California Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

I assume that you have tried to contact your lawyer's office through regular means without success. If your lawyer’s office has closed, you may be able to find information on the lawyer on the Internet. If not, you may contact your local Bar Association to see whether it has any current information on your lawyer. Good luck. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

Hello, I am sorry to hear about your accident.  I would urge you to consider retaining an attorney whose practice is focused on personal injury cases as mine does.  The other driver's insurance coverage will not cover your medical payments but your policy may pay a limited portion of your medical bills regardless of who is at fault.  Medical payments in some insurance policies require thatyou reimburse your insurance comapny if you later collect from the other driver. If I can help you in any way please feel free to contact me.  ... Read More

If your mother is not barred by any of the other provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act such as fraud or misrepresentation, crime, or having reentered the US on or after 4/1/97 after having been previously removed or spending one year illegally in the US, you should be able to petition directly for your mother and have her come back since she has already been out of the US for more than 10 years. She will of course have to prove that she has remained outside the country for that long. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

One cannot form an S-Corp.  The process requires that you first create and file the Articles of Organization of a C-Corp, then file IRS Form 2553 with the IRS seeking approval to be taxed as an S-Corp.  Once the IRS sends you a letter of approval, you may then enjoy the pass-through taxation benefits of an S-Corp and avoid the double taxation of a C-Corp.... Read More

Reverse engineering, meaning examining an article or apparatus to determine how it is made and how it works, is never illegal in the U.S., regardless of whether or not there are patents on the object.  What you do with the knowledge obtained by reverse engineering, however, can potentially give rise to infringement issues. Suppose, for example, the product has a patented aspect A, and based on your knowledge obtained by reverse engineering the product, you conceive of an additional aspect B which when combined with A improves the product.  A product practicing a combination of A and B could infringe the patent on aspect A, even though it is an improvement on a product that practices A alone. Consult a patent attorney for advice and counsel regarding potential infringement issues when improving a patented product.... Read More

Although not clear from your fact situation, I gather that you are applying for both L-1B extension and change of status to H-1B. Assuming that is correct, I of the opinion that if both were timely filed within the time prior to the expiration of the previous L-1B approval, then you should be able to continue staying in the US awaiting the H-1B result even though your L-1B was rejected. If the change of status to H-1B was filed after the expiration, it would likely be seen as an untimely filing and it would be up to USCIS whether to approve it or not. As to your ability to stay in the US in that situation if the L-1B is denied, the date of denial would serve as the first day of unlawful presence. If you remain in the US for over 180 days hence, you would then become subject to a 3 year bar on admissibility unless the H-1B change of status is approved. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

One of two general rules is that an individual must be able to show that he or she is maintaining legal nonimmigrant status for at least 30 days prior to the program start date on the I-20 form. In your case, your fact situation says that your EAD ends on 7/14/23. F-1 status includes the period of time on OPT plus the 60 day grace period thereafter. That would take you into September, and your schooling starts in September. With such a timeframe, you should be able to finish your OPT and move smoothly into your next program. As this rule applies, there is no need to cite a second rule. As to whether there are restrictions by the school, that would be between you and the institution. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

It depends upon what immigration status you are holding whether you can obtain a Social Security card. The usual route for someone who is not holding permanent residence or a nonimmigrant status automatically giving work privileges is to apply for and obtain an employment authorization document (EAD) from USCIS through the filing of form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization. That of course is based upon whether you can qualify under any of the categories. With an EAD, you would be able to request the Social Security Administration for a Social Security card. If unable to qualify, and if you do not have a taxpayer identification number already which allows you to pay taxes but does not give work authorization, you can apply for such with the IRS. Instructions on how to apply are on the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-i-apply-for-an-itin. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

You need to find out the name of the company that owns the billboard (usually shown right on the board at the bottom).  Search for their address and send them a demand letter asking for payment of your damages within 30 days or something like that.  They should submit your claim to their insurance company who will contact you regarding payment of the claim.  If not, you can file a lawsuit for property damage against the company to collect.... Read More

First, send a letter to the company demanding they return your money.  Give them 30 days to respond, and if they don't just fill out form SC-100 online (you can search for "small claims complaint" or "form SC-100") and take it to your county's small claims court address (also found online)... Read More

Applicants for adjustment of status like your parents are only allowed to travel without disturbing the I-485 applications if they obtain advance parole. Unless the reason for their travel is emergent, they will not be able to receive advance parole approval in the short period of time before their contemplated travel. If the need is nonemergent, I suggest that they have a backup plan for travel later in the year. USCIS has been improving its times on most advance parole applications, but there are still many languishing for over six months. Hope that helps. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

During the period from 12/1-12/21, yes, you were working unprotected by an agreement. However, if the contract's effective date is listed as 12/1, then even if it wasn't sent or signed until 12/21, it would still protect you for all work as of 12/1 once it has been signed. I would highly advise having an attorney review the document before you sign it.... Read More

We are not aware of any rule in California or anywhere that disallows name changes with naturalization. You should note, however, that name changes cannot be made unless the naturalization oath ceremony is conducted before a state court. If the oath ceremony is to be conducted with USCIS, no name change is possible. Many individuals opt to go with a USCIS ceremony as those can be scheduled in most cases much more rapidly than in the courts. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

The Department of Homeland Security draws data from many sources, and I cannot tell you whether your applying for a cannabis card would show up on any of the databases. However, removability depends upon a proven or admitted violation of the law, not an application. For example, just because an individual applies for a driver’s license does not mean that he or she will wind up driving. Some just like to have a driver’s license for identity purposes. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

Hello.  Yes, your mother inlaw's insurance should take care of her bills, not you.  Was there a defective condition at your house that caused the injury, like a broken tile, raised crack/step that was not obvious/marked?  If so, your homeowner's insurance would be responsible for paying for her injuries/bills, and you should submit a claim to insurance on her behalf for that.... Read More

That sounds like a horrible experience, but a defamation claim is only valid if the statement(s) made by the teacher were false.  If they are, then you may have a claim.  However, the teacher is not responsible for the actions of a third party (the student), they are liable for your injury.  Let me know if you wish to discuss the details of your claim so that I may better advise you of your options.... Read More