Posted on August 08, 2017 in Immigration

To lie on one’s application for United States citizenship can put you in deportation proceedings if the lie is ever discovered. Historically, any lie, even the most inconsequential falsehood about petty issues, was grounds for revocation of citizenship. However, in June 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling that changed this—a ruling that will be significant for many future immigrants who decide to naturalize.

The Ruling

The Court was unanimous in its ruling in favor of Divna Maslenjak, an ethnic Serb originally from Bosnia, who admitted to lying on her application for refugee status about her husband’s military service. Both of the last two administrations have held that this made her deportable, and indeed she and her husband were both deported in October 2016.

The lower courts’ ruling on the issue held that federal immigration law required deportation of anyone who admitted to willfully lying on their application for citizenship or refugee status—the relevant law actually suggests imprisonment, but it is common to simply deport non-citizens instead.

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 Posted on August 07, 2017 in Family Law

Dividing marital property in a divorce can be a complex and contentious matter, especially in Illinois. You see, unlike in other states where property and assets are divided equally, Illinois distributes assets in an equitable (“fair”) manner. Unfortunately, everyone’s version of fair is not the same. As such, the courts have some factors that guide the asset division process. Learn more about them, and what an experienced divorce attorney can do for you, with help from the following information.

What is Included in the Marital Estate?

Before the courts can divide a couple’s assets, the overall value of the marital estate must be determined. Items that are included in this process will typically include any assets acquired during the marriage, but individual assets that were acquired before the marriage may also be included if they were co-mingled with marital funds. Examples of such items may include:

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 Posted on August 02, 2017 in Family Law

Each day, some 2,000 children are reported missing. Statistics indicate that most of these kidnappings are committed by the child’s own parent, not a stranger. How big is the problem, why does it occur, and what can you do to prevent it from happening to your child? The following explains, and it provides details on where to find assistance if you suspect that parental kidnapping may become an issue in your Illinois divorce case.

Examining the Causes of Parental Kidnapping

Although each case is unique, statistics offer some insight on the causes of parental kidnapping. For example, some 65 percent of all cases occur shortly after a parent has had a change to their rights. This statistic suggests a few possibilities; some parents may abduct their child to retaliate against a parent that has infringed upon their rights, but others may do so because of fear of losing their child or grief over the loss of quality time with them.

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 Posted on August 01, 2017 in Personal Injury

Summer is the perfect time to take an extended vacation, and traveling families often utilize their own vehicles so they can stop to see sights along the way. However, road trips pose their own unique set of dangers. Consider the following tips to increase the likelihood that you arrive at your destination without becoming the victim of a car accident.

Perform Appropriate Maintenance on Your Vehicle Before Departure

It is imperative to perform routine maintenance on your vehicle throughout the year to avoid excess dangers. However, many procrastinate on this necessary precaution. At the very least, before any long road trip, a thorough checkup is in order.

Those who fail to maintain their vehicles not only put the lives of their passengers in danger, but also other drivers on the road. For instance, a blown tire can cause loss of control at high speeds which can result in fatalities.

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 Posted on August 01, 2017 in Immigration

In June 2017, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly—now White House chief of staff—officially cancelled the Department’s defense of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans & Lawful Permanent Residents program, known colloquially as DAPA. This means that the program, which was previously on hold pending further litigation, will be allowed to be overturned by the relevant court, instead of going into effect.

While this action partly keeps a presidential campaign promise, it also has the potential to cause considerable trouble for mixed families, as well as casting the survival of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in doubt.

Rights Granted Under DACA/DAPA

The most important factor to understand about DACA and DAPA is that they have always been, at their heart, exercises of prosecutorial discretion. In other words, these programs came into being due to the collective belief of immigration officials that the U.S. immigration system needed to prioritize which cases they handled first, and chose people who fit these criteria to place at the back of the proverbial queue—the term of art used is “not an enforcement priority” in terms of the need for immediate deportation.

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 Posted on July 28, 2017 in Family Law

Experts in divorce and money are saying that many couples are delaying divorce because they fear they will lose their insurance. Issues in Washington D.C. are only further compounding their concerns. Are you experiencing the same problem? You may have other options. Learn more about these options, including how to determine which one may be most appropriate for your situation, and how an attorney may be able to assist, with help from the following information on obtaining health insurance after a divorce.

COBRA Through a Spouse’s Employer

Those that currently have health insurance through their spouse’s employer may be eligible for COBRA insurance coverage for up to three years. The one issue to watch is if the Better Care Reconciliation Act; it could mean that those with pre-existing conditions will have a harder time finding insurance once COBRA runs out. Still, even if this does happen, divorcing parties may have other options by the time their COBRA coverage ends.

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 Posted on July 26, 2017 in Personal Injury

Statistics of texting while driving are consistently being thrown out into the public: one in four accidents are due to texting, texting is six times more likely to cause an accident than drunk driving, and 330,000 injuries are caused due to texting while driving. Those are just a few of the statistics put out by the National Safety Council and other prominent organizations.

Cell phone usage and driving do not mix, and the combination has become a national epidemic—one that lawmakers and law enforcement officers work tirelessly to combat. After an accident occurred, how can anyone know for sure that texting was the sole cause?

Texting Drivers Are Liable

In all 50 states, Illinois included, drivers have the requirement to uphold a standard duty of care while driving on the road. It is the responsibility of each driver to obey the rules of the road to ensure the safety of other drivers. Texting and other forms of distracted driving are a prime example of failure to uphold their duties, which is also known as negligence. When a driver is found negligent of his or her duties, he or she becomes responsible for the financial cost of all of the damages.

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 Posted on July 25, 2017 in Immigration

Since the passage of the Immigration Act of 1990, it has been in the purview of first the Attorney General, later the Secretary of Homeland Security, to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to nationals of countries which have experienced significant natural disasters, ongoing armed conflicts, or other conditions that make it dangerous for nationals abroad to return home. As of this writing, there are 10 countries whose nationals receive TPS, but discussion in recent months has underlined the precarious nature of such a status. If you are under TPS now, it is critical that you understand how and when that status is granted and when it can be rescinded.

Requirements for TPS

Once the Secretary of Homeland Security has granted TPS to the nationals of a specific country, those people who are currently physically present in the United States may apply for benefits. However, mere physical presence is not sufficient to satisfy the requirements for status.

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 Posted on July 18, 2017 in Immigration

Despite the significant movement in the field of immigration law since the new administration has taken office, there are some factors that remain the same. One of those is the requirements to become a U.S. citizen—the same criteria exists as it has always been, at least as of this writing. If you are intending to apply for naturalization, it may be a good idea to do so in the near future, though refreshing yourself on what is required is recommended first.

Presence and Character Requirements

United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) lists specific criteria that a person must meet in order to be considered for naturalization. Most of the time, that includes having been a lawful permanent resident, commonly called a green card holder, for a period of time (usually three or 5 years, depending on the circumstances), and being physically present in the country for at least 30 months out of that five-year span. Military service members may be able to apply for naturalization in a shorter period of time, depending on the nature and quality of their service, but that is the exception, rather than the rule.

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 Posted on July 18, 2017 in Personal Injury

More than 930,000 residents call DuPage County home, and anyone who has lived here for over a year understands the significance in fluctuation of weather patterns. Everything from sunshine to snow causes damage to buildings and other structures.Therefore, it is especially important that landlords repair damages as soon as possible to precent tenants from being injured, or even killed, in slip and fall accidents.

Potential Damage From a Slip and Fall

Slip and fall accidents occur when a person trips, slips, loses balance, or otherwise falls and an an injury results. Causes of slip and fall accidents may be due to any number of outside forces. Perhaps the paint on the concrete was wet with rain and therefore caused loss of traction. The sidewalk may have been cracked and caused one's foot to catch. Or, an object may have been in the walkway that was not appropriately flagged or otherwise signaled and caused tripping.

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