Posted on May 29, 2019 in Immigration

We sincerely hope that you have not been a victim of a crime while temporarily visiting, studying, or working in the United States. But if you have, you should be aware of the immigration benefits available to crime victims under the nonimmigrant U visa program.

How to Qualify for a U Visa as a Crime Victim

To qualify for a U nonimmigrant visa, you must meet the following criteria:

• You were the victim of a qualifying crime, as a result of which you suffered substantial mental or physical abuse.
• You possess information about the crime that would be helpful to law enforcement.
• A federal, state, or local law enforcement official certifies, on a form that is attached to your visa application, that you are helping or have helped law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of that crime.
• You must meet the standard criteria for admissibility to the US or obtain a waiver of inadmissibility.

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 Posted on May 27, 2019 in Personal Injury

For many American teenagers, getting their first driver’s license is a rite of passage that is eagerly met with excitement. Though this can be a fun time for teens, studies show that teenagers are one of the most accident-prone driving demographics. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car crashes are still the leading cause of death for teenagers between the ages of 12 and 19. It can be scary to allow your teen to drive on their own, but fortunately, there are things you can do to decrease the risk of your teen getting into an accident. Here are a couple of tips you can use to teach your teenager how to be the best driver possible:

Ensure Your Teen Gets Enough Experience

Accidents commonly happen when teenagers are young and inexperienced. Many schools offer programs where teens can take driver’s education and end the course by successfully getting their driver’s license, but these programs often do not provide enough necessary driving time. Most school programs only offer students about six hours of driving practice, while the total number of hours needed to become proficient is somewhere around 50 hours. Make sure you give your teen enough time to feel comfortable behind the wheel and know what they are doing.

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 Posted on May 23, 2019 in Family Law

When a couple has substantial assets, the division of property requires some of the most important decisions in an Illinois divorce. The decisions you make about assets such as your marital home can make a significant difference to your long-term security. Decisions about real estate in a divorce are particularly complicated due to issues including the mortgage, the property taxes, the real estate market, the property’s condition, and the exact value of your equity. It is important to consider all of these factors before making a decision about whether you should buy out your spouse’s share or sell the property and divide the proceeds.

Issues to Consider Before Buying or Selling Your Marital Home

Here are some variables to consider before making a decision about your marital home.

Can you sell the house for enough money to pay off the mortgage, the realtor, and other selling costs? Consult several realtors to determine a listing price for the house and to get advice regarding any repairs you should make prior to putting the home on the market. If you can sell quickly without taking a loss, this may be the smart thing to do, even if there will not be much in the way of proceeds to split. If you decide to go this route, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

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 Posted on May 22, 2019 in Immigration

If you are granted a green card based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, and your marriage is less than two years old, your green card will be conditional for two years after issuance. In order to obtain an unconditional 10-year green card, you must file an application either jointly with your spouse or individually if you are no longer married for legitimate reasons. The conditional period is intended to deter sham marriages made primarily to obtain immigration benefits. This gives U.S. immigration authorities more opportunity to confirm that your marriage was entered into in good faith.

How to Prove You Married in Good Faith

As part of your green card application, both you and your spouse may be questioned in depth by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) official. You must convince the USCIS interviewer that you entered into the marriage in good faith, intending to live as husband and wife, and not just for immigration purposes.

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 Posted on May 20, 2019 in Personal Injury

If you are hurt in a fall or other accident on business property, you might think that you can threaten the business with a lawsuit and net a windfall of thousands of dollars. However, it is not that simple. You have to prove that your accident was the business’s fault and that you suffered serious injuries and financial losses as a result of the accident.

Proving the Accident Was the Business’s Fault

Suppose you trip and fall down in a store, and nobody sees you fall. You get up, walk to the customer service counter, and report that you just fell and you think you broke your wrist. Unless there was a store camera trained on that spot or there was a witness to the accident, you have no proof that your accident was the business’s fault. You could have just tripped over your own feet.

Now suppose you walk the manager back to the spot where you fell. You point out a puddle of liquid on the floor and the corresponding stains on your pants. Now you have some evidence as to how the accident happened: you slipped on the puddle. But this is still not proof that the store is at fault.

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 Posted on May 20, 2019 in Personal Injury

Getting into a car accident can be unsettling and leave some people in a state of shock. Depending on the severity of the accident, you may have sustained minor injuries, like bruising or superficial cuts, or you may have experienced severe injuries, such as broken bones, brain injuries or injuries to your spinal cord.

While minor injuries can be annoying, severe injuries can stay with you for life and may even affect your ability to work. If you pursue a car accident negligence claim, there are certain things that you must prove in order to achieve a successful outcome. First, you must prove that the other driver was at fault for the accident and behaved in a negligent manner. Next, you must prove that the car accident resulted in your injuries.

In order to do this, you will need certain records and documents to make your case. Here are a few types of important documents that you will need to pursue a car accident negligence claim:

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 Posted on May 17, 2019 in Family Law

When you file for divorce, one spouse typically moves out of the marital home. Whether you are the one who stays or the one who moves out, you are likely to have several immediate concerns, including how to ensure that your spouse continues to help pay your family bills and how to manage co-parenting your children. Your lawyer can help you address these concerns by requesting temporary orders from the court, which remain in effect until the divorce becomes final.

What Types of Temporary Orders Can I Request in a Divorce?

Either spouse can petition the court for temporary orders addressing these issues:

• Paying family bills. If one spouse makes significantly less than the other and cannot immediately cover their personal living expenses, the other spouse will typically be ordered to make spousal maintenance payments.

• Paying attorney fees.

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 Posted on May 15, 2019 in Immigration

If you are facing deportation proceedings because you are not a lawful permanent resident (LPR) of the U.S., you may be eligible for cancellation of removal. However, you will have to convince an immigration judge that your deportation would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a qualifying relative, defined as your LPR or U.S.-citizen spouse, parent, or unmarried child under age 21. This is a very difficult standard to meet. The assistance of an experienced immigration attorney is highly recommended in order to present your arguments in the most persuasive manner.

The immigration judge will make the exceptional and extremely unusual hardship decision not based on any one factor but rather based on the totality of the evidence. As you will see, it is generally easier to prove that your removal will create exceptional hardship for a child who was born in the U.S. than for a parent who grew up abroad or a self-sufficient adult spouse.

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 Posted on May 14, 2019 in Family Law

Financial preparation prior to filing for divorce can substantially ease your stress during and after divorce. If you have been out of the workforce for some years, the idea of becoming self-supporting can be daunting. The three biggest expenses you need to plan for are your home, car, and food. Your fourth largest expense will be for medical care and health insurance. The annual premium for an individual health plan in 2018 was nearly $7,000--over $500 per month--and that plan comes with an average deductible of $1,500. Fortunately, Illinois has a Spousal Continuation Law (215 ILCS 5/367.2) that allows you to remain on your spouse’s employment-based insurance plan after divorce.

How to Stay on Your Spouse’s Health Insurance After Divorce

If you want to remain on your spouse’s health insurance after your divorce, your spouse must notify their employer and insurance company of the divorce within 30 days of the final decree. This will trigger the insurance company to send you a notice about the continuation of coverage. You must return your response to the insurance company within 30 days.

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 Posted on May 13, 2019 in Personal Injury

Each year, there are millions of car crashes that happen throughout the United States. According to the latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were an estimated 6,452,000 traffic crashes that were reported to police in 2017. Of these crashes, about 1,889,000 of them resulted in injuries and more than 34,000 of the crashes resulted in at least one fatality.

Car accidents happen when you least expect them and they can cause serious injuries and even death. It has been noted that many, if not most car accidents occur because of some sort of driver error. Here are a few tips to keep you safe while on the road and decrease your chances of being in a car accident:

Pay Attention to the Task at Hand

Distracted driving has become a large problem with the rise of smartphones and other electronic devices. When you are behind the wheel, your full and undivided attention should be on driving and the road in front of you. Getting distracted by your cell phone or other things in the car can cause you to be unaware of things happening outside.

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