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commish posted:Any immigration folks around here? I am not a lawyer, but I do work in immigration. Unless he has some other basis for working (and it doesn't sound like it) he needs to wait for his EAD to come through before he starts doing anything, or he'll be making more trouble for himself. I am not sure that his employer can use the W-9 for him at all; part of the certification on the form is that he is a 'U.S. person', and seeing as he is apparently in proceedings I don't think he would qualify. There may be an alternative form that he could use (W-8) once his EAD comes through. This is way on the edge of my knowledge as we don't typically deal with contractors, he should probably consult with an employment or immigration attorney.
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Dec 10, 2010 16:02
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FrozenVent posted:As to who gets to prosecutes a crime commited on the high sea, I guess it would be the flag state, but frankly, the vast majority of them do not give a poo poo. (Is China going to prosecute an Indian man who killed a Filipino off the coast of Africa?) I am definitely not a lawyer, but I did take a course in international law once. Jurisdiction is given to the flag state of the ship, and to the nationality of the individual. So in your example, the man could be prosecuted by either China (as the flag state) or India (based on his nationality). A ship without registration can, I think, be boarded and subject to the jurisdiction of any warship they run into (meaning, for instance, that a Kenyan coastguard ship could detain the unregistered ship and prosecute the Indian man themselves). Practically speaking, if you are tooling around in an unregistered ship shooting people, you are going to be considered a pirate, and any country that can catch you has the right to prosecute. Certain crimes can be prosecuted by coastal states, if they have cause, but I don't think there are provisions to give the victims country jurisdiction.
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Jan 23, 2011 15:18
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Do you mean someone in another country? Non-resident aliens inside the United States usually still need to file income taxes, even students and trainees will usually file the 8843 at least. Someone running an LLC definitely should, because they are meeting the 'trade and business' standard the IRS sets. You might want to run your question past the guys in the Income Tax Thread in BFC.
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Jan 25, 2011 15:51
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This is a question about rental/tenant law in Massachusetts. We just moved into an apartment in an owner-occupied building. We have been here about a month. Everything started out great, but our landlord seems to have taken issue with one of our roommates. She claims that our roommate is stalking and harassing her - specifically walking around above her (we live in the top floor unit) and watching her. She claims that she is using 'witchcraft' to do this. I should mention that she seems to be happy with the rest of us, she's always friendly to me. Obviously we were pretty much totally baffled by this, to the point we weren't sure how to address it. We've assured her that we want to be good tenants and good neighbors, that no one is trying to harass her, and to please let us know if we are being too loud doing something specific that is unacceptable. This evening she left a rambling voicemail with our roommate, saying that if she doesn't stop she 'cannot have you here any more'. She asked to speak with us all tomorrow night about these 'issues'. At this point I am not really sure what to do. I am planning to try and stall her on this meeting until after Monday, so that we can call local numbers for tenants rights and landlord-tenant mediation. I guess I specifically I have the following questions: 1) I can't imagine that there are any grounds for her to actually evict us. If she tries, how hard is it for us to fight it? If she goes and tells the sheriff that we're using witchcraft to follow her, is it just going to get laughed out or are we going to have to potentially go to court and explain we aren't witches? 2) Do we have any recourse if she keeps calling us and knocking on the door about this sort of thing? We're already feeling kind of uncomfortable at this point. Would we potentially be able to break the lease on the basis of harassment? 3) If she creates a hostile environment for us that forces us to move, would we have any claim against her? Moving was a huge pain in the rear end, and if we're forced to go through the time and expense of moving again, I would like to be able to make her pay for the costs. I would also appreciate any advice or thoughts on stuff that I might not have considered. All of us are keeping track of our encounters and emailing them to each other so we have a record of what has happened.
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Apr 3, 2011 00:19
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AttackBacon posted:I have some immigration related questions. I am not a lawyer but I do work in immigration. She can very likely file the petition without your SSN, it isn't really essential information. Probably the worst-case scenario would be that USCIS would issue a request for that information, but I have never seen one issued just for a SSN. Robo Olga is right, though, if you are at all concerned about your ex-wife's future you should check to see if she is working with an attorney on this. If you're divorced it makes it much harder to demonstrate that the marriage was in good faith. The fact that she is only asking you for your SSN and not more (like affidavits from yourself and family members about the marriage) makes me think that she is just filling it out on her own and is going to hit way below what is really needed. It is much better to have a lawyer help her do this right than to have to bring one in once USCIS is denying the application and you have a very limited window to respond to them.
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Jul 22, 2011 21:06
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Dudebro posted:I didn't get an answer in the stupid/small questions thread so I thought I'd ask here. A company is likely to have in-house counsel to handle legal matters that they deal with as part of their regular business practice, but those lawyers may not be best suited to handle other legal matters that might pop up. So they retain outside counsel that is specialized in that area when they need it. For example, a company might have in-house counsel to deal with contract issues they face regularly. Maybe they do a ton of research and so they have in-house counsel to do patents/IP stuff. But they may retain an outside firm to handle immigration matters or I-9 compliance, because their patent lawyer isn't really capable to do this (and is also presumably busy with his own work). But you might only have an immigration situation once every few years, so its not worth having in-house immigration counsel. Also I am not a lawyer, but this is the way I have seen it handled.
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Nov 22, 2011 15:35
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positech posted:I need some tenant / landlord advice for the state of Pennsylvania, specifically Delaware County if it maters. I am not a lawyer, but there are a couple things in your narrative that are confusing. You say that this is about a 'house we rent' but then you also talk about notices being posted on your bedroom door, and locking that door specifically. Are you renting an apartment/house or are you renting a room in a house? If its just a room, who else lives in the house? The landlord? His family? Just other renters? Whether or not the place is owner-occupied can make a difference in what he is allowed to do. You might want to clarify that for people. Generally, you should look around for a tenants' rights organization or legal services. Many cities have some sort of group that can at least show you some resources. If nothing else, contact your state/metro bar association and ask for a referral to a lawyer - you can often get a free or cheap consultation with someone who will give you some idea if you have any case.
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Dec 1, 2011 16:08
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Speaking less legally, have you told your landlord that the room is unacceptably dark without the blinds up? You said you were promised lighting and got a lovely lamp, so tell him that you'll leave the blinds down when he gets you a real light. He can't force you to keep the blinds down, but three months with a landlord that hates you is going to be rough.
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Dec 12, 2011 17:02
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You might want to google Cooks Source magazine and consider the general wisdom of your plan. Spoiler: It was an ad-supported magazine that got caught stealing recipes from blogs and websites, and was crushed under the weight of an outraged populace. It no longer publishes or exists. If you google the former editors name, you get pages of results about what a plagiarizing jerk she is (probably not helpful for her career) I am not a lawyer and am not saying anything about its legality, just that it has proven to be a terrible idea for people in the past.
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Dec 26, 2011 17:22
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Anjow posted:I need to renew my UK passport, quickly. Are you in the UK? If not, where are you? The passport service will frequently waive the countersignatory requirement for people renewing the passport overseas because it is difficult for them to find someone who is a UK citizen and meets the requirements on the form. I renewed my own passport just last year without any countersignatory. I am not even sure that the countersignatory is required for a renewal, unless your appearance has changed dramatically. Note this doesn't mean typical aging stuff, it means things like traumatic injuries, plastic surgery, etc. The passport I just renewed was from when I was 17 and during that time I grew a beard.
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Jan 19, 2012 21:41
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I am not a lawyer, but have you considered contacting your representative? A lot of the time their offices will have some sort of specific avenue to lean on bureaucracies like this to help you out.
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Jan 24, 2012 20:15
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With the way the economy is, I was guessing the firm had a Buy-Two-Get-One-Free offer going. 
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Jan 26, 2012 16:38
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Dye your cat black so that it doesn't match any of the reports/complaints.
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Feb 22, 2012 02:58
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SWIM is 'Someone Who Isn't Me'. It's just another way of asking about something for a 'friend'.
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Mar 1, 2012 18:12
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kriminal posted:I may get fired / loose my visa status for this incident. If you are on any sort of visa (poo poo if you are anything except a US citizen) make sure that your lawyer either has immigration experience or is consulting with a real immigration attorney on your case. It's not rare for a criminal defense lawyer to get what would be a good deal for most people, but still means getting shitcanned for an immigrant.
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Mar 12, 2012 01:42
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What city/state does your friend live in?
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Mar 19, 2012 17:58
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CzarChasm posted:Wisconsin You might want to start here. I am not a lawyer, but your friend should start by looking at the lease he originally had - even if it was never renewed, it might have provisions about automatic renewal or ending the tenancy that would still be relevent. If there are no provisions in the lease, it's probable that our friend would become a tenant at will - his parents would be able to ask him to leave provided they give him written notice with at least 28 days before the leave date. He can probably get a free or cheap consultation with a lawyer by going through the State Bar Association or a tenant's rights group.
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Mar 19, 2012 19:22
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I am not a lawyer, but if your place just changed hands, it's possible that the new owners would actually prefer to get you out so that they can start with fresh tenants using their own lease and rates - right now they're stuck with whatever your had negotiated with the previous owner, so its possible they'll jump at the chance for you to go and let them re-rent the place at a higher rate or whatever.
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Apr 5, 2012 21:26
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Could they at least sue the landlord for the cost of having to pack up and move immediately? I would really hope that leasing your place illegally makes you liable for loving up people's lives.
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Apr 30, 2012 20:30
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Edit: Beaten, I guess I should have refreshed before posting. I was looking for a reasonable article on it. It's also worth noting that certain countries share this sort of information - the US and Canada have a particularly close records sharing. There are plenty of people planning to make a visit who get grilled (and turned away) because of a relatively minor incident in their history. So even if you haven't done something as serious as a felony, you might have issues because of it. Ashcans fucked around with this message at 21:32 on May 13, 2012 |
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May 13, 2012 21:29
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Please do the following: 1) Assert that the ticket (and court proceedings) are against the fictional entity DRUNKEN LULLABIES created by the government, and not the flesh-and-blood person you are. Therefore all this has nothing to do with you. 2) Point out that the gold fringe on the court's flag makes it an Admiralty court, making it an unconstitutional sham with no actual jurisdiction over your case. Refuse to be held subject to the whims of naval justice. I am sure it will accomplish your goal of trolling the court and providing them with maximum irritation for your hearing! Edit: I am not a lawyer, no lawyer will give you this advice because they are part of the elaborate deception that keeps citizens fooled about their true rights.
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May 15, 2012 22:15
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Isn't this the same dude that bought a dog that is eating all your stuff? Why are you still living there?
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May 22, 2012 01:16
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cr0y posted:Because I am under a lease It sounds like you don't want to be there and that the landlord hates you. Have you actually talked to him about leaving? As in 'Hey man, this really doesn't seem to be working out for either of us, would you like to talk about ending my lease early?' A lease can be modified however you want as long as both parties agree, so this is the best way to get out of the situation. I am not a lawyer or anything, but I have been back and forth with landlords before.
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May 22, 2012 19:19
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woozle wuzzle posted:A call to a NY lawyer is the next step. Some may do free consultations, others may charge, but you can call around and flat out ask. As a sidenote, a good way to get a free or discounted consultation is to call your city/state bar association and use their referral service. A lot of the time this will let you speak to a lawyer for nothing or just some nominal fee.
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Jun 4, 2012 14:39
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IANAL but Canada has access to a lot (if not all) US criminal databases, so even if his case is in appeal or whatever he still needs to worry about what the border agent will see when he runs his information - it might show up as a DUI/DWI, or it might still be enough of a concern that he will get grilled and denied anyway (this is why he needs to speak with a lawyer) Also, he can definitely apply for a waiver to enter before he tries. If he can, this is probably a good idea. He doesn't have to do it in person at an embassy either, I believe he can do it all by mail and he can certainly get someone to help him with the process. It is possible to get a general waiver for the past conviction, but its more likely they will just approve him for a specific trip/period rather than forever.
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Jun 17, 2012 22:31
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IANAL but I do know some things about immigration. There are no NYC immigration laws - all immigration stuff is handled on the federal level. She was charged with holding marijuana, but what was the outcome? Was she convicted? Did she plea? Is the case ongoing? You might have heard that the administration decided to provide some relief for young people last month, but whether she is eligible for that depends on a number of factors - if she was convicted or has any other criminal issues, it could prevent it. USCIS hasn't actually implemented the process to request the relief, though, although we can expect it in the next month or so. You said that her family has an immigration lawyer. Assuming the family have alerted them and they are working on the case, that is basically the only thing that can be done. If she is here undocumented there isn't really a lot that can be done (except the above, if she qualifies, or if she happens to be married to a citizen).
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Jul 19, 2012 20:24
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nm posted:And remember that drugs, even marijuana, can be a significant misdemeanor or even a felony for immigration purposes, even if it isn't a misdemeanor in your state. On this topic, if the criminal case hasn't been resolved yet, her attorney for that should definitely be talking to her immigration attorney to make sure that their strategies mesh.
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Jul 20, 2012 18:30
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Sort on on this topic, are there any professional or legal restrictions on how a lawyer can take payment? For instance, a lawyer does a bunch of work for a client. The client is late paying several bills and then says that they don't have any cash available - but they offer to pay in either assets or services (maybe they run a cleaning business and offer to provide cleaning for the office/lawyer's home equivalent to the amount owed). Is it fine as long as both sides agree to the change in payment, or is there some sort of limitation involved similar to gifts? Edit: My only context for this is that Matt Murdock used to get paid in things like chickens and sausages, but I am pretty sure no one at Marvel ever bothered to check if that was ok.
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Jul 27, 2012 16:25
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seacat posted:is there any chance I can find someone who will do it for cheaper and how would I got about doing so? Should I just call a bunch of family law practices and ask how much they charge o do this (this was my plan) or do attorneys generally not disclose this without a consultation? No one has mentioned this yet, but you are really at a loss you can always call yoru city/state bar association and ask for a referral for a lawyer for this area of practice. They will give you a name (usually they will give you one instead of a list, but if you don't like what you hear you can always call back and ask for another one). Every time I have done this it has also come with a free/very reduced consultation fee, and the people that do referrals like this are used to talking to broke people so they seem to have realistic rates.
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Aug 13, 2012 14:37
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FordPRefectLL posted:This is a real quick question about immigration. I am going to be marrying a woman from the Philippines and she is currently living in Manila. I've googled a lot about the process of filling out the paperwork for a K-1 Fiancee Visa and it looks like I am able to fill out a lot of the paperwork myself and submit it. Is there a benefit to obtaining a lawyer to assist with this? Will it make the process go faster or make my chances more likely of getting approved? If your case is pretty straightforward, you could probably get through it all on your own. A lot of people manage with just the internet for guidance. But a good lawyer will know more about the process and be better prepared to spot any issues with your case and deal with them in advance, which can certainly get things done quicker and with better odds. More importantly, getting a lawyer to prepare and file the papers for you would be much, much cheaper than having to hire a lawyer to help unfuck an application that you messed up. You can almost certainly find a consultation with an attorney for little or nothing. Are you concerned about the cost of getting an attorney, or are you just not sure you need one? If you can afford it, I definitely think its worth it. Disclaimer: IANAL but I am an immigrant and I work in immigration. Keep feeding my industry!
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Aug 17, 2012 19:59
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woozle wuzzle posted:It'd help if you just spit out the drat problem instead of talking around it. Incredulous Red posted:wait, so you're trying to argue that damage you caused moving in was preexisting damage? reyalsnogard is an absentee landlord who is trying to sue a previous tenant for damage to the apartment that exceeded their original security deposit. Earlier he said that he was going to get representation but the slow trickle of questions makes me think that he is trying to go it alone. Based on his previous posts I am guessing the issue here is that the prior tenant is using the checklist as a defense against the damage claim, saying that some of it was pre-existing, and he would like to have it tossed? The way he has been posting has made it really unclear which side of the situation he is on, though. I don't know why I remember stuff like this, I am not even a lawyer and I just lurk the thread hoping to catch someone's unfolding legal nightmare.
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Sep 7, 2012 14:29
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That $63 is in addition to returning your security deposit, right? I am not sure where you are, but in some states mishandling a tenants payments basically voids any claim they have to your money at all. So definitely check up on that.
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Sep 12, 2012 18:06
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Azuth0667 posted:So I got a letter from the apartment complex about my security deposit with one of those red Pitney Bowes date stamps on it that claims it was sent one day before it would be over the thirty day limit. It arrived five days after the thirty day limit. When a law says they have X days to get you a letter does that mean they have to send it before X days or you have to receive it before X days? Well what does the letter say? If they actually returned your deposit, then going fishing for more on that basis is probably a waste of your time. If they are trying to screw you over on it and you'll be fighting them anyway, it might be worth chucking it on the list of problems.
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Sep 15, 2012 11:57
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Shnooks posted:I'm currently in Boston, MA. Hi Shnooks, I am not a lawyer but I am in Boston and have had to deal with a number of landlord issues in the past. I think that your best bet is to contact the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association. You can ask them for a referral for an attorney that specializes in landlord-tenant law. By going through the Bar Associations, you can get a consultation with someone for either free or very cheap (like $25). I think the Mass Bar provides free consults and Boston Bar does $25 ones? I am not positive. Basically this will get you in the door to talk to someone about your issues and what your options are. They should also be able to tell you what impact having the place sold would have (I believe that a lease carries over to the new owner and they would have to honor it or re-negotiate with you, but you want to talk to a lawyer about it for sure). I would not be terribly optimistic because a lot of your issues sound like generic lovely apartment stuff and not serious breaches of habitability or anything. If you are not already doing it, make sure you keep a written record of all your complaints and contacts. If you make a phone call, write down when it was and who you spoke to and what was said. If something is a lingering issue, send them a letter documenting your complaint.
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Sep 26, 2012 14:25
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LuciferMorningstar posted:My question relates to U.S. immigration law, and I'm hoping someone out there knows of a creative solution that I have been unable to find. Her parents can file for her as their unmarried daughter. I know you mentioned that the wait times were really long on this, which is true. Do it anyway! The wait time right now is eight years. That sucks. You know what the wait time if if they don't file? Forever. More importantly, if they file the petition now, when they file for citizenship the petition would be converted into the new category, which has a shorter wait time and she would get to keep her spot in line. So this should be her definite backup. My question is where is the attorney in all this? He hosed up the paperwork and let her age out? That is huge. I have worked at two different immigration firms, and at both the policy was that if we screwed up, we swallowed all the work and costs to make good on the situation. How is this guy not giving her all the free help he can offer to fix this?
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Oct 23, 2012 15:12
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When your girlfriend finishes her Masters she can apply for Optional Practical Training, which will let her remain in the US and work for a year. She should talk to her International Student office about this. If she is in a STEM field and is working with an appropriate employer, she could be eligible for an additional 17month extension on that as well. What she should do is try and use her OPT time to find an employer who will file an H1B petition for her. Its not an immigration petition, but it will let her remain in the US and work for up to six years, and most employers that will petition for an H1B will also start an employment-based green card process. I hope her dad is raking his HR over the coals for hiring some lovely cut-and-run attorney who hosed up his daughters status. Maybe they'll feel bad enough to help out?
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Oct 23, 2012 15:41
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You could probably get away with using a mail service, because for all intents and purposes they are indistinguishable from an apartment building (i.e, 345 Address Road, #43, Townville, ST). This 'street address' benefit is usually the only thing that makes a mailing service a better deal than getting a PO Box. A lot of homeless people will use the address of a shelter that they stay at regularly or can visit on a reliable basis. Because having an address is so critical to getting your poo poo together and off the street, it's a big help. I think that most of them try to obfuscate it a little so that you aren't filling out job applications with an address of 'Joe Hobo, c/o 4th St Shelter' or whatever. jassi007 posted:Could the legal minds here expand on this for curiosity? For a box under the bridge hobo, what is his legal residence? Say the last known address is occupied by someone else legally? How does this work? I mean the government wouldn't list a hobo's address as 123 Under the Bridge St. right? The answer is yes, they would, but only in specific sort of situations. For instance, the sex offender laws in Florida made it impossible for released offenders to live in Miami - the requirements about staying about from parks/schools/bus stops/places candy is sold/etc. meant there was literally nowhere these people could live without just leaving the county (which was the point). Because of this, they were allowed to provide their official address as 'Julia Tuttle Causeway' and have it on their license and poo poo, because under that causeway was literally the only place they were allowed to live. Not joking. IANAL or anything, but thats at least one case of it happening.
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Oct 24, 2012 01:21
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Hey, just out of curiousity on this...Gobbeldygook posted:I am willing to go to great lengths in the name of principle. Let's say that he is so set on principle that he is willing to pay a medmal lawyer out of pocket to try and fight this claim. Would they take it knowing it would basically be racking up hourlies with no hope of success, or is there some sort of professional obligation to refuse the case? Or do they just have to say 'You know we are going to lose, right?' and they are ethically in the clear? I imagine that people might turn it down because who wants to deal with that anyway. We won't do no-starting cases because its just a waste of everyone's time.
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Nov 29, 2012 15:56
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I was going to say, I am pretty sure this is something that just varies by firm and client. If you are working for some huge firm that does tons of work for big companies, you can probably bill them all sorts of things and they won't blink because their legal budget is a quadrillion dollars and your $20 meal isn't poo poo. But if you are in a tiny firm/solo working in family law and you try to bill your steak-and-strippers limo ride to some lower-middle income dude in his divorce, it's not going to fly. Due to the nature of our work we work with both companies and individuals (immigration) and I've never had a company push back on expenses and half the time the way they have us submit them it isn't even clearly itemized. Whereas individuals will examine every thing and ask if they can translate their own documents or whatever to cut any cost.
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Dec 5, 2012 23:04
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terrorist ambulance posted:Even for smaller firms with less sophisticated clients I don't totally see what the issue is. They probably wouldn't complain if you didn't charge by line (.03 cents/copy, 10$ food for working after six) and just charged a slightly higher hourly rate (260$/hr instead of 250$/hr). quote:And those kind of incidental, reasonable expenses are chump change compared to the real expenses. If a client is distressed about buying cheap chinese on your 14th hour on the office, I would like to be in the room when they find out how much it's going to be to have a doctor prepared for, and present at, trial
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Dec 6, 2012 02:42
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