Posted on May 24, 2018 in Immigration

When a foreign national marries a U.S. citizen, they normally either do so abroad and enter the U.S. as a married couple, or they apply for a K visa for the fiance(e) and they enter and immediately marry.

Once the couple is married, the foreign national may apply for a green card (lawful permanent resident, or LPR) status based on the marriage. However, this is not immediately granted—in most if not all cases, a new foreign spouse of a U.S. citizen will receive what is called a conditional green card, with certain criteria that must be met after a two-year period. Only then will the conditions be removed.

Marriage Fraud is a Concern

While some might wonder why new foreign spouses are subject to this two-year conditional period, the answer is that marriage fraud is and has been a significant concern to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). While it is not often prosecuted to its fullest extent, individuals whose marriages are held to be illegitimate will face fines, possible jail time, and deportation for the foreign spouse upon the conclusion of any prison time. Some think that sham marriages are a victimless crime; however, in reality, these marriages can be a way for terrorists and foreign intelligence officers to enter the country. Thus, it is taken very seriously.

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 Posted on May 24, 2018 in Family Law

If you are going through a divorce and have children, there are a number of important decisions you need to make. You have to determine where your children will live and how frequently they will spend time with their non-custodial parent.

Child support payments will also have to be arranged. While you may know that child support covers a food, water, shelter, and other basics, you may wonder who is responsible for paying for extracurricular activities during a divorce.

How Child Support Works

During a divorce that involves children, one parent typically has full custody of the children while the other parent has visitation rights. In addition, the non-custodial parent will also likely be required to pay child support to the parent who has full custody to provide them with financial support.

Child support payments allow children to maintain the lifestyle they enjoyed when their parents were married. Although these payments do cover basic necessities, they can also be used for extras in life such as sports, art classes, music lessons, and other extracurricular activities children may participate in.

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 Posted on May 19, 2018 in Personal Injury

How often are elderly drivers involved in auto accidents in DuPage County? And are older drivers more often the cause of serious traffic collisions than younger adult drivers? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of 2015 there were approximately 40 million drivers on the road aged 65 and older across the United States. While the CDC emphasizes that retaining a driver’s license can help a senior to “stay independent and mobile,” there are also downsides. To be sure, the risk of being hurt or killed in a motor vehicle crash increases as you get older.

What should Lombard drivers know about aging and age-related car accident risks?

Getting the Facts About Older Adults and Traffic Collisions

The CDC provides facts and figures about older adults and traffic collisions, including the following:

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 Posted on May 18, 2018 in Immigration

On March 12, 2018, a lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco by representatives of immigrants from four countries, alleging that the end to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was racially motivated. Immigrants from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti and Sudan filed in the Northern District of California seeking a reinstatement of TPS, or alternatively, a stay that would allow those with minor children of school age to remain until graduation. This is the third suit filed challenging the program’s end. While the decision will take time, these suits could wind up ultimately affecting TPS holders for the better.

TPS Provides Safety

Temporary Protected Status is a status granted by the Department of Homeland Security (formerly by the Attorney General) to nationals of countries deemed to have been affected by natural disasters or war to an extent where the country’s infrastructure has broken down. As of this writing, there are 10 countries whose nationals have TPS—Haiti, El Salvador, Somalia, Nicaragua, Nepal, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Honduras. All these countries have experienced either significant natural disasters, such as the earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal, or periods of civil war or unrest, such as in Somalia or El Salvador.

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 Posted on May 17, 2018 in Family Law

Divorce is difficult for children of all ages. However, it is particularly challenging for teenagers who are facing peer pressure and balancing school, extracurricular activities, college applications, and a social life.

If you do not help your teen cope with divorce, you may notice poor grades, sleeping issues, increased stress, depression, substance abuse, and behavioral problems. By following these tips, you can make divorce easier for your teen and ensure it does not harm their current life and future:

1. Encourage Your Child to Stay Busy

When your child is busy and involved in academic and social activities, they will be able to take their mind off of the divorce and focus on their own life. Encourage your child to stay busy and help them fill their calendar with fun and meaningful hobbies, activities, and events.

2. Seek Professional Help

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 Posted on May 10, 2018 in Family Law

Adoption is a familiar term that most people understand. However, guardianship is less known even though it is a popular alternative to adoption. In Illinois and other states, you can seek legal guardianship of a child who is under 18 years of age. Let’s take a closer look at how adoption and legal guardianship are similar and different.

Similarities

If you become the guardian of a minor child, you have the legal authority to act as the child’s part in every area of their life. You are now the one responsible for providing for them financially and making important decisions about their life. An adoption is similar in that it will also provide you with the authority a biological parent would have.

It is important to note that in Illinois, adoptions and legal guardianships are only granted if the child’s birth parents give consent, are incapable of caring for and providing for the child, have passed away, or cannot be found.

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 Posted on May 07, 2018 in Immigration

In the uncertainty of this day and age, many undocumented parents are afraid for themselves and the specter of deportation, but are also afraid for their children. While children born in the United States are generally citizens, this does not prevent their possible mistreatment in an immigration system that is prone to mistakes and deliberate wrongdoing. If your family is facing this potentially scary scenario, it can be a big help to clarify the information you are receiving.

Uncertainty Can Have Health Impacts

According to a 2015 study on Latinx citizen children, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were statistically significantly higher in children with at least one detained or deported parent. The stress of living in fear of deportation has been tied to everything from low birth weights to behavioral problems.

If you are in a position where you fear deportation, you may wish to investigate the possibility of a power of attorney or another way to safeguard your parental rights, but this can be extremely difficult to do given that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Child Protective Services (CPS) are not required to cooperate in terms of informing each other of parents’ whereabouts.

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 Posted on May 07, 2018 in Personal Injury

According to an article in Bloomberg Technology, a fatal autonomous vehicle collision in Temple, Arizona led Uber Technologies to suspend further testing of its self-driving cars in Arizona, as well as in a number of other cities where autonomous vehicle technology testing had been approved. Other companies, including Toyota Motor Corp., have done the same, citing the emotional toll on the safety drivers who sit behind the wheel. Still, a number of other companies continued to test self-driving cars in the days after the collision, and many cities insisted that the testing phase of autonomous vehicles is perfectly safe.

If you live in DuPage County and regularly drive in and around Chicagoland, should you be concerned about the risk of serious injury from a collision with a self-driving car that is undergoing testing?

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 Posted on May 03, 2018 in Immigration

Many immigrants come to the United States and never decide to become citizens, instead preferring lawful permanent resident (LPR) status or any other nonimmigrant visa. However, many do decide to take the proverbial leap, but remain confused at times about what naturalization requires. Refreshing one’s memory can be helpful.

Requirements to File

Before one begins the process, it is a good idea to ensure that he or she is even eligible to do so. A person is generally eligible to naturalize if he or she is over the age of 18, has good moral character (no convictions for aggravated felonies), and has been a permanent resident for at least 5 years, or 3 if he or she is married to a U.S. citizen.

Most potential citizens must also be able to show a basic command of written and spoken English, and show that he or she has not been outside the United States for more than half of the last 5 years (60 months), among other characteristics.

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 Posted on May 03, 2018 in Personal Injury

When we hear about concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) connected to automobile accidents in DuPage County, we often learn that the traffic collision caused the brain injury. Indeed, as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highlights, motor vehicle crashes are the third-leading cause of TBIs in the country, resulting in about 14 percent of all brain injury deaths each year. But can brain injuries cause car accidents?

According to a recent report from Reuters Health, while we often consider car accidents to be a proximate cause of TBIs, we rarely discuss the situations in which concussions and other brain injuries can produce symptoms that increase a driver’s likelihood of being involved in a collision.

A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine indicates that many medical professionals who treat younger athletes for concussion understand that the injury raises the risk of being involved in a car accident, but very few advise their patients against driving.

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