Maryland Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Your wife faces serious consequences if USCIS and/or the consulate determine the extent of what was done. Your wife is ineligible for an immigrant visa at this time. Her second marriage is not valid for immigration purposes as she was still married. In addition, she willfully misrepresented herself when she applied for her tourist visa. This triggers a permanent bar to admission which can only be waived based upon showing extreme hardship to a qualifying relative.... Read More

Utah does not use the word "abandonment" as a ground for divorce, but does recognize "willful desertion of the petitioner by the respondent for more than one year; "willful neglect of the respondent to provide for you the common necessaries of life;" and when spouses have lived separately under a decree of separate maintenance of any state for three consecutive years without cohabitation." These grounds are found in the Utah Code at Section 30-3-1(3), subsections (c), (d) and (j). Now on a separate but related point, even if you don't qualify to claim any of these as grounds for divorce, you can still file for divorce without alleging any kind of fault against your spouse. This is what the "irreconcilable differences" ground accomplishes. It means that you can get a divorce simply by wanting one you don't have to furnish a "reason" for seeking divorce. If you need or just want a divorce, neither the state nor your spouse can stop you.... Read More

Hello. An application for asylum is based on credible fear you have for returning to  your country, not whether you are single or married so if you wish to marry it will not effect your application. If you are marrying a US citizen it may provide you with additional ways to stay in the US. Please call me for a free consultation to further explain specifically to your case.... Read More

Hello. Contact USCIS at 1 800-375-5283 to explain the error or schedule online an INFO Pass appointment to speak in person to a USCIS officer.  They should be able to correct the error on the visa. If you are unsuccessful please contact me for a free consultation and I will advise on the next step for your particular case. Best of luck.... Read More

The US does not give green cards or citizenship based on the situation you describe. You may be eligible for employment based immigration, but you would have to find an employer that can use your skills and be willing to go through the labor certification process with you. That is usually an expensive and drawn out application.  You may wish to consult with an immigration lawyer to go over any options that may be available to you. 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 there is a good reason why you can't pay, such as illness or recent unemployment, you should file a Motion to Modify Child Support to thwart the Contempt. Usually a judge will ask you to pay as much as you can the day you are in court and to set up a future payment plan instead of incarcerating you. However if your payments go through the office of child support enforcement, they can suspend your driver's license, take your tax refunds, put a lien on your bank account, and at the very least impose an earnings withholding order on your paycheck.... Read More

This is actually a complicated situation even though it only involves $100. Most contracts are enforceable without need of a writing, and an agreement to make a deposit against a save the date design doesn't seem to fit into any category that would require a writing.  Thus the question is whether there was an agreement that the deposit would be nonrefundable or not.  Apparently you never realized that the deposit would be nonrefundable.  If the court believes you, it may find that no enforceable contract was ever formed.  In that case, however, the court could still find that the invitation company is entitled to "quantum meruit", the fair market value of the work they performed creating the two designs you rejected. You would no doubt argue that a contract was formed making the deposit refundable if you didn't accept their designs.  If the court agrees, you would be awarded the $100 back.  Frankly, however, I doubt the court will agree, because it makes no sense to me.  If the deposit was fully refundable, than why have a deposit?  If fully refundable, then why provide that the $100 could be applied against another product or service?  The only thing that makes sense to me is that the deposit was intended to be non-refundable, but if you didn't like their design you could use it for another product or service. Of course, this all assumes that the invitation company tells the same story as you do.  If the facts to which they testify differ from the ones to which you testify, there is no way to predict which witness the court will believe. One more point.  Often in determining these types of issues where there in no documentation, or the documentation is not clear, the court is guided by the custom in the industry.  If the custom in this industry is that deposits are fully refundable, the court is unlikely to believe, without any documentary evidence, that this agreement differed from the norm, and vice versa.... Read More

It seems like your daughter has abandoned her duties to your grandaughter. Assuming you are a fit and proper person to have custody of your grandchild, you have a very good chance of getting custody. However, the Court is bound to consider what is in the best interests of your grandchild and there are many factors that I court must consider. You should share all details  about your family situation with a family law lawyer, who can then give you a much better assessment of your chances of getting custody.  ... Read More

Yes, this can be done, but the more important question to answer is "should it be done?" You might consider:   How much equity is in the house? How strong is your relationship with your boyfriend? Do you intend to get married? Do you have joint debts with him now or might you incur joint debts in the future? Do you intend to give him outright ownership of one half of the equity with no payment by him to you? What are your intentions with regard to the property if you break up? Do you each have a will or a power of attorney?   There are more issues and you should consult with a lawyer versed in real estate, family law, and estate planning before changing title.... Read More

You cannot cannot cancel your husband's green card. Only the Departnent of Homeland Security can seek to terminate your husband's status. You should file a police report and seek a restraining order if he is abusive. You can also notify the Department of Homeland Security about your suspicions that he married you solely to get a green card. ... Read More

The thoughts you have are good ones, and you can certainly be creative in how you structure things.  But just based on all the relevant considerations you highlight, you can see that this is certainly not a DIY project.   You should make sure whatever terms you ultimately settle on are properly reduced to a written contract that covers every contingency and protects your rights.  An experienced business attorney can assist with that.  Good luck.... Read More

There is there is no direct path to a green card from TPS. Most individuals obtain lawful permanent residence through immigrant visa petitions filed by a qualifying family member or employer.  You can read more about family-based immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration. You can read more about employment-based immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/employment-immigration.... Read More

A person who entered the United States on a crew member visa cannot adjust status unless grandfathered under INA 245(i). This person can only pursue an immigrant visa through consular processing. Your spouse may qualify for a provisional waiver but there is not enough information to assess the matter fully. I would encourage you to meet with an experienced immigration attorney. ... Read More

You should have an experienced attorney review your contract with the buyer to explore your rights.  One option may be to seek a judgment against the buyer for the unpaid balance, but the great likelihood appears to be that he does not have any money anyway -- so that may be a dead end.  Another option may be to take over the business again, based on some security interest you may have retained in its assets.  You may not want to do that -- you did sell the business after all -- but it may be a good way to recoup some of the losses incurred from the buyer's failure to honor his contract. Another concern here, of course, is that you may still have some liability on the lease.  You do not say whether your lease was simply assigned to the buyer or if he negotiated a new lease with the landlord. Again, a lawyer experienced with such transactions can review all the relevant documents to give you a better idea of your options and your liabilities.   Good luck,Sean... Read More

We can do nothing on these or any other Internet pages. We can only offer our thoughts. You are profoundly confused. Reading your post does leave this impression. For instance, I-130 cannot be approved by an immigration judge. IJ has no jurisdiction to even review the I-130. If you husband is abusive you should immediately complain to the police. Your children's safety and yours should be your first priority. You should also talk to an immigration lawyer immediately. This is the best suggestion we can offer     Immigration Options for Victims of Violence. ... Read More