Visa Petitions for Family Members: The In’s and Out’s

If you want to bring family members from another country to Spokane, you’ll need to file visa petitions for them.
Before doing so, though, you must decide what kind of visa works best in their case: immigrant visas, for those coming to the U.S. to stay, or non-immigrant visas, for tourists or those coming for a limited visit.
Adding to the complexity of this formula is the government’s wish to regulate the numbers of immigrants coming in from any particular nation. Those wishing for U.S. immigrant visas for family members from China, Mexico, India and the Philippines will face longer waiting periods than those from other countries whose residents apply less frequently.
One glance at the latest Visa Bulletin and its confusing language and charts may make the process of petitioning for family visas seem daunting — but don’t be discouraged.

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Undocumented? A Waiver for Unlawful Presence Can Save Your Family

If you marry an undocumented immigrant in Spokane, your spouse will need to obtain a waiver for unlawful presence from the U.S. government if he or she wants to remain in our country. Don’t panic, though: Getting this waiver is often easier than you might think.
Federal agencies would prefer, of course, that everyone living in the U.S. had followed all the rules in coming to our country and remaining here.
Now, though, the Provisional Waiver for Unlawful Presence allows the petitioner to remain in the country while awaiting forgiveness and a visa. The only catch is this: for the visa to be valid, the petitioner must leave the country, head to the nearest embassy, and submit to an inspection before getting a U.S. passport and visa. The time spent away from home and family could be a month or more.
Does not getting a waiver for unlawful presence mean a couple must remain apart? Not necessarily. Those who are denied simply must leave the U.S., wait a year or two, then apply for clemency and a visa.
One thing you should not do, however, is attempt to apply for a waiver for unlawful presence on your own. In Spokane, Quiroga Law Office practices immigration law, and is here to help. If you’re in Spokane County and need an I-601A Provisional Waiver for Unlawful Presence, call us today at (509) 927-3840.

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Recorded Statements in Auto Accident Collisions

Recorded Statements are almost always required by an insurance company when there is an auto collision. Adjusters will contact you after you file a claim and tell you they need to take the statement. It is very much standard practice and there seems no way to object or to decline taking a recorded interview. The issue with this of course is that no many people like to be recorded in a conversation. Adjusters and insurance company attorneys can and will use the statement against you. They will tell you that you have said this and that, in a recording, to simply devalue your claim or deny coverage.
Most out policies do require cooperation with the insurance company, but they do not require you to be recorded while talking to them. You want to cooperate with them, of course, but agreeing to be recorded is not a requirement.

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Child Support After 18 — Is It Owed Or Not?

Termination of child support after age 18 can be a nebulous affair in Washington State.
Typically, 18 years is a milestone signifying the end of childhood. With adulthood come responsibilities including, one presumes, providing financially for oneself. For that reason, Termination of Support orders filed with a couple’s divorce decree usually set the child’s 18th birthday as the date support payments will end.
Case law, too, provides for extended support in certain circumstances, giving the courts the power to declare a child to be still a “dependent” at 18 and therefore entitled to support. Since the courts define “dependent” as someone who looks to another person for primary support, most 18-year-olds probably would qualify.
On the other hand, child support may end before the dependent turns 18. If the child emancipates himself from the parent providing the support, the parent’s payments for that child will end. The same applies if the child marries, or goes to work full-time and supports herself with the income.

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How Long to a Resolve Vehicle Claim? (Video Post)

Today I’d like to talk about vehicle accidents and injury claims and some of the most common questions that I get.
Well, insurance companies around the area, around Spokane tend to be pretty quick about getting people on the phone. The first thing they are going to ask for is a recorded statement.
The best option is to get a police report. If you get a police report, you can send it to the insurance company and say, “Hey, the accident did happen. Here is proof of that.” It was your insured who hit me, please send somebody out to inspect the vehicle and get this process going.
It’s very important that you have Uninsured Motorists Coverage. If you don’t have those coverages in Spokane, I think it’s estimated that about 30 to 40 percent of the drivers out there have no, they don’t have either of those coverages. They are uninsured, or they don’t have enough liability coverage to protect you. So,it may be an accident where you’re not at fault at all, and they still are coming for you to. You’re still going to be left to pay your own damages even though you had nothing to do with the accident.

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Vehicle Damages and Rental Coverage

Most people are surprised to know that here in Washington once you’re in a vehicle accident insurance companies only require to you to give you three days of rental once a vehicle is declared a total loss. That’s it, three days by statute so, even if you have full coverage and you have a rental coverage specifically purchased in your policy the insurance covering is going to be able to say, “Hey, we deem the car a, a total loss, and therefore you have three days to get out of the car”. Then start paying out of pocket.
Well, as you and I know, three days is not necessarily the right amount of time to go shopping for an auto vehicle, to go find a, a suitable replacement.
It is three days from the date that they tell you that the vehicle is a total loss. Now, in some cases, the vehicle is obviously a total loss. Um, they just look at it and the vehicle is basically burned to the ground.
If you have any questions on your total loss process, or you have any questions about a personal injury claim, I’ll be glad to help you here in Spokane, Washington. You can reach me at Quiroga Law Office, PLLC at 509-927-3840.

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Garnished Wages? Filing Bankruptcy Can Get Your Money Back

You work hard to pay your bills and feed your family, but maybe the paychecks don’t stretch far enough to cover it all. Maybe your spouse lost his or her job; maybe you’ve had a medical emergency; maybe you’ve been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, relying on credit to pay your debts, and now you’ve maxed out.
Your financial footing, already precarious, starts to slip. Rent, utilities, and groceries being first on your priority list, you can’t pay your debtors. Harassing phone calls start coming in — so you stop answering the phone. Someone comes to your door with a sheaf of papers: the creditor has filed a lawsuit seeking payment. You can’t afford a lawyer — or so you think — and so you ignore this, too.
The next thing you know, the court has issued a judgment against you not only for the amount you owe the creditor, but also for various fees the company has added. You’re in deeper waters than ever, and you still don’t know how you’ll pay.

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How Much is Your Sex Life Worth? Loss of Consortium is a Valid Legal Theory

Washington law allows compensation in personal injury, wrongful death claims if your spouse, child, or parent became seriously injured or even killed in an accident that someone else caused, they may have standing to sue for those damages. You may also file a lawsuit seeking compensation for the lost wages, medical bills, and/or pain and suffering.
But what about your suffering? What about the sexual relationship you had with your spouse that, since the accident, is gone? What about the trips you used to take together that now you’ll have to take without your spouse, or the invaluable advice your dad provided that he can no longer give to you?
How much are these untangible losses worth? In some states, nothing at all. But residents of Washington state may be eligible to sue for “loss of consortium,” or the loss of companionship or intimacy experienced from a family member’s death or injury.

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Diminished Value: You may be entitled to the lost value of your vehicle in Washington

Washington law allows insurers to pay for third party diminution of value Would you pay the full amount for a used car or truck that had been in an accident? Probably not. Certain types of auto accidents can cause damage far beyond what the eye can see. The best repair job in the world, with all new parts, may not compensate for the loss you suffered at the moment of impact — the loss in your vehicle’s value.
Because, with repair information readily at hand thanks to such online sites as Carfax™, you can bet that anyone who buys the vehicle from you is going to offer less than if the accident had not occurred. In addition, if the buyer asks if the vehicle has ever been in an accident, you cannot misrepresent the facts.
Do you think the accident will become a bargaining tool for a perspective buyer? Get a written quote to document the Diminished Vale of your car That’s why, after an accident in which you’re not at fault (you are the third party making the claim against the at fault carrier that covers the at fault driver), one of the first things you should do is get an estimate from a good auto dealer.
Have the dealer write down for you the amount he or she would have paid for the vehicle before the accident, and the amount it is worth to him or her now. How much would they be willing to give you for the vehicle if the vehicle was not in a collision, and how much would they be willing to give you after the collision (despite the fact the vehicle is properly repaired).

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Gym Liability for Injuries (Video Post)

Today I would like to talk to you about gym liability for injuries or gym owner liability. People like to work out and when they go to the gym, the question is when they get injured what liability does the gym owner has?
Some order management has, what duties do they have to follow to ensure that their clients or customers are safe. Well, this is kind of a “to follow” question. One is typically, a smart gym owner would have a liability waiver or a disclaimer on which you would waive any claim against the gym owner for an injury that happens during a workout. So the first questions is, are these waivers, these waivers or liability, are they enforceable?
Number one, the waiver has to be done very carefully, very well drafted. It can’t just be a form that is sort of downloaded off the internet. It can be a form downloaded off the internet but if it is not applicable to the State of Washington or local laws, a good lawyer may be able to set it aside. Without that waiver the gym owner is fully liable on anything that happens because they have to protect the consumer from any foreseeable harm.
And anybody who is straining too much on a workout could–is foreseeable that they might get injured, that they might get strained, or they might pull their back, or whatever may be the case. So this waiver is sort of the gatekeeper in many ways, between the gym owner, the gym management, and their consumers. Now, there are requirements for the waiver of course, the one who signs it has to have capacity, not just age–18 or over, but they have to have capacity to sign, which most people do.

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