Legal

A rising but seldom heard segment of Immigration Fraud known as Green Card Scammer was given a “Green light Go Ahead” in America March 6, 2006.

Know by USCIS Immigration experts to exist in 8% of all K-1 and K-3 visa petitions little or no attention was granted to this rising problem as new laws “Aiding and Abetting” these types of fraud were signed into law. What is more, provisions of existing laws then make it easier for persons committing fraud to receive United States Citizenship at an accelerated rate, and even receive State financial aid while waiting processing of their Self Petition. Nothing short of rewarding the Bank Robber with a bank of their own.

Proponents of the International Marriage Broker Act of 2005 purposefully overlooked INS statistics revealing 8% of all K-1 and K-3 visa applicants enter into these relationships and marriages for fraudulent reasons. The diplomatic staff at U.S. Embassies positioned through out the world has conducted intensive interviews for decades attempting to attest to the true nature of the visa beneficiary. By U.S. Immigration law, the visa beneficiary is even required to submit a letter of Intent, stating once granted entry into the United States they intend to marry the petitioner.

It is quite simple, some people are willing to lie to get into the Promised Land, (America). I was alarmed to find out how easy it was to find on the internet the “going price” offered by foreign criminals to American Citizens to facilitate phony marriages with foreign women that wish to gain access to America. Korea - $3000.00, Cuba - $10,000.00, Federated Soviet Union - $25,000.00, and the list goes on. Quite simply deceiving an unsuspecting American Citizen looking for a life mate through marriage fraud is considerably cheaper. In fact it can be down right profitable.

A problem exists in identifying and then deporting persons who perpetuate immigration fraud in this fashion. Cases have been found where the American Citizen have used key logging software on the home PC and telephone records to illustrate the Green Card Scammer’s intent to bring over their ex spouse once they obtained a green card. Others don’t wait that long and leave the unsuspecting American fiancées with in days of their arrival here in the United States. What complicates matters more, female perpetrators of immigration fraud are highly familiar with U.S. Domestic violence laws and understand a false claim of abuse not only insures free legal assistance but also invokes new federal laws prohibiting their removal from the United States

Once the false allegations are made by persons committing immigration fraud, local police departments are mandated by law to file reports even if no physical evidence of abuse is present. Immigration laws only rely on the filling of the report not the outcome of any legal proceedings generated by the reported abuse. Immigration laws have been modified recently that also prohibit the American Citizen from even attending any proceedings, or even from submitting evidence that proves the immigration fraud.

Citing an array of cooked statistics the authors and proponents of the International Marriage Broker Act of 2005 attempted to portray an abuse rate of “over 50%”. Further examination of the facts revealed it was a telephone survey of 175 agencies dedicated towards providing Spousal Abuse services where over 50% have offered services to foreign women who entered the United States through a K-1 or K-3 visa.

“Tahirih Justice Center which represents several abused brides. A survey by the group found that 50 percent of 175 U.S. legal-aid groups had been approached by abused mail-order brides”,
movingoutmovingon.bloghi.com/2005/11

Given the rate of over 4000 marriages per year since the early 90s, the reality is this translates into a rate of 0.22% or 154 times less likely then the average American woman to be abused. Given the number of persons perpetrating immigration fraud each year, claiming abuse that number should have been higher. What is not revealed in their report is that during that same period of time over 4000 persons have engaged in defrauding the American government and unsuspecting US citizens.

Proponents of the new laws readily claim the “abuse victims” come from poor, economically depressed economies. What they don’t wish to acknowledge is that desperate people can take drastic measures and immigration fraud is one of them.

Internet Researcher

You actually don’t think identity theft could happen to you? Get real - within the last twelve months, 9.3 million Americans were identity theft victims. One in four U.S. households has been a victim of identity theft in the past five years. Every 79 seconds, an identity thief steals someone’s identity, opens accounts in the victim’s name, and goes on a buying spree! Folks, shredding is not enough! Do something and stop identity theft today.

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. The average victim spends 175 hours and $1000.00 repairing the damage. Over 25% of victims don’t discover it for 6 to 24 months. It is up to all of us to become aware and use identity theft protection.

Today is a good day to start protecting yourself from identity theft. Here are a few identity theft protection tips to get you started.

Do you shred your personal information before you throw them away? The easiest way for identity thieves to collect information is to assume your identity through the paperwork you throw in the garbage. You might just as well hand a thief your credit card, social security card and driver’s license if you are one of those people who just throws away paper without shredding it first.

Other than shredding paperwork prior to throwing it away, here are a few additional things you can do to protect yourself against identity theft:

· The first and most important thing you can do to become better protected against identity theft is to lose the attitude that “it could never happen to me”.

· Cut credit cards into small pieces, even if the card has expired, and throw the little pieces into more than one garbage bag so they can’t be put back together.

· Report any stolen or lost credit cards immediately.

· Shred or destroy ALL credit card applications, mortgage information, receipts, tax information, canceled checks, bank statements etc. before throwing them away.

· Monitor your credit reports and credit card statements to watch for anything out of the ordinary. Pay attention to all your transactions. There might be some you know you didn’t make. Investigate anything suspicious immediately.

· Check your credit reports and monitor your credit history regularly.

You can use these identity theft protection tips to prevent being the next victim of this crime, OR you can just sign up with LifeLock to protect my identity, and be immediately worry-free.

It is highly recommend you get LifeLock identity theft protection. You will instantly protect your identity, protect your family, protect your assets, protect your credit, stop junk mail and stop credit offers. LifeLock gives you a $1,000,000 guarantee. Be smart and stop identity theft before it happens to you.

LifeLock is the only identity theft system that puts alerts on all four major credit bureaus, provides 24/7/365 credit monitoring, removes your name from junk mail and credit card offer lists and allows you to have total control over your personal credit information. When you sign up with Lifelock you will get a free credit report each year from each of the three national credit bureaus. Find out more at id-theft-solution.com/” target=”_blank id-theft-solution.com

Structured personal injury settlements are the legal agreements between two different parties where one party pays over a specified time to the other one. These settlements generally occur in the case of any personal injury. An insurance company pays the injured party through annuity payments. This is done while releasing a defendant from liability. The insurance company and their affiliates guarantee payments in the structured settlements.

Structured settlements are tax-free when they fund any personal physical injury claim. Structure settlements are also used for non-personal injury claims. There are various criteria that have to be met for the structured settlements, as far as they are relevant to your personal injury claim.

If the loss amount is much more than $10,000 then there is an opportunity to defer some of your payments for more than three years of time. When the injured party feels more secure with the steady payments inherent in structured settlement, or when the injured party feels uncomfortable with managing large sums of money all at once, a structured personal injury settlement is the best route.

In worker’s compensation cases, cases in which the person has died, or cases for which the court has already awarded damages, structured settlements are not possible. Payments in the structured settlements are classified into two components. They are the initial cash payment and the periodic cash payment. Initial payment provides some part of money for the immediate need, while the periodic payment is the one in which the payments are done many times over a specified time.

In general, structured settlements can be paid under a structured settlement agreement. Based on this agreement, an injury victim only receives the payments in periods and not in lump sum. The payments are tax-free. They help to meet the victim’s future basic needs and medical expenses. Settlements provide better tax advantages than fixed annuities. Liability is removed from the defendant’s record.

e-personalinjurysettlements.com Personal Injury Settlements provides detailed information on Auto Accident Personal Injury Settlements, Average Personal Injury Settlements, Personal Injury Insurance Settlements, Personal Injury Settlement Amounts and more. Personal Injury Settlements is affiliated with e-PersonalInjury.com Personal Injury Settlements.

The employees of the Federal Trade Commissions Identity Theft Division need to be fired immediately and be barred from ever working for the Government again. The jobs of Identity Theft should be turned over to the FBI, we do not need to burden the taxpayer with redundancy or pretend that the FTC is helping solve these issues.

Giving fancy titles to the FTC employees who work in this department and paying their travel expenses around the world is absolutely wasteful and pathetic in my opinion. Indeed, Identity Theft has sky-rocketed in the past few years since the FTC was assigned to the case, nothing worthy has been done to slow the growth of online or offline identity theft in the United States of America.

In reviewing the Federal Trade Commission it has been noted that they spend thousands of tax payer’s monies traveling around the country giving speeches and going to seminars. It appears to me at least that the Federal Trade Commission is no longer serving the people with regards to identity theft, but rather running around PR’ing and purporting that they are doing something about it.

Shouldn’t we demand performance in the federal government? Do we really wish to issue government credit cards for Federal trade commission employees to fly around the country, eat out at restaurants and go to nice hotels and big seminars simply to ensure good press relations?

I want some answers and I want them now! The Federal Trade Commission and their division on identity theft is a complete and utter failure and it is disgusting that the US citizenry be lied to through trickery and public relations tactics, which in my opinion is exactly what is happening.

In my opinion this amounts to false advertising, misleading the consumer and lying to the American people. We should not stand for this. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.

“Lance Winslow” - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; WorldThinkTank.net/ WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for ourspokanemagazine.com/ Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

You’ve heard the “buzz” about identity theft, but what exactly is identity theft? According to Wikipedia, identity theft (or identity fraud) is the deliberate assumption of another person’s identity, usually to gain access to their finances or frame them for a crime. “Dumpster diving” (someone going through your trash), “shoulder surfing” (someone watching from a nearby location as you punch in your credit card number or ATM PIN # or eavesdropping as you give your personal information over the phone) and “phishing” (someone sending an email that appears to be from a legitimate business) are only a few ways of obtaining your personal information. Once they have obtained your personal information, identity thieves often change the address on your bills, keeping you unaware that your identity has been stolen unless you are aware of when your bills normally arrive in the mail, keep track of what you charge and check your credit reports annually.

Here are several red flags that indicate you may be a victim of identity theft:

1. You check your credit reports annually and find there are new charge cards showing with companies you don’t know.

2. You receive a bill for a credit card account you didn’t open.

3. You notice charges on your credit card statement you did not authorize.

4. You haven’t received your bills or credit card statements when they normally arrive.

5. Your bank statements show unauthorized transfers or withdrawals.

6. You receive a call from a collection agency about an account you never opened.

7. You receive calls from businesses about merchandise you didn’t buy.

8. You′re denied credit because debts show up on your credit reports that don’t belong to you.

If you notice any of these red flags, don’t panic - there may be a logical explanation. But DO follow up on it right away. If it appears you may be a victim of identity theft, go to understandingidentitytheft.com/articles/article-67.html for a list of steps you should take immediately to rectify the situation.

About the Author
Debbie Pettitt is the webmaster of two web sites designed to provide you the latest news and information on identity theft and credit scores. For further information on identity theft, visit understandingidentitytheft.com understandingidentitytheft.com. For information on how to check and/or correct your credit score, go to yourcreditscoreranking.com yourcreditscoreranking.com.

First, remember that not every injury or complication means there’s been malpractice. Just because you get a bad outcome, doesn’t necessarily mean there’s been malpractice.

Second, try to determine what the doctor did wrong. If you’re not sure, ask your current doctor what was done wrong. Many times, an injured victim will learn from another doctor that their prior treatment was improper. Then again, not all doctors will be happy to point a finger at another colleague.

Third, look to see what injuries you suffered from the doctor’s wrongdoing. Often times the injuries are not directly related to the malpractice. In a medical malpractice case in New York, we must prove that the doctor’s wrongdoing was a substantial factor in causing your injuries. If your injuries are unrelated to the wrongdoing, you won’t be able to prove a successful case.

Fourth, look to see how your injuries have disabled your daily life. If they’re minimal, you′re going to have a tough time finding a good medical malpractice attorney to take your case.

Fifth, look to see whether you’ve followed your doctor’s advice and have made efforts to get the medical help you need to improve your condition. Many times an injured patient refuses to follow a doctor’s advice, or fails to mitigate their injuries by getting corrective surgery or treatment. If you fall into this category, your chances for obtaining the maximum value for your injuries will drop significantly.

Veteran New York malpractice attorney Gerry Oginski says, “When looking for an attorney to evaluate your malpractice case, look for experience, and an ability to communicate well with you. Does he (or she) answer all your questions and treat you as if you’re the only client in the world? Does he provide you with free information and free reports about medical malpractice and lawsuits before you ever walk into his office? Remember, there are many lawyers out there. Learn how to choose a lawyer before you ever enter a lawyer’s office, and then choose wisely. Doing so will make you a better informed consumer.”

Attorney Oginski has been in practice for 17 years as a trial lawyer practicing exclusively in the State of New York. Having his own law firm, he is able to provide the utmost in personalized, individualized attention to each and every client. In our office, a client is not a file number. Client’s are always treated with the respect they deserve and expect from a professional. Mr. Oginski is always aware of every aspect of a client’s case from start to finish.

Gerry represents injured people in injury cases and medical malpractice matters in Brooklyn, Queens, New York City, the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. You can reach him at oginski-law.com oginski-law.com, or 516-487-8207. All inquiries are free and totally confidential.

How many parents think about the fate of their children’s care if they (the parents) were to pass away at the same time? Most people do not like to think of a situation in which they would not be around to bring up their children, but it is important to plan for such as occurrence, however unlikely it might be.

In making provisions for the one’s children’s care, an important consideration would be the appointment of a suitable guardian.

By appointing an individual or couple as guardian(s), usually via a will or a deed instrument, you′re ensuring that your child’s care will not be neglected during their bereavement. It is also a proactive step towards comprehensive estate planning.

But how do you appoint a guardian? What are the qualifications of a suitable guardian?

Appointing a guardian is easy parents who have written their wills would not have missed the provision regarding the appointment of guardians for children below 21 years of age.

Legally one can appoint guardians through several channels, but the simplest and most cost-effective way is via a will. It makes more sense (to appoint in a will) instead of through a special deed document, for instance, as the cost of writing a will is inclusive of the guardianship portion.

The law doesn′t require the testator to acquire a written or official consent from appointed guardians. However, for practical reasons and to avoid future disputes, it is best that you inform and obtain, at the very least, verbal approval from your chosen guardian. Thus, the guardian is fully prepared to look after the child’s care if the sad situation arises.

However, note that an appointment is not legally binding on the guardian. Naming someone as a guardian doesn′t bind the person legally. It’s only an indication of the testator’s preference. When it’s time for the appointed guardian to assume the role, he can decline by citing valid reasons. There are no penalties.

Parents should note that the naming of guardians is crucial if they have young children who cannot fend for themselves if they′re left orphaned. If parents die without a will, or with a will that does not address the issue of guardianship, the children will most likely be put under the care of the Welfare Department or placed in an orphanage.

For parents, the challenge lies in appointing suitable guardians. From the legal perspective, there are no stipulated criteria for suitable guardians. The law doesn′t restrict anyone from appointing one’s preferred persons as guardians. It’s a matter that is close to the heart and the wrong decision will leave behind a lasting impact on the child’s care. For this reason, testators must exercise sufficient care and caution.

It is advisable for couples to discuss and come to an agreement on the choice of guardians. This is to avoid disputes when the wills are executed. If the spouses name different persons, the matter will likely be referred to the court and a final decision will be taken based on the court order.

When appointing a guardian, the focus isn’t so much on the material well - being but the ability of the person to provide adequate affection and a positive living environment for the children. It’s more important for the person to have good parental instincts and capability.

The person should ideally be someone who will be able to love and care for your children just the way you do, maybe not in exactly the same way, but will put in that much of effort in carrying out the role.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to child-care-guides.com/ Child Care

Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs is a punishable offense in the US. Drunk driving refers to an act wherein drivers are driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcoholic beverages or any chemical substance. Driving a vehicle in an intoxicated state is a risk to the driver’s life. It also puts in jeopardy the lives of other people on the road. If a driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) is found to be above the legal limit set by the law, he/she is charged with DUI. DUI is a grave offense in Riverside that can result in serious consequences for a driver, if found guilty in a court of law.

There are attorneys who specialize in DUI laws and cases related to it. They exclusively represent clients who find themselves in a DUI situation, either as a victim or as the cause of an accident. The DUI laws in Riverside, California are unique in certain ways and DUI attorneys practicing in Riverside, acquire an in depth knowledge of the local DUI laws. Drivers who are charged with this offence approach a specialist DUI attorney, who possess the requisite experience in criminal defense. On being retained by a client, a DUI attorney would typically collect information about the accident and get familiar with all the details and facts connected with these offenses.

DUI attorneys have to be knowledgeable and well versed in subjects such as blood analysis, breath tests, drug recognition evaluation (DRE) and urine tests. All these tests are necessary in legally countering a DUI charge. An attorney has to possess extensive understanding of these medical functions to be able to protect and defend clients against drunk driving charges in Riverside County, California.

Citizens who are charged with drunk driving have certain rights, which allow them to hire a legal representative. DUI attorneys should be contacted immediately as a timely intervention of these specialists can help secure a favorable verdict. People who need to contact a DUI attorney may do so by searching the yellow pages or the Internet. Recommendations from friends and relatives are also helpful in finding a successful attorney. Many law firms in Riverside employ DUI attorneys. Some DUI attorneys are solitary practitioners who offer legal services on a contingency fee basis. It is advisable to be honest with lawyers, as this will help them protect a client’s interests through this frightening and anxious time.

e-RiversideDUIAttorneys.com Riverside DUI Attorneys provides detailed information on Riverside DUI Attorneys, Riverside DUI Fines, Riverside DUI Defense, Riverside DUI Laws and more. Riverside DUI Attorneys is affiliated with e-orangecountyduilawyers.com Orange County DUI Lawyers Web.

In this day and age of copy cat plagiarism one can never be too careful and yet we see it all the time, authors or website owners fail to put up that implied little Copyright Symbol. Some say it will not do any good and maybe they are right and yet without it, your work is as good as gone. Whether or not you publish your work in a print medium, video format or on the Internet you need to make sure that you get credit for it and the best way to do that is to make sure that it is copyrighted.

Recently we have seen many new entrants into the eBook Markets and they sell their work online, yet often they do not put a copyright symbol on it. Some are hoping for the best surely and putting trust into a non-trustworthy species; humans. This is unwise because humans are intrinsically prone to copying, imitating and thus the saying; Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Indeed, but nevertheless play it smart and protect your work, do it and you will be glad you did.

As an author of sorts I have seen my work in other places with someone else’s name on it. Imagine how I felt, watching someone take credit for something they basically lifted off my website, without even bothering to change a word and then putting their own name on it instead? Personally I feel sorry for them, because that seems like a really ethically challenged person to me. But consider all this in 2006 and use that copyright symbol often.

“Lance Winslow” - Online WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/ Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World WorldThinkTank.net www.WorldThinkTank.net/

Divorce attorneys and their clients often use the same tall tales to ignoring court orders. One excuse is the other party also did it or the court’s order was based on inaccurate information. These excuses rarely work.

One of the most common excuses is He or she started it! It works as well as any silly nonsense does, it does not work at all. To say someone else is disobeying the law does not help you in your excuse for disobeying the court. We are all responsible for our own actions.

If you state the court order was wrong or unfair because of some mistake or a lie, is also worthless. If the court made a mistake there are avenues to address it, and the court can be asked to reconsider it. Only a court has the ability to change the court order. Until the court changes the order you are bound by the current order and it will be strictly observed. If the court order is violated as bad as things seemed to be will only get worse.

A man was back in court because his wife said he had not paid is child support that he was ordered to pay. His attorney as well as himself stated he had not paid the child support because his ex wife had lied about her expenses and he felt he had a right to hold back payments because she had lied. He had not asked the court to review the case but made his own decision not based on the law but his anger that was unsupported by the court. By the time he came before the judge he was deeply in debt with back support.

As it turned out the man was wrong about the expenses but even if he was right he was wrong, and as a result he violated the court order and caused more hardship for himself.

He was forced to pay back support plus interest and to make things worse he had to pay his entire wife’s legal expenses, which included airfare to come to court and an extra 3,000.

There are only two legal excuses for not obeying a court order: Either the party didn’t know about it or it was not possible to obey. Not inconvenient, impossible, or difficult!

If you have any other reasons for disobeying the court, it will be a costly unpleasant mistake.

Jeffrey Broobin is a free-lance writer on family and finance issues; his main goal is to help people during their complicated period of life.
Website: legalhelpmate.com legalhelpmate.com Email: mailto:jeffreyb@legalhelpmate.com jeffreyb@legalhelpmate.com