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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 Posted on May 08, 2019 in Immigration

Even lawful permanent residents (LPR) of the US, or green card holders, can be deported. If you receive a Notice to Appear before an immigration judge, then removal proceedings have begun against you. You will need to hire your own immigration attorney to represent you in these proceedings. To prevent your deportation, your attorney may file a petition for cancellation of removal, which the immigration judge may or may not approve, depending on the strength of the arguments made by your attorney.

Deportable Offenses: Grounds for Removal of an LPR

Removal proceedings may be initiated against a lawful permanent resident for any of the following deportable offenses:

• Commission of immigration fraud.
• Participation in terrorist activities.
• False claim of citizenship or unlawful voting in an election restricted to citizens.
• Conviction of a felony crime of moral turpitude within 5 years of entering the U.S. for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed.

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 Posted on May 06, 2019 in Personal Injury

Tens of thousands of years ago, dogs began becoming domesticated creatures and their DNA changed from that of their wolf ancestors. Today, dogs are the most popular species of pet for Americans -- around 68 percent of American households own at least one dog. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, more than 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year and at least half of those people are young children. Dog bites can result in serious injuries and in some cases, even serious, life-threatening infections. Dog bites can also cause emotional distress, especially in children. Pursuing a dog bite injury claim can be tedious, which is why there are a few things you should know before you begin the process.

Illinois Has a Definition for “Dangerous Dogs” and “Vicious Dogs”

The Illinois Animal Control Act (510 ILCS 5/) contains the governing statutes for injuries sustained by animals, including dogs. According to 510 ILCS 5/2.05a, a “dangerous dog” is a dog that is unmuzzled, unleashed or unattended by its owner and behaves in a manner that would be reasonably construed as a serious and unjustified threat of physical injury or death. A dog that unjustly bites a person and does not cause serious physical injury can also be considered a “dangerous dog.” A “vicious dog” is one that unjustly attacks a person and causes serious physical injury or death, or a dog that has been found to be a “dangerous dog” three separate times.

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 Posted on April 29, 2019 in Personal Injury

Getting into a car accident can be a very scary experience for most people. Often times, getting into a car accident can result in serious injuries that can lead to permanent damage if not treated correctly. When you are recovering from injuries from a car accident, the last thing you want to do is relentlessly fight with your insurance company to get a fair settlement. Dealing with any type of insurance company can be annoying — they often will try everything they can to give you the smallest settlement possible. Here are five tips that can help you deal with your car insurance company after an accident:

Make Sure You Are Prepared

Before you submit your claim or call the claims adjuster that your insurance company has assigned to you, you should make sure that you have everything that you will need to submit the claim. Check and make sure you have copies of things such as:

• Evidence that you collected at the scene of the accident, such as photos;

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