Minnesota Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

It would be fairly difficult for you to convince U.S.C.I.S. that your wife committed marriage fraud, especially as you have a child together. 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 Answer

If your father has legal capacity to contract, he can sign a Durable [Financial] Power of Attorney.  With a lower legal capacity, he can sign a Medical Power of Attorney.  If he has a lower level of legal capacity, you may need to apply to the court for a conservatorship of his estate or a guardianship of his person.  Note that his spouse has priority.  You may want to consult a local elder lawyer, using the Find a Lawyer function on the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org)... Read Answer

It is not clear what kind of life estate this is.  If your mother signed and recorded a Transfer on Death Deed reserving a life estate to herself, only she need sign and only she is entitled to the proceeds.  If you and your sister also have a current life estate in the property, all three of you must sign.  Who gets what depends on how the three of you own the property.    ... Read Answer

There is no way to answer that question without knowing what the contract provides.  What does the contract say?  If the contract prohibits your situation than it may still be unenforceable, because such provisions are not always favored by the Courts, but you probably could not know for sure if it would be enforced until you took the job and got sued. ... Read Answer

Usually other countries do not consider an individual's past immigration problems in some other country in making a decision to allow that person travel in their countries. If you were deported from the US for overstaying your visa status, you would have a 10 year bar which it appears that you have satisfied if you stayed out of the U.S. during those years. You would be eligible to apply for a new US visa, but you would still have to convince the US consular officer that you have nonimmigrant intent if applying for a visa that requires such, e.g. B1/B2, F1. 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 Answer

Assuming that the text can be authenticated as having come from you, probably.  Of course, you can rebut the text, saying that somebody else sent it from your phone or claiming that it didn't represent the actual deal, etc., but the text will probably come in to evidence.  BTW, when somebody gives you $, the assumption is that you are required to pay them back; in order to prevail, you would have to convince the court that it had been a gift, not a loan.... Read Answer

You have every right to be upset, but I don't believe that a civil lawsuit is likely to succeed because, although you were emotionally tortured, you suffered no monetary damages directly attributable to the bus company's wrongful conduct.  What you've described would probably closest to the tort of "negligent infliction of emotional distress."  The problem is that, in the jurisdictions in which I practice (it is possible that the law is different in MN) that tort requires some sort of relationship and duty running from the tortfeasor to the claimant.  The bus company had no duty to you. This is not to say that you have no chance of redress.  The bus company's actions could give rise to a criminal charge (impeding a police investigation or the like) and you may want to urge your local prosecutor to prosecute.  Also, you may gain some satisfaction by attempting to publicize the bus company's callousness in the media and consumer protection and advocacy groups.  Also, a complaint to the bus company itself may cause it to offer you some compensation, in fear of the bad publicity your story can generate. I'm very glad your daughter is safe.... Read Answer

Non-compete agreements between employer and employee are viewed with some disfavor and are not always enforced, bu tI don't think either of these irregularities makes any difference.  There is no actual dispute over the date (nor, unless the non-compete ran from that date, as opposed to the date when your employment terminated, would any dispute be material) nor that you signed the agreement.... Read Answer

If the U.S.C.I.S. naturalization examiner believes that you lost your passport and there is no record of your traveling in and out of the US, the loss of a passport should not prevent you from obtaining US citizenship. 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 Answer

When an individual is filing for an I-485 application, he or she is allowed to become a full-time student based on the pending I-485. That may of course be a violation of F-2 status, and so I understand your concern of what would happen to her F-2 status if your I-140 is rejected and you still maintain your F-1 OPT status. I note that it would be difficult for U.S.C.I.S. to discover the fact of the violation as an I-140 even in a concurrent I-140/I-485 filing is generally first adjudicated before an interview is scheduled at the local field office. If the I-140 is denied, the I-485's would automatically be denied, most likely without interview. 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 Answer

It's impossible to tell with certainty, but the more limited the restrictions, the more likely it is to be enforced.  For example, a contract prohibiting you from performing any services within 2 miles from your prior office or for any person or entity which had been a customer of your former employer within the past year, is more likely to be enforced than one which is very general, as you've described in your question (I suspect that the actual clause is narrower than you've described).  The enforceability of these clauses is very fact sensitive. depending on, in addition to the breadth of the clausae (how long, over what geographic area, prohibiting what activities) numerous factors including, but not limited to, the nature of your former employer's business and the industry (does it operate worldwide or draw its customers only from the immediate neighborhood, are there repeat customers and a lot of customer loyalty, can you locate potential customers in an online directory or do you need specialized knowledge, etc.), whether your job requires some specialized skill and/or training or can be filled by anyone off the street (e.g. it is much more likely to be enforced if you are an interior designer than if you worked in the store room), your position in your former employer's organization (the clause is much more likely to be enforced against a vice-president than an entry level employee), whether and to what extent your former employer invested time and money in training you and/or acquiring its customers and/or developing its product or services, the extent to which you had contact with your former employer's customers, the extent to which you had access to your former employer's trade secrets or other proprietary information, the degree to which your services are needed to serve the public interest in your community, whether you received additional compensation (beyone just keeping your job) in exchange for the non-compete obligations to which you agreed, etc. etc.  Also, in some cases courts will "blue pencil" non-competes which they think are overbroad, for example if a court thinks 3 months is too long, it may enforce the clause but only for two months.  In other words, it's impossible to be certain about whether the contract will be deemed enforceable without knowing a lot more than you can convey in an email, and even after an attorney has all the facts, the answer likely will still not be black and white, but the attorney will only be able to give you probabilities that you will succeed if you challenge the contract. ... Read Answer

Staying outside the US for a year or more even with a reentry permit normally interrupts the period of residency for purposes of naturalization. Persons subject to the five year rule for naturalization may apply for citizenship four years and one day after return and those subject to the three-year rule can apply two years and one day after their return.  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 Answer

The question may hinge upon whether you have stepped on board with the 2nd employer rather than waiting for the result of the H-1B transfer/extension petition. Although authorized to immediately work for the 2nd employer upon receiving the receipt of filing, U.S.C.I.S. usually considers that work unlawful if the H-1B transfer/extension petition is denied. If you are still with the first employer, a change of status to H-4 could seemingly be done without problems. If you are already working with the 2nd employer, that could be seen as a violation of status leading to a denial of the change of status application. Generally speaking, you must show your current legal status to U.S.C.I.S. when you are applying for a change of status which in your case would involve providing recent pay slips from your authorized employment. 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 Answer

If the shoplifting charge was dismissed, it should not affect the citizenship application unless you admit the deed, and it was done within five years of the date of application if applying under the five-year rule and three years if applying under the three-year rule.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 Answer

Hey Janie, I am so sorry about the marriage roller coaster you have been on. The honest and truthful answer is that your marriage is technically on a roller coaster ride whose engine is about to get burned. The only way to make sure the ride continues is to either terminate it, meaning get a divorce finalized and try to re-date again and see maybe the marriage spark will come back. Other than that, if your husband is not being involved with the kids or you on a timely bases, I hate to inform you that this marriage is less likely to be saved. The other thing is, with time and patience things might turn around. But because your husband is not with you, there is a slight chance he is with someone else and not thinking about you or fixing the marriage. Feel free to contact my office and speak with a case manager at 877-866-8665 or email help@smsattorneys.com.... Read Answer

Yes, you can travel based on the information and believes that you have provided. Getting something from him in writing would be favorable for future proceedings. If you think he will be a complete jerk about it and file for contempt of court or etc then you should discuss your options with an attorney. An attorney would require the custody agreement to review what you can and can not do. We are based in New York but we do provide services in your state, as well as have monthly payment plans available. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only. Feel free to call 1-877-866-8665 for Case Manager.... Read Answer