On July 29, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a final rule expanding the existing provisional waiver process to allow certain individuals who are family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs), and who are statutorily eligible for immigrant visas, to more easily navigate the immigration process. The provisional waiver process…
Each year thousands of U.S. citizens adopt children from abroad and many families in other countries adopt U.S. children. Intercountry adoption is governed by both the laws of the country in which the child lives and the country in which the adoptive parents live. Under U.S. law, there are two distinct intercountry adoption processes: The…
When a married couple divorces, the question of who gets to keep the pets often arises. Whereas the laws are designed to protect the best interests of human children in divorce (allowing for shared custody, visitation, and alimony), the laws for pets are intended to benefit the owner instead. Under the law, pets are considered…
Yes, same sex couples may adopt in California. In fact, California has a long history of non-discrimination in adoption. Generally speaking, California law is among the best in the nation for equality, and California has provided benefits to same-sex partners of state employees since 1999. Through the Domestic Partnership Act of 1999, California became the…
Can divorce be granted when the other person is missing? I received a phone call from one of my dear friends one day, she came back from work and found out a note left by her husband, he didn’t have the courage to tell her in person that he wanted to leave the marriage, he…
