Rhode Island Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

As the NVC has informed you, the petition that you filed does not include derivative status for family members. That is because you are filing in the immediate relative category for spouses, parents, and unmarried children under 21 of US citizens, and the law does not provide for derivative applicants. You can submit a new petition for your 17-year-old brother under the F-4 category for siblings of US citizens. His processing time will be approximately 13-15 years under current projections. Alternatively, your parents can immigrate and petition for him under the F-2A category for unmarried children under the age of 21 of green card holders. This category is currently projected to take around 2-4 years to complete. 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

Anybody can sue for anything, but respectfully you have no case.  Except for a single provision (prohibiting slavery) the U.S. Constitution does not restrict the actions of private citizens, only the actions of the government ("Congress shall make no law ... .").  Thus, for example, the government can't stop you from dressing pretty much any way you want, because the First Amendment protects your right to do so, but a private employer can enforce a dress code in the workplace, or refuse to do business with you (e.g. "No shoes, no shirt, no service.") ... Read Answer

A United States citizen can sponsor her boyfriend for a fiancée visa.  It takes approximately one year or a little bit more before they can enter the country with a K visa, but within 90 days after entry, you have to marry your boyfriend and then he can adjust status to get his green card. If you also want to bring your son to this country, he probably already is a United States citizen if he is your biological child. So if he was born in Dominican republic, he would need to just go get a counsalar record of birth abroad (CRBA) at the US consulate.... Read Answer

If your uncle has resigned, his daughter, not you, becomes your mother's agent under the financial POA.  You can only supercede that by being appointed guardian by a court. In some states, the health and safety code allows health care providers to accept the word of an only child.  In others, a guardian is required. When you talk with an Illinois guardianship attorney about becoming guardian of your mother's finances, also ask whether it is necessary or advisable for you to become guardian of her person.... Read Answer

I'm very sorry for your loss. Since the will was not signed, you do not have a life tenancy, but own (or will own once your mom's estate is probated) the house equally with your 3 siblings.  If your siblings do not all consent to you remaining in the house, you have no right to stay, but perhaps they would agree if you would pay market rent (discounted by 25%, since that would be your share).  Ditto about getting a roommate, and you would only have the right to 25% of the rent paid by the roommate. If one of the 4 owners insists on a sale, he/she can probably force a partition and sale of the property, although nothing would prevent you from buying it if you have the means.  Since this can be an expensive proceeding, it probably makes more sens for one or more of the others to buy that sibling out. One more thing - the lawyer does not represent you.  If you feel that you want someone to represent your interests, hire your own lawyer.... Read Answer

Some states have joint tenancy in which the surviving spouse would automatically receive the Will.  Some states grant her 1/3d.  In others it turns on whether there are children outside the marriage.  A DMV form can be used for the car.  The bank account can be held "joint with right of survivorship" to pass to the surviving spouse on death.... Read Answer

Hi Christine, if you are on SSDI, and you are a United States citizen, you are still able to sponsor your foreign national fiancé provided that he entered the United States with a visa, which it looks like he did, but you will need a joint sponsor. A joint sponsor Has to be a green card holder or a US citizen and Has to reside in the United States. I suggest you work with an attorney to handle your case from start to finish. Some of us charge a very affordable flat fee , With no hidden costs and we stay in the case for its lifespan. Counsel in any state can represent you.... Read Answer

Report this to Adult Protective Services.  File a grievance with the State Bar of Florida.  Consult with an elder law attorney about how to show that the documents were signed by someone who lacked legal capacity and should not be respected and about what other action can be taken.  You might want to use the Find a Lawyer function on the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.... Read Answer

The DS-160 does contain a field for whether the applicant has a fiancé in the US. The question is whether the issue came up at the time of the interview and the American consular officer discovered during the course of the interview that she actually did have a fiancé in the US. If that was the situation, your wife might be refused the immigrant visa after you now file and asked to submit an I-601 waiver application to overcome the ground of inadmissibility. The standard would be to prove that you would suffer extreme hardship if she was not given the waiver. On the other hand, if that was not the situation, it would be difficult to see how her tourist visa application would cause a problem with your immigrant visa petition for her at this time. A section 214B denial just means (as you note) that she was not able to show strong ties to her country of origin. 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

Within the waiting period the Petitioner, can withdraw the Divorce Petition if both parties were able to reconcile and and no longer wishes to get divorced. You will need to prepare a petition for revocation to stop the divorce proceeding, Feel free to contact my office and speak with a case manager at 877-866-8665 or email help@smsattorneys.com as we do also offer reduced price services for PRO SE people who can't afford an attorney or would like to represent themselves in court.... Read Answer

Is the business a separate entity, such as a corporation or llc?  If so, you can buy the entity.  For example, if it is a corporation, you would buy its stock.  Alternatively, you (or an entity you establish) can buy its assets.  For example, let's say that abc corp. is a taxi business owning two taxis, some equipment (spare tires, fanbelts, etc.), some goodwill associated with its name (which may or may not be a trademark), and has a lease on a garage.  You can either buy the stock of abc corp,, or you can buy all or some of the cars, equipment, name, and lease.  Each of these has different tax and liability consequences to both buyer and seller, each is accomplished slightly differently, and each may be appropriate in different circumstances.  For example, if the existing business has a lot of debt, you probably don't want to buy the stock, because the corporation would continue to be in debt even thougb you now owed it; in that case you would probably want to buy the assets, but you need to know what assets have been pledged to creditors as security for debt, and also the laws on successor liability.  You should probably consult a local accountant and/or an attorney. ... Read Answer

Usually it is very difficult for a permanent resident who was deported on a drug-related charge to return to the US. That being said, you may request an opinion from an immigration lawyer by giving him or her the entire criminal file for examination. 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

You mention you are separated but do not indicate whether anything is filed with the court yet (legal separation or divorce). Technically the person whose name Is on the title is the owner (subject to the security interest while money is owed). Under Nebraska law, all property acquired during the marriage is marital property regardless of who is on the title and almost all debt is marital debt regardless of who is on the loan. If your spouse is threatening to deprive you of the vehicle, you are safest to make sure there is a temporary order in place to prevent him from doing so. You should visit confidentially about the specifics of your situation with a family law attorney.... Read Answer