Posted on April 01, 2015 in Immigration

Becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen is a joyous feeling for most. It gives a sense of pride, safety and belonging. However, many come to realize that while naturalization means gaining several admirable qualities and protections, it also means giving things up. Some labor under a misapprehension that one can retain perks that they had under their previous nationality. Indeed, some find it better for their personal situation to retain their green card instead of naturalizing, or they may seek dual citizenship. You must figure out what is best for you.

Lawful Permanent Resident Status vs. Citizenship

Being a lawful permanent resident (LPR), or "green card" holder, means that you have the right to live and work in the United States, but you are not a citizen. There are several major differences between LPR status and citizenship.

• LPRs can petition for a select few relatives to join them in the United States (usually parents, spouses and minor children). Citizens may petition for many more relatives, and their closest (also usually parents, spouses and minor children) may be classified as ‘immediate’ relatives, as opposed to ‘preference’ relatives. This is important because ‘preference’ visa categories have a quota, and thus a waiting period, while immediate relatives may come as soon as their petitions are approved.

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 Posted on April 01, 2015 in Family Law

In June 2014, Illinois welcomed the expansion of its Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act by incorporating provisions that offer same-sex marriage benefits to same-sex couples. This has not only opened the door to same-sex couples but also to help transgendered citizens to be able to enter into marriage regardless of whether they transitioned before or after entering into marriage. The movement in favor of creating a space for transgendered individuals has moved throughout the country and Illinois has been no exception.

The Importance of the New Shift Toward Gender Marker Changes

In the last two years, Illinois has provided members of the transgender community the legal ability to change their gender markers on various legal documents, including their Illinois birth certificates, as well as their Illinois government IDs. Part of what makes the change in law so integral to the rights of the transgender population is that no longer will transgender people be required to go through genital surgery to be able to change the gender marker. This has been transformative to the transgender community as it provides those within the community the right to change their gender markers to the identities that they identify with more closely without having to go under the knife, especially since sexual reassignment surgery may not be an option or a desired outcome for many.

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 Posted on March 27, 2015 in Family Law

Illinois has a significant backlog of unpaid child support payments due to delinquent non-custodial parents avoiding their child support debt. In August of 2013, the state had almost $3 billion in unpaid child support debt, and was attempting to find ways to garnish payments from known delinquent parents. One of the programs that Illinois has established in the last few years has had great success: the wage garnishment program, which provided that employers of delinquent parents were required to garnish a certain percentage of the delinquent employee’s income to offset the payments due every month.

The Gaming Intercept Program

Illinois took the program one step further and created the Gaming Intercept program in 2013, a joint venture between the Illinois Gaming Board and Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The joint venture provided that the Illinois Gaming Board was able to intercept the jackpot winnings of noncustodial delinquent players and turn in the money to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to pay back payments of child support.

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 Posted on March 27, 2015 in Immigration

For years now, skilled workers have been permitted to immigrate temporarily to the United States under an H-1B visa. While most employment visas permit the holder to take his or her spouse and children along, he or she has not been permitted to obtain employment (with rare exceptions). However, that may soon change, depending on conditional factors.

The H-1B Visa

H-1B visas are non-immigrant employment visas, granted for a term of six years. They are to be used to hire foreign workers when no qualified candidates are available in the United States. They are granted to those of ‘special ability,’ which is essentially the best and brightest.

A worker does not technically apply for an H-1B visa; rather, he or she accepts a job offer from a U.S. employer, who then petitions for the visa for that worker. To qualify, the worker must meet five major criteria:

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 Posted on March 25, 2015 in Personal Injury

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 Posted on March 23, 2015 in Personal Injury

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 Posted on March 20, 2015 in Immigration

If you have applied for asylum or convention against torture (CAT) relief in the United States, the process to determine your eligibility for it can be complex and confusing. There are different levels of hearings, and there may be one, or there may be many. Before you begin the process in earnest, it may help to get an idea of what it is typically like.

The Master Calendar Hearing

The first experience many will have in the immigration system is the master calendar hearing. After receiving a notice to appear (NTA), you are scheduled for an initial hearing in front of a judge. A master calendar hearing is done to assess you and your case, but no legal determinations will be made right now. The judge will ask you questions, but mostly it is a chance to appear, to prove you are serious about obtaining legal status.

You will be called before a judge, usually by your Alien Registration Number (“A-number”) rather than your name. An interpreter will be provided if English is difficult for you—it is always best that you accept the help if you think you may need it, as a misinterpretation of the charges on the NTA can be a death blow to your chances at asylum if you give a wrong answer. Afterward, you will be required to admit or deny each charge on the NTA, and tell the judge what forms of relief you are seeking (asylum, voluntary departure, withholding of removal, CAT relief, et cetera).

The rest of the hearing typically has to do with scheduling. For example, if you need more time to prepare your evidence as to why you should be granted asylum, or if you do not yet have an attorney and want time to find one, you can ask for a continuance. Or, at times, some asylum applicants elect to have their case put on an expedited track, which means they must be ready within 180 days to present their case at an individual merits hearing.

The Individual Merits Hearing

Unlike the master calendar hearing, when you have an individual merits hearing, it is adversarial—in other words, you will be trying to argue your case (via your attorney) for why you should be granted relief, against a prosecutor who will try to argue that it should not be granted. You will present your story and your supporting witnesses’ stories and evidence in order to do this, and it is imperative that you know your story as well as you can. It is easy to confuse dates and names, but judges tend to be unforgiving if you do so; a simple mistake can sometimes appear to be made out of guilt. Generally, truthfulness and consistency are the traits you should be aiming to convey.

Very rarely, a Department of Homeland Security attorney who is prosecuting your case will stipulate as to certain points of your asylum claim (DHS is the parent agency of Immigration & Customs Enforcement). However, most of the time, you will have to present evidence on all your contentions. Witnesses and documents must be consistent, and even though an immigration judge is sometimes not the most patient or understanding person, you must not lose your temper.

At the end of the hearing, the judge will issue his or her verdict. You do have the right to appeal if you receive an unfavorable decision, but you may have to do so via your attorney and not in person, depending on your situation.

A Good Immigration Attorney Can Make The Difference

Going in front of the immigration court can be terrifying, and most people freely admit they need all the help they can get. The experienced Chicagoland immigration attorneys at Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices have been handling asylum claims for years, and know the ins and outs of the process. We will do our best to help you. Contact our offices today to discuss your options.

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 Posted on March 20, 2015 in Family Law

The corporal punishment/child abuse debate was re-sparked in the last six months due to the widespread coverage one football player received with regards to injuries he perpetrated against his son while inflicting corporal punishment.The authorities found, however, that he had crossed the line, that he went beyond providing punishment to his child, but inflicted serious physical harm against him. The line drawn between corporal punishment and child abuse is a very thin one, and many states are reviewing their current laws to see whether it is possible to make the line more pronounced and more likely to protect the rights of children and the rights of parents to be free of government intervention in how to raise a family.

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 Posted on March 18, 2015 in Personal Injury

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 Posted on March 16, 2015 in Personal Injury

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