” and shocking the public conscience. A variety of crimes from murder to kidnapping to fraud have been classified as CIMTs, and given the vagueness of the law and the definition, it can be quite difficult at times to determine whether you have in fact committed a CIMT or not.

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 Posted on February 11, 2019 in Family Law

Every divorce needs to be treated differently due to the individual circumstances in each case. However, there are some common elements that will typically need to be taken care of during the divorce process, including child custody, division of assets, and spousal maintenance (alimony). Maintenance consists of financial support that one spouse pays to the other to make sure they are able to support themselves after the divorce. If you are close to retirement age and are considering initiating divorce proceedings, you may be wondering what will happen if you are ordered to pay maintenance and decide to retire soon after.

Possible Outcomes

If you decide to retire and are still paying maintenance to your ex-spouse, there are a few different outcomes that could occur. Illinois law states that you may be able to receive a reduction or stoppage of your maintenance obligation if you are able to show that you have had a “substantial change in circumstances” making you unable to pay the maintenance. The decision to retire is often not enough for a judge to order a complete termination of maintenance payments, but it may be enough for a reduction of the amount of payments. The decision will depend on how severe the reduction in the payer’s income is after retirement. Retirement is not the only factor that a judge will look at to determine if the maintenance payments should be changed, but it does fall under the “substantial change in circumstances” umbrella.

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 Posted on February 06, 2019 in Immigration

It may seem somewhat counterintuitive, but H1B visas, which are nonimmigrant visas granted to highly skilled workers, are essentially given via lottery every fiscal year and have been for roughly the last decade and more. Citing the slapdash nature of the process, the current administration has sought to streamline and refine it - however, the changes being proposed are far from uniformly approved. New proposed modifications also continue to come in, sometimes from presidential tweets and other unlikely or untrustworthy sources, which makes the process arguably even more chaotic.

The Process Is a Gamble

H1B visa holders are foreign workers that are allowed to be employed by U.S. companies temporarily, for so-called “specialty occupations.” Specialty occupations are defined as those requiring “theoretical and practical application” of a body of “highly specialized knowledge” in a host of different fields, including biology, chemistry, law, economics, theology, and many others. They must hold at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, and the period of employment is three years, extendable to six before one must reapply for a new visa.

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 Posted on February 04, 2019 in Family Law

Adopting a child can be a lengthy process, and for good reason. It is necessary for the proper due diligence to be taken by all parties to make sure the adoption is the right fit. It is helpful to do all the research you can before adopting a baby so you can be adequately prepared.

Fun Ways to Prepare

• Get the baby’s bedroom ready - While you are waiting for the adoption process to be finalized, you can prepare the baby’s bedroom for them to arrive. Decorating the room with wallpaper, painting a mural, or buying toys, a crib, a changing table, a swing, and any other things necessary for your baby may take some time, so be sure to give yourself enough preparation time for your new arrival.
• Exercise or take up a hobby - If you feel stressed or anxious while waiting for your baby, you can take your mind off things by exercising or starting a hobby you have always wanted to try.

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 Posted on February 04, 2019 in Personal Injury

The holiday retail sale has become a popular trend among some Americans in recent years, and while shopping is normally a relatively safe activity, shopping this time of year has become something of a free-for-all. The media is full of instances showing mob-like groups rushing through barricades and even fighting with each other in an effort to purchase a specific product. In some cases, injuries have occurred, which have become horrific and even deadly in nature. Retaining the services of an experienced personal injury attorney can be necessary to ensure that an injured individual is compensated for injuries suffered at the hands of another person.

This past Thanksgiving, a member of the U.S. Military was shot and killed by local law enforcement at an Alabama mall in an apparent case of mistaken identity. As details have come out, it seems apparent that the victim was targeted by police who believed he was the gunman because he was brandishing a weapon as he was exiting the mall. Unfortunately, after the excitement of the Christmas season subsides, the reality is that these events do, in some cases, cause injuries. A discussion of retail rage, including what shopkeepers must do to keep the peace, as well as some common holiday retail sale injuries, will follow below.

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 Posted on January 30, 2019 in Family Law

Marriages may sometimes end in divorce, and when they do, there are many adjustments to make for life after marriage. These adjustments often include your children and determining how to handle their lives after the marriage has ended, but before that process can start, you first need to tell them that you and their other parent are divorcing.

Letting your children know about an upcoming divorce is most likely going to be difficult. Children will have different reactions and many questions, so you need to be prepared when you tell them what is about to happen.

Tell Everyone Together First

If you have multiple children, you may want to tell each child individually to avoid a scene, or because you do not want to make it seem important. However, it is important, and studies have shown that it is a better idea to tell all the children at once. They will all be able to hear your answers and start to process the news with their siblings. If you feel one of your children will have too strong of a reaction, it may be beneficial to tell them individually. You can always follow up with the children individually, after you have told them together, to see how they are handling the news.

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 Posted on January 30, 2019 in Immigration

The state of Illinois is a bit of a bellwether on immigration because there is an inherent divide in the state itself between the more conservative areas to the south, and the fairly liberal Chicagoland metropolis. In the past year, there has been quite a lot of debate, especially with the passage of the Illinois TRUST Act, which contains certain protections for undocumented immigrants. It can be easy to be confused as to what rights you have, and it is important not to make a wrong move.

The TRUST Act

The major piece of immigration-related legislation that was passed in 2018 is the Illinois TRUST Act, signed into law by Governor Rauner in August. There has been quite a lot of ink spilled regarding the Act, but it is important to understand what the actual law states and what it does not. For one, the Act does not hinder cooperation with federal law enforcement authorities, and is thus not a “sanctuary” act - but it does state that no one may be stopped by the police solely due to their immigration status. A sanctuary city is not the lawless den of criminals that some propaganda would describe it as - it merely means that the city’s law enforcement does not cooperate in handing people over to Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) if they have not committed a crime.

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 Posted on January 23, 2019 in Family Law

When a marriage ends, it can cause a significant amount of stress on both parties involved. The decision to ask for a divorce, the actual process of the divorce, and adjusting to your new life after the divorce can cause varying levels of stress. Stress can take over a person’s life if steps are not taken to mitigate it.

What Is Divorce Stress?

Most people have an idea of what stress is, but in order to help combat your stress, it is helpful to learn more about it as it relates to your divorce. Divorce stress usually involves two different types of stressors. There are the ones most people think about and know they will have to deal with in some form: who is going to move, losing what you are familiar with, paying bills, your children’s reaction, and starting over.

Then there are the stressors which are caused by what is unknown in your life because of the divorce: what kind of settlement you will have, the division of assets and debts, finding a job after the divorce, dealing with less money, being afraid of family reactions, etc. The combination of all these factors can cause a large amount of stress in somebody who is going through a divorce.

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 Posted on January 23, 2019 in Immigration

Unfortunately, when immigrants come to settle in the U.S., they are very often the victims of crime, especially if they are undocumented, because they are seen as easy targets. If you have been the victim of a crime, particularly a violent crime, it can feel like seeing justice is hopeless, but there is an option by which you may be permitted to remain in the U.S. and assist law enforcement at the same time. The U visa is designed especially for victims of crime, though the criteria are strict, and there are other options you may wish to explore as well.

U Visas

There is a lack of hard data on immigrants as crime victims. Due to language problems and fear of retaliation or deportation, especially under this administration, some immigrant populations are slow to report crimes against them, and some studies do support this conclusion. However, it is not difficult to understand why immigrants might hesitate to report, especially those who belong to vulnerable groups, such as women or members of the LGBT community. Partly as a response to this reluctance, the U.S. government implemented the T and U visas, with the T visa being reserved for human trafficking victims and their families while U visas are for victims of crime in general.

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 Posted on January 21, 2019 in Personal Injury

Car accidents are traumatic events that can elicit very different reactions from witnesses and victims. The shock of the impact and repercussions of injuries may be felt immediately, or could be delayed for minutes, hours, or days. How an accident victim responds to the immediate aftermath of a car crash can make a significant difference in his/her ability to recover compensation.

Some of the actions advised are fairly obvious or intuitive, but others would not necessarily occur to a victim absorbing the shock of the accident, and knowing in advance how to act in the event of an accident can save a lot of time and effort if a lawsuit is filed at a later date.

Even if this information is viewed following an accident, it can still prove useful to a victim because it will inform him/her what to do in the days and months following the collision to both preserve and build a strong car accident personal injury lawsuit. Given that the injuries from a car accident can affect a person’s life indefinitely, putting together the building blocks of a car accident claim from the very beginning is the best way to ensure damages are paid, and an overview of what to focus on an accident scene and as part of the recovery process will follow below.

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