HOW US IMMIGRATION SYSTEM WORKS | IMMIGRANT VS NON-IMMIGRANT VISA TYPES

HOW US IMMIGRATION SYSTEM WORKS

The United States immigration law is quite complex, and there is too much confusion about how it actually works. Immigration law has been built upon some principles: admitting immigrants based on skills, reunifying families valuable to the US economy, promoting diversity, and protecting refugees.

 

The Immigration and Nationality Act

The actual body of law is governing present immigration policy is known as The Immigration and Nationality Act. The Immigration and Nationality Act permits the United States to award up to 700,000 permanent immigrant visas each year across various visa categories. 

 

Top 700,000 visas, the Immigration and Nationality Act does not limit the annual admission of US citizens’ parents, spouses, and children under 21. Besides, every year the US president must discuss with Congress and set an annual number of refugees to the US through the United States Refugee Resettlement Process. 

 

Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR)

Once any person gets an immigrant visa and comes to the US, they become a lawful permanent resident LPR. In some situations, noncitizens already inside the United States can get lawful permanent resident status through a process recognized as “adjustment of status.” LPR is foreign nationals who are permitted to live and work permanently and lawfully in the US. Lawful permanent residents are eligible/qualified to apply for almost all available jobs (i.e., jobs not legally restricted to United States citizens) and can stay in the country permanently, even if they are jobless.

 

After staying in the US for up to 5 years (or 3 years in some situations), lawful permanent residents are eligible/qualified to apply for United States citizenship. It is impossible to apply for citizenship through the ordinary process without first becoming a lawful permanent resident. The US also admits each year a range of noncitizens temporarily. Such “nonimmigrant” visas are awarded to everybody from tourists to foreign students to permitted temporary workers to remain in the United States for years. Although certain employment-based visas are subject to annual caps, other nonimmigrant visas (including student and tourist visas) have no limits. They can be awarded to anybody who satisfies the criteria for getting the visa.

 

IMMIGRANT VS NONIMMIGRANT VISA

Foreign nationals looking to enter the United States must usually obtain a visa. In general, visas are divided into two categories: immigrant and nonimmigrant. Immigrant visas are being issued to aliens looking for permanent residence in the United States. On the other side, nonimmigrant visas authorize a person to stay for a limited period with a definite purpose. Following is a discussion of immigration vs. nonimmigrant visa types.

 

Immigrant Visas Types:

Immigrant visas are for those persons who want to shift to the United States permanently. Those awarded an immigrant visa shift to the United States and become green card holders or Lawful Permanent Residents and are put on a path to the United States citizenship.

Many immigrant visa applicants mostly fall into one of 3 main categories:

 

1) Family-sponsored

2) Employment sponsored

3) Special immigrants.

 

All immigrant visa applicants are acceptable, except Diversity Visa, like Lottery winners should be a derivative beneficiary or direct the beneficiary of an immigrant petition.

Nonimmigrant Visas Types:

Nonimmigrant visas are for persons with permanent residence outside the United States, and they wish to temporarily come to the United States. United States law requires that the person who applies for most nonimmigrant visas must prove that they do not intend to immigrate to the US. There are more than 20 categories of nonimmigrant visas that permit nonimmigrant visa applicants to have dual-intent, i.e., they intend to come to the United States temporarily while also having the intent to immigrate permanently.

 

WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE OR UPDATE A LIVING TRUST?

CHANGE OR UPDATE A LIVING TRUST

Living trusts are prominently increasing the estate planning tool because they allow for both flexibility and control. Therefore, there is no hard and fast rule on how often you should change or update your living trust; conducting an annual review of the asset and trust schedule is recommended. In most circumstances, updates usually needed every three to five years.

 

Change In Circumstances 

There will constantly be changes in the law – especially the tax laws. There are also going to be changed in your make-up or family situation and your assets will change over time. Being practical is worth its weight in gold and will ensure your true intentions are followed down the line.

 

When Should You Amend or Revoke a Trust?

Any major event of life should prompt you to at least analyze your estate plan, and possibly need to update it. Such events include:

 

• Marriage
• Divorce
• The death of a spouse
• The birth or adoption of a child or grandchild.

 

If you find your trust is no longer sufficient for your needs, the question becomes in our mind: do you amend or revoke it? Unless your original purpose for creating the trust no longer exists, an amendment is most likely preferable.

 

How Do You Amend or Revoke a Living Trust?

Law governs how you can do changes to a revocable living trust that. The trust instrument itself, which is effectively the private law of the trust. Unless the trust instrument provides otherwise, any living trust can be revoking or amending with, without an attorney, or without having to go to court. 

 

If you want online services by creating an online document, you should be able to amend it after paying a small fee. In case of subscription, even amend it without paying any fee. If you will hire an attorney, it’s an expensive option. However, if you have an attorney then go for an affordable and convenient option. More often, in these situations, it may be more cost-effective to create a new one and revoke an old one.

 

Steps for Amend or Revoke a Living Trust

Here are the following steps to amend or revoke a living trust:

 

1. Find online forms for the living trust. You may find online many different forms for amending a revocable living trust. 
2. Be clear and specific while distributing your property. You need your successor trustee to know how to distribute your property, what you change, and whether to delete or add. No definite language is required to amend the trust.
3. Specific Language Included. You need to write someplace in the amendment whether it replaces something in the original living trust or whether this is an addition to the living trust.
4. Have Notarized Each Amendment. It would be best if you waited until to sign the amendment in the presence of a notary. If you have, joint living trust with your spouse then is sure that both of you did sign on the amendment and each signature should be notarized. There is generally a minor fee for each signature, so be ready for it and the amendment form should be attached to the original living trust document.
5. You Should Keep Your Trust and Amendment Document Together In a Safe Place. Wherever you kept your original trust document in a safe place that will be easy for your successor trustee to access. You have many safe places like lawyer’s offices and a safe deposit box.
6. Restatement Of The Living Trust. It might be better to do a restatement of trust If there are considerable changes that have to be made.
7. Revoke Your Living Trust. Any time you can revoke a revocable trust. You always have the choice of revoking it or a restatement of the trust if there are many numbers of changes that need to be made. It would help if you discussed with an estate planning attorney to check out which best choice is good for you.

 Why You Should Not Run Up Credit Card Debt Just Before Filing for Bankruptcy

 

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will often wiped-out your credit card debt. However, some people looking to file bankruptcy are often still living off their credit cards or at least using them regularly. Therefore, our clients ask us, "Why we should not run up our credit cards before filing bankruptcy?" There are numerous basic rules to follow: 

 

Don't buy a jet ski on your credit card right before your bankruptcy

The bankruptcy law says, "Debt is Non-Dischargeable," meaning it would not be wiped out in bankruptcy. So, if the debt incurred under false representations. It may include the fact that you didn't intend to pay the debt when you incurred it. However, the creditor will have to prove that you didn't intend to pay the debt, which is usually an uphill battle for them.

 

This is why the law gets more specific. Purchases greater than $550 made on a credit card for luxury services and goods within the 90 days before filing are presumed to be non-dischargeable. It means that to get them discharged; you will have to prove that the Jet Ski was necessary for the health and welfare of you or your family. That'd have to be one special Jet Ski.

 

Ok, so you can't buy a jet ski, but you can probably buy diapers.

Both Luxury services and goods not defined in the bankruptcy code. However, the law does say that the term doesn't include "services or goods reasonably necessary for the maintenance or support of a dependent of the debtor." Therefore, we can't promise you a judge will think your particular purchases were necessary, I'd guess you'd be able to make a strong argument that medicine, food, diapers, or gas station purchases would normally pass the test.

 

Don't take large cash advances right before your bankruptcy either

Cash advances more than $825 from a single creditor within 70 days before filing bankruptcy presumed no dischargeable. Which is brings up an important point. If you try to avoid the presumption limits (such as taking $824 in cash advances 71 days before filing your bankruptcy case) the a creditor can still try to prove false representations generally, and if you're trying to skirt the presumptions, it may look like you're hiding something and attract unwanted attention from your creditors and the court.

 

Once you file bankruptcy, you won't be able to use your credit cards

We usually recommend that our clients cut up their credit cards and see if they can make their monthly expenses for roughly two to three months before the bankruptcy. Living without credit can be hard after you've become accustomed to it, so it makes sense to get some practice before you file bankruptcy. Questions about non-dischargeability? Don't make these decisions without an experienced bankruptcy attorney.

Avoid holiday debt on your credit card

As you know the holiday season is coming. So when you start to do holiday shopping, then keep the following options in your mind to avoid holiday debt on your credit card this year.

·         1st Option: Plan your holiday shopping and do price comparisons among stores to make sure you get the best deals on the items you want. Also, avoid using credit cards for your holiday shopping whenever possible.

·         2nd Option: If you don't have a household budget, try to prepare one and stick to it. Try to trim your expenses where you can, for example, dropping cable TV, or carpooling to work to save on gas.

·         3rd Option: If you are not behind on payments, you may be able to consolidate your debt or transfer your balance to another card with a lesser interest rate to make your payments more convenient.

·         4th Option: You may be able to get help from a consumer credit counseling the agency, which can negotiate with your creditors to get your payments to a level that's reasonable for you.

·         5th Option: If you have fallen behind and are in collections or facing repossession, foreclosure, eviction, or utility shut-offs as you try to juggle your monthly expenses, you may want to consider talking to a consumer bankruptcy attorney about whether bankruptcy is the right option for you.

 

Conclusion

If looks very hard to follow the above rules and options. Therefore, if you have any questions regarding which options is good for you or any question about non-dischargeability or "filing bankruptcy,." You can hire a professional and expert bankruptcy attorney who will guide you properly. Why it is important because seeking professional consultation can prevent you from the number of completions in the end.

 

US Bankruptcy - How to File Bankruptcy in Jefferson, Colorado

Bankruptcy in Jefferson, Colorado

Jefferson residents who need a fresh start for their bankruptcy case and looking for the best bankruptcy attorney, then you are on the right article. A good bankruptcy attorney is a great resource whenever considering filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If we talk about Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a very important debt relief tool for American residents in severe financial distress from losing a job, getting divorced or even getting injured. So filing for Chapter 7, firstly you need to arrange "Colorado Bankruptcy Documents." 

 

Fill out your bankruptcy forms

Once you arranged the documents the next step is to fill out the bankruptcy form which is the most time-consuming step because the Bankruptcy Forms include 23 Separate forms and 70 pages in Total. The forms ask you about everything regarding whatever you make, spend, own and owe. If you will download and print out the forms online, you will have to enter repetitive data and make lots of math calculations which is not easy without professional help. Therefore, it will be much better if you will discuss with your bankruptcy attorney for the completion of the forms.

 

Review and Take a Print of Bankruptcy form

Once you have completed and reviewed your bankruptcy forms, then you have to take a print before submitting them to the Court. The print should be single-sided pages because the Court would not accept double-sided pages. Al least prints many copies of the forms and always retain one copy for your records. 

 

Bankruptcy Court Location and Timing Schedule

Residents of Jefferson County must file in the Colorado District Bankruptcy Court. If you are filing for a bankruptcy case, you will submit your forms to the Court House which is located at 721 19th Street in Denver. The Court's phone system opens at 8:30 AM, closes at 5 PM from Monday to Friday, and closes on weekends and federal holidays. When you arrive at the courthouse in Denver, you will need a valid government-issued ID card to enter and will be screened through security. Cell phones are not allowed in the federal courthouse and will be detained by the federal marshals for the duration of your visit. 

 

Filling Fee and Submission Procedure

Now, once you have gone through security procedures then you will go to the bankruptcy clerk's office for the submission of your forms. The Court Clerk will collect a fee and the fee to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is $335. After filing your Colorado bankruptcy case and payment of the fee, he will put your case on the Court's docket and generate a case number. Afterwards, he gives it to you so that you can give to creditors when they call next time.

 

Mail Documents to Your Trustee

After submission of your Denver bankruptcy case with the Court, you will need to send certain supporting documents like your pay stubs, tax returns, and bank statements to the Trustee. The Trustee is an independent third party handling the case on behalf of your unsecured creditors. The Trustee is also responsible for verifying the information contained in your bankruptcy forms. The Trustee will need to take some time to review your forms. So it is the best option to send your documents at least ten days before your 341 meetings. 

Attend Your 341 Meeting

The 341 Meeting is the only time you will have to appear before the Trustee. In this meeting allows the Trustee to ask you any questions about your filled petition, schedules, or any of the bankruptcy forms you submitted to the Court. It is also includes anything you may have forgotten in your Denver bankruptcy forms, for example, a vacation home or an antique collection, timeshare, or a recent inheritance. As of January 2019, 341 meetings were held at the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building located at 1961 Stout Street, Suite 12 – 200, Denver. But soon, a location for 341 meetings will open in Fort Collins. Since the meeting is being held at the federal courthouse in Denver and also expect the same security procedures you went through when filing your petition. For the dress code, you can dress business casual for this meeting. 

 

When you arrive at the 341 meeting room, you are expecting to see the Trustee, others who have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Denver, attorneys, and if they choose to come, one or more of your creditors. These meetings are open to the general public to come in and out of the room. You will meet with the Trustee 1 on one meeting and verify your identity through your original social security card and driver's license.

 

The Trustee will ask you any questions regarding your forms. Some of the questions the Trustee may ask are as following: 

·         Firstly, have you ever filed for bankruptcy before in Court?

·         Secondly, is there anything you would like to include in your bankruptcy forms at this time in your petition?

·         Thirdly, have you paid any debts listed on your bankruptcy since the time you filled this case?

This meeting should not take more than 10 to 15 minutes.

Conclusion

Filing for bankruptcy in Jefferson takes some careful case preparation but if you have hired a professional and expert bankruptcy attorney then no need to worries about your case, you will organize your papers and handed over to your bankruptcy attorney. Why it is important because seeking professional consultation can prevent you from the number of completions and in the end, you will achieve your financial freedom!