Posted on February 04, 2014 in Immigration

There are a number of special immigrant programs that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offers to people from certain countries. These programs include special benefits for people who lost citizenship by marriage, people who lost citizenship by serving in foreign armed forces, and certain employees and former employees of the U.S. Government abroad.

One of the benefits programs involves what USCIS calls “special situations”. Put simply, USCIS will provide some additional services to people who have been affected by natural catastrophes or other extreme situations. If you faced such a ‘special situation,’ your USCIS application, petition, or immigration status may be affected.

What Benefits Can I Receive?

Some of the benefits you can receive include the following:

• Extensions – If you have fallen out of status with USCIS because of a disaster, you can apply for an extension or change in status if you can show a direct connection with the disaster;

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 Posted on February 04, 2014 in Family Law

The Social Affairs Minister of France is considering a plan whereby couples would not need to appear before a judge to obtain a divorce, the Associated Press reports. Dominique Bertinotti delivered a report to France’s Justice Minister that contained over 200 plans, including the expedited divorce plan. Bertinotti, in support of the plan, cited statistics that say 54 percent of French divorces are uncontested, and that the average hearing time for uncontested cases is eight minutes. Under the new plan, couples seeking an uncontested divorce could appear in front of a clerk of the court, rather than a judge. Said Bertinotti, “one couple in two will divorce. Do we have to make it more difficult?”

Some argue that this measure will weaken the institution of marriage. But while the “one couple in two” statistic may be true in France, it is arguably not in the US. In fact, divorce has been steadily declining since at least 2000.

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 Posted on February 03, 2014 in Personal Injury

In March, an Illinois State Trooper was killed as the result of a truck driver from Wisconsin falling asleep at the wheel as he was driving a semi. According to an article recently published by NBC Chicago, the state trooper's widow has decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver, as well as the companies he was working for at the time of the accident.

Court records show the suit was filed at the end of 2013. The driver, who is 26 years old, is already facing criminal charges in Cook County for allegedly violating safety laws put in place by the Federal government aimed at keeping tired drivers off the road. Cook County Prosecutors are saying that the driver had already put in a 12-hour shift before the accident, which occurred when he began to fall asleep while driving around 11:00 PM on March 28th, 2013. Records from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration state that the driver and his employer had been fined for violating a federal rule which prohibits drivers from operating a vehicle for more than 14 hours without getting 10 hours of rest.

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 Posted on January 30, 2014 in Family Law

The Quincy Herald-Whig reports that Islamic religious authorities have conducted a mass marriage ceremony involving over 1000 couples in Kano, Nigeria. Amongst the reasons given for conducting the mass ceremony were: financial protection for widows and divorcees; children being born out of wedlock; a rise in illicit behavior like drinking and prostitution; and as relief for less affluent bachelors who wish to marry. Under Nigerian custom, a dowry must be paid to the bride in order to marry, in addition to costly ceremonies leading up to the wedding. Bachelors, too poor to afford the price of marriage, are reportedly resorting to the less-expensive option of prostitutes.

And many prostitutes themselves are being swept up in mass weddings like these (which are becoming more and more frequent; according to Deputy Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, nearly 4500 couples have been married in mass ceremonies in the last 18 months). Most couples welcome the opportunity to marry so inexpensively. However, convicted prostitutes are given the choice to either go to jail or get married. Many choose to get married.

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 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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