Illinois Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

There is no immigrant visa category that allows a US citizen to sponsor nephews and nieces. Although the situation that you describe is sympathetic, this Administration has shown little concern with even more humanitarian circumstances. I would like to be more encouraging, but cannot given the current state of US immigration policy. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (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 USPTO itself provides guidance on the patenting process at: https://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-started/patent-process-overview. I strongly recommend you NOT to commit to paying any money to ANY invention promotion firm.  Instead, I recommend you investigate obtaining the advice from a registered patent professional (a patent attorney or a patent agent).  Many (myself included) provide extensive free initial consultations and can explain the steps required in applying for and obtaining a patent.  Note that a patent registration is a nationwide license, so you are not limited to consulting with patent professionals in your immediate area. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provides a list of registered practitioners at: https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/patent-and-trademark-practitioners/finding-patent-practitioner For cautions about invention promotion firms, please see my web page at: https://claibornepatent.com/prototype.htm.   If you wish to discuss this matter with me, you may contact me at the number below. In any case, I wish you the best in this endeavor. Anthony Claiborne Claiborne Patent Law Services 425-533-6132... Read More

A Durable Power of Attorney is only effective while the person who granted it is alive:  an agent cannot act for a dead person because the dead person no longer can give instructions or receive reports. A beneficiary under a life insurance policy therefore cannot add or change names of beneficiaries.  He or she can, however, gift money after it is received.  The current federal gift tax exemption is $15,000 per recipient.  If the gift is larger, the giver must pay a gift tax.... Read More

Your question, as best understood, is whether a different shape of a magnet for a motor would comprise a patentable invention.   An inventor is entitled to a patent for their invention if the invention is useful, new and non-obvious.   While an electric motor is certainly useful, an electric motor using a differently shaped magnet will be useful only if it works as an electric motor.   The motor invention is new if the shape of the magnet has not been used before its invention by the inventor and has not been disclosed or used in public by the inventor more than one year prior to the inventor's filing the patent application.   The motor invention is non-obvious if a person of ordinary skill in the art of constructing electric motors, having before them all the art prior to the invention of the new motor, would not find the construction of the new motor obvious. The patentability of such an invention is a mixed question of law and fact.  I recommend you consult with a registered patent professional (either a patent attorney or a patent agent) for a professional opinion as to the patentability of a motor with the particularly shaped magnet.  Note that a registration to practice patent law before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is a nationwide license and that you may consult a registered patent professional anywhere for the needed opinion.... Read More

Maybe yes and maybe no as the question is one of non-immigrant versus immigrant intent and the nonimmigrant statuses that you are desiring – B-2 and F1 – both require nonimmigrant intent. That being said, the waiting period for an I-130 based upon sibling relationship takes many years, and most consular officers and immigration officers are aware that a person can intend to immigrate in the future while at the same time having a nonimmigrant intent to come to the US temporarily and leave at the end of the stated purpose. You must, however, be truthful in your applications to an American consul or to U.S.C.I.S. and disclose the I-130 filing to avoid a possible charge of misrepresentation which could impact your later immigration. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (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

If your brother owns the property, he can change the locks.  If your mother owned the property, or other property, hire a California probate lawyer in the county in which she lived to file an Application to Determine Heirship and have the administrator divide the property among her heirs.... Read More

Medicaid only approves skilled nursing facilities.   To have her room and board and some of her care paid by Medicaid she must have a medical necessity for skilled nursing/skilled nursing supervision or be so advanced in dementia that it is unsafe for her to live elsewhere. She must also meet certain income and asset tests.  If she does no have a medical necessity, there are room and board homes which will take her in exchange for her Social Security.  Contact your local Area Agency on Aging.... Read More

If you were in the US illegally under a time certain visa status (not F-1 or J-1 unless you received a denial from U.S.C.I.S. or an order from an immigration judge), you are barred from coming back to the country for 10 years because of your illegal stay. To come back on a tourism visa if that applies to you, you would have to demonstrate good cause to an American consular officer as to why you need to return temporarily. If the consular officer is convinced, he or she could recommend you for a waiver to U.S.C.I.S., and the ultimate decision would come from the Admissibility Review Office  (ARO) of the agency. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (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

Because of the divorce your petition will be closely scrutinized. Thus you should retain counsel to represent you from start to finish so that the case can be properly prepared with detailed information showing that both marriages were and are bins fire. Counsel anywhere in the USA can represent you. ... Read More

A H-1B petition has two components – whether the job is a specialty occupation and the beneficiary qualified to take it, and whether the beneficiary is eligible for an extension in the US without leaving the country. From looking at your question, it appears that U.S.C.I.S. approved the first component, but not the second. You will know for sure when you receive the actual paperwork from U.S.C.I.S. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (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

Were you denied at the initial stages?  If you eanr over a certain amount of income Social Secrurity won't even consider your application.   Feel free to call our office if you need help.   Scott F. Bocchio, Esq President Legal Rights Advocates P 855-254-7841 www.YOURLEGALRIGHTSADVOCATES.COM ... Read More

Your mother, not your sister, gets to decide who will visit her.  Report your sister to Adult Protective Services for isolating your mother (the first step to abuse and financial exploitation).  Contact a local elder lawyer about filing an Application for a Temporary Restraining Order, etc.  You can use the Find a Lawyer function on the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org).... Read More

Yes, assuming that you personally own the trademark.  Any non-exampt assets can be used to satisfy a judgment, although the procedures where the asset is intangivle, such as a trademark, are generally a little more complicated.  Indeed, intellectual property is often used as collateral for a loan. Generally, a judgmetn creditor (unless you have a contract which allows it, the people to whom you owe money could not do anyting with your trademark until they sued you and obtained a judgment against you) would go throught the appropriate process to haveyour asset (whether it be a trademark, a car, a parcel of real property, etc.) to be auctioned off.  The proceeds of the auction would be used to pay various fees, like the fees of the auctioneer, and the judgment.  If there is anything left over, it would go to you.  The same process would apply to any business entity you owned, so that if you caused a corporation you owned to own the trademark, the judgment creditor would cause the stock of the corporation to be auctioned off.   All of this really doesn't mean much at this point, since the trademark probably has no value yet.... Read More

You are only eligible for SSI if your SSDI does not meet the SSI monthly payment ($771 in 2019).  Then, SSI is used to "top up" the SSDI to the SSI minimum.  In some states, receiving SSI entitles you to Medicaid.  Depending on your income, Medicaid then pays part or all of the Part A or Part B Medicare premium (Someone who has received SSDI for 24 months is eligible for Medicare). There is no restriction on how you spend your SSDI. SSI can only be spent for shelter, food and medical expenses.  ... Read More

Hello James. You can sponsor your Fiance for a K visa and her two children, as derivative beneficiaries, and once those visas are available, they can travel to the states. The processing time can run about 9 months to a year before their visas are available. You must marry your fiance within 90 days after she enters the country,  and then you can adjust status for both her and her two children to obtain their green cards, which is another months long process The USCIS filing fees, from start to finish for your fiance is about $1,500, and her two kids are also in that ball park, but less than the fiance. Most law firms would charge anywhere from a low of $2,000 to $7,500. My fees are on the low end, and you can pay in several payments.  Counsel anywhere can assist you. ... Read More

You do not write whether the bank account is the estate's bank account.  If so, and if you are named as executor or administrator of the estate, endorse the check as such and deposit it.  Then distribute the funds according to your mother's Will or, if there is no Will, the intestacy/heirship laws of her state.... Read More

Unfortunately, there are not enough facts in your question for a lawyer to give a reasoned opinion. It appears that you are under a 10 year bar from the deportation unless you were stopped and removed from the port of entry, in which case the bar would be 5 years. Other than that, there is nothing in your question to indicate what possible grounds of relief you may have. I suggest that you make an appointment with an immigration lawyer familiar with deportation work so that he or she can go over all your circumstances and make recommendations. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (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

A quit claim deed means that the signer is giving up (quitting) any claim he or she may have to the real estate.  It is usually used with regard to rights of way (easements) and boundary disputes. Someone who is being asked to give up inheritance rights should be asked to sign a disclaimer.  Their inheritance will then pass to their children (not to other heirs).... Read More

A non-parent is not required to pay child support.   There are exceptions when a biological parent (which your son is not) agrees to allow a child to be adopted or when a biological parent (which your son is not) did not raise the child but is later found to be the biological parent.... Read More