Kansas Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Sorry.  You're not going to win that argument.  I agree that it is an injury to you to wait longer for the decision you were seeking, but not every injury provides for recovery under the law. M. Scott Peck wrote "Life is difficult."  I would add, "Life is often unfair."  The law is very specific about what it can and will do, and it will not always "make someone pay" for a difficult or unfair situation. ... Read Answer

For legal action to be taken, courts typically require clear evidence of a direct connection—such as harassment, threats, or other behaviors that could be interpreted as instigation. Simply being mentioned in a suicide note does not automatically establish liability. If the woman had no communication or involvement with the deceased, it would be difficult to justify her arrest or prosecution under most legal frameworks.... Read Answer

Unfortunately not. USCIS does not allow individuals to remain in the US just on the basis of a filed petition. You would be filing under the F-4 category for siblings of US citizens. For most of the world except for India and the Philippines which have longer backlogs, the availability date is only for those for whom petitions were filed prior to April 1, 2008. This is a backlog of approximately 17 years. Your sister would have to maintain nonimmigrant status to remain legally in the US. 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 Answer

Unfortunately, the company needs the H-1B approval letter before you can start working for it. The I-9 employment authorization verification form is required to be filled out by the company, and the I-797A notice of approval is a necessary document to prove your H-1B status. 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 Answer

In most cases, both parents need to be present or provide written consent to get a passport for a minor child. Options Without Ex's Consent: Sole Custody: If you have a court order granting you sole legal custody, you might not need your ex's consent. DS-3053 Form: If you don't have sole custody, you can try obtaining a signed form DS-3053 from your ex. This form expresses their consent for the passport issuance. A notary public needs to witness the signing. Court Order: If your ex refuses to cooperate, you may need to petition the court for an order authorizing the passport issuance without their consent. Consulting a lawyer specializing in family law is recommended for this route. It is advisable to reach out for a Premium Consultation with an attorney where you can get specific legal advise to go over the best strategy for your situation.... Read Answer

You might start by taking the total tax amount you have paid and divide by two assuming that you and your brother have a one half interest in your father's premises.  You might also consider a petition to partition and sell the house and seek an accounting of how the net proceeds of sale are to be divided between you and your brother with a credit to you for what you have paid that was your brother's share of the expenses of maintaining the real estate and paying taxes and utilities.  An accounting also can be sought in the context of an estate proceeding assuming one was ever filed.... Read Answer

I am not quite sure of the tenor of your question. A B-1 visa is for a person coming to the US for business purposes. Such entry is not for work, and you cannot apply for an employment authorization document (EAD) based upon a B-1 visa. If you enter under refugee status, you are allowed employment authorization upon being admitted to the US and having the EAD submitted and approved. The current processing time is approximately 4.5 months. If you are applying for asylum, you need to wait 150 days after the application is filed before filing an EAD application. Current processing time is approximately 30 days for initial applications according to USCIS published processing times. 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 Answer

You are unfortunately stuck in the same situation with many people who see their cases being held up while others in similar situations are being approved. You have noted the further problem that the date for launching an inquiry with USCIS keeps moving forward. There is no harm to your case by putting in an inquiry at this time although it may not help if USCIS says that the time for inquiry is not now. If it makes you feel better, you can do it and hopefully it will help. 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 Answer

It is going to be extremely difficult for your boyfriend from Nigeria to get a visitor visa to travel to the United States unless he has a good job or owns property. Alternatively, If you want to sponsor him for a fiancée visa, then you need to physically meet him before you file for the K visa. If you're on disability and dont have the minimum amount of income to financially sponsor your boyfriend for a marriage or a fiancée visa, then you will have to engage the services of a joint financial sponsor.... Read Answer

You should retain counsel to process the U visa application from start to finish. There are a lot of forms and documents that need to be completed and filed, and you really only get one chance at this so you should get it right. Counsel in any state can assist you, and some of us charge affordable rates.     ... Read Answer

If you mean will you face criminal liability, that depends on the circumstances.  You are justified to use necessary force to defend yourself, and if you're violently attacked by a 200 pound guy who broke in to your apartment, I don't think any one would contend that you had committ4ed a crime by defending yourself with a crowbar., especially if the attacker was armed  On the other hand, if you had already incapacitated an unarmed man by breaking his leg, and he no longer posed a threat, you could get in trouble.  If the "attack" was that he spit on you, and he was leaving, you could get in trouble.  If the "attack" was by your wheelchair bound 90 pound grandmother trying to spank you, you could get in trouble. There re obviously many factual variations which could change the outcome. ... Read Answer

It would cost your friend more than she could possibly recover to get an attorney. Your friend stands to recover a net amount of approximately $130 to $180, plus inrerest, less than most attorneys charge for a single hour of work.   She can only recover attorneys' fees from the other side if she has a contract, or there is an applicable statute, providing for it, and you've not indicated any in your question.  Moreover, even if she could recover attorneys' fees, she could only recover reasonable fees, and the amount of fees which are reasonable to spend where the recovery is so small would be minimal.  This type of situation is exactly what small claims was designed for.... Read Answer

a power of attorney becomes active whenever it provides that it becomes active, usually immediately.  Given your father's state, he may no longer be competent to execute a power of attorney, in which case you would need to start a guardianship proceeding (it may be called somehting diffferent in your state) to become his guardian and handle his affairs.... Read Answer