Vermont Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Under immigration rules, the job that sponsored you under H-2B visa status cannot sponsor for permanent residence since it assured USCIS that the job position itself was temporary. However, there may be other ways for you to immigrate.  You may wish to make an appointment with an immigration lawyer to discuss possible options. 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

Years after diagnosis many people have the legal capacity to make a Will:  it only requires a lucid moment. Nonetheless, after the Will is submitted for probate (proving that it is the Will of the person who died) and thus becomes a public document, you may try to find an attorney to represent you in contesting the Will, arguing forgery or lack of capacity or undue influence if you have evidence tending to prove any of these.  From your description, it appears that any of these claims would fail.... Read Answer

1. It will likely take several years for your asylum application to be adjudicated. Asylum offices across the U.S. are substantially backlogged. If your asylum application is not granted by the Asylum Office, you will be referred to the Immigration Court unless you are in a valid nonimmigrant status. This will add to the processing time. 2. It will take approximately 8 to 12 months to bring your spouse and children after your asylum application is granted. 3. There is no filing fee to request asylum. You may hire an attorney to represent you. Attorneys' fees will vary. 4. There is no filing fee to petition for your spouse and children. Again, you may hire an attorney. Attorneys' fees will vary.  You can read more about asylum at http://myattorneyusa.com/asylum-and-refugee-protection.... Read Answer

No. Your sibling cannot enter the United States with a tourist visa with the intent to remain here permanently. Your sibling also cannot remain in the country while waiting for an immigrant visa. To be able to adjust his/her status, your sibling would be required to maintain valid nonimmigrant status up until they could file an application for adjustment of status. It will take more than a decade for them to be able to apply for adjustment of status as he/she will need to wait for a visa to be available if petitioned by a sibling. You can read more about family-based immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration.... Read Answer

The college official is generally recognized as Immigration's person on campus and any mistakes which are acknowledged by the designated school official are considered ones that can be forgiven as technical violations by U.S.C.I.S. The foreign student should obtain written acknowledgment of mistake by the designated school official and file a motion to reopen the decision on the basis of technical violation.  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 is possible that the contract to which you refer could be considered one for the sale of securities, which is a type which may need to be in writing to be enforceable.  Assuming that the oral agreement is binding, however, if there is no time specifiied for payment, the law will imply a reasonable period, which can vary depending on the type of contract and other factors.  If payment is not made within that time period, the buyer has breached a material term of the contract and you are excused from performing.  Having entered into a binding contract to sell your shares, your current desire to sell or not is irrelevant, as is the changed value of the shares (except to the extent that it is evidence of what a reasonable time period for payment would be.) ... Read Answer

As a Canadian citizen, you are treated as a visitor when you cross the border and allowed to stay a half year as long as U. S. CBP believes that you are a bona fide visitor. The 3 and 10 year bars in the U. S. only occur if you remain in the U. S. illegally for 180 days or more or one year respectively. The 180 days would only begin to be counted when the half year expires. So it would be only if you stay the half the year and then stay another 180 days illegally that you would be barred for 3 years from coming back to the U. S. The fact that you would be marrying a U. S. citizen would not automatically waive the bar. The bar can be waived upon application if you are able to show that your inability to immigrate would cause extreme hardship to your U. S. citizen wife. 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

I am sorry to hear about this fire loss.  First, you need to read your insurance policy.  It might have a time restriction on claiming for personal property.  Second, if the homeowner is delaying the claim, this will likely have a negative impact on the claim.  It is best to get it wrapped up as soon as possible.  2 years is a very long time to resolve a personal property claim and the insurance company might think the claim is closed or might be able to deny the claim based on the delay.  I'd read the policy and discuss this with the insurance company.  Further, be sure to read any release the homeowner signed to ensure that the homeowner did not release the personal property claim when he/she accepted payment for the structure claim.  Best of luck. NOTE:  This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response.... Read Answer

Your thought process is right, but your analysis is off. If I want to cite research, I might use a sentence or a paragraph of the research paper and the sorts of people that will be interested in purchasing the research paper will not be appeased by my citation (e.g., they will still go buy it and may even be encouraged to go make the purchase by seeing my citation). When you use the image, you are using the whole image. If you want to put a sentence on your site about the image so that people go look at the image, that would be fine. By using the whole image, you are leaving nothing for the author/owner of the image. The exact analysis is based on 'fair use' (copyright term, check out the wikipedia page). Noncommercial use is important. And the percentage of the original work you copy is important. Good luck, Todd... Read Answer

An employer cannot provide false information about an employee to a prospective employer as this would be defamation.  A lawuit could be filed against the person or company who makes these false statements.  The employer can only provide factual and truthful information.  It gets a little more complicated if they provide vague opinions that are somewhere between false and true (e.g. "he is not one of hardest workers").  Your best bet is to retain a service or a friend to call as if they were a prospective employer and ask for a reference.  If that information is false or negative, then you should speak to an attorney about this who can advise you on what action could be taken.... Read Answer

If neither the driver nor the car he was driving had auto insurance, your own automobile insurance should cover both claims under your uninsured motorist coverage. I would call your own insurer immediately and file a claim. It will investigate insurance coverage for the other driver and should cover your claim if it concludes there is no applicable insurance for the other driver.  Nick Deets HOVDE DASSOW + DEETS, LLC Meridian Tower| 201 W. 103rd Street Suite 500| Indianapolis, IN  46290 Telephone:  (317) 818-3100| Facsimile:  (317) 818-3111 Email: ndeets@hovdelaw.com Website:  www.hovdelaw.com  ... Read Answer

You can sign for someone else if they authorize you to do so, either expressly or in some cases by implication (although the signature should more properly be in the form of "John Doe for Jane Roe") or if, after learning of your forgery, the person for whom you signed approves or "ratifies" the transaction.  If your fiance authorized you to handle the transaction, or just knew about it and didn't object, you should be ok.  If she didn't know that you were trading in the car, but learned later and doesn't object within a reasonable time, she will probably be deemed to have ratified the transaction.  This would protect you from any civil liability, but I don't know if it's a defense to a criminal forgery charge - probably it is. If your fiance does object to the transaction, she could theoretically file a criminal complaint against both you and the salesman.  On the civil side, she should not have any liability to the original seller, because the seller knew about the forgery from the beginning.  It is likely, however, that the seller is going to sell the contract, if it has not already.  If the company which buys the contract had no reason to know of the forgery, your fiance could (emphasize could; it's not clear cut) be liable to the assignee, but she would be able to compel you and/or the seller to reimburse her.  ... Read Answer

It depends on which bankruptcy chapter you file and the exemptions available under applicable laws pertaining to your case. Exemptions are "protections" for value you have in certain assets such that they are "exempt" from collections.  Every state has different exemptions amounts available. Exemption laws are based on the state where you resided for the 2 years prior to filing your bankruptcy case or, if you lived in more than 1 state during that period, in the state where you resided for the greater part of the 180 days prior to that 2 year period.  In a Chapter 7 case, the Trustee can sell any assets that are not fully exempt.  In a Chapter 13 case you keep control over all your assets and do a repayment plan to your creditors. You should consult with a bankruptcy attorney in your area for more details. Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau. ... Read Answer

You can file another Chapter 7 case now, assuming you are eligible (pass the means test, etc.).  But chapter 7 is not a temporary thing.  You can't back out once it is filed.  Sounds to me like you want to do a Chapter 13 case where you can seek to dismiss your case should you decide you no longer need it.   You should consult with an experienced bankruptcy attorney in your area to evaluate your options. Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.  ... Read Answer

Physicians who deliver babies are supposed to remove the entire placenta following delivery of the child and failure to do can be negligence. If retained placenta is not removed promptly it can lead to severe complications and even death. Depending on the nature of the damage that you sustained as a result of the failure to remove the placenta, you may have a malpractice case worth investigating. If you do want to investigate pursuing the case, you should contact a local medical malpractice attorney (one in your state).  They take these cases on a contingency basis which means you only have to pay if you succeed.  Additionally, initial consultations are usually free. You can use the "Find a Lawyer" service through this website to research medical malpractice attorneys.  Then, visit each attorney's website and look for a firm that has a record of successful verdicts.  Below are some articles you may find helpful.  They are written for a New Jersey audience (where I practice) but the ideas discussed in these articles usually apply in most other jurisdictions as well. Click here for an article that discusses the three main questions I ask when deciding whether to investigate a potential medical malpractice case. This discusses the issue of financial viability. Click here for an article that explains what you can expect when filing a medical malpractice case. Click here and here for more information about me. Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz Web: www.starrgern.com. ... Read Answer