COMMUNITY
VOICE OF ASIA 4
The People’s Lawyer www.peopleslawyer.net Richard M. Alderman Interim Dean of the Law Center
New job is not a valid excuse to break a lease Q. About five months ago, my husband and I rented an apartment. Now my husband is being transferred to another city. If we do have to move soon, we’ll break our lease by 6 months. The landlord says we will owe him for leaving early. Is he right? A. You cannot just end your lease for a new job, unless the lease says so. Leaving early for any reason not authorized in the lease will be considered a breach, and you could owe damages. My suggestion is to talk with the landlord and to see if he will agree to terminate the lease early. Maybe if you pay a month or two rent, he will let you leave. If you do work something out, be sure to get it in writing. If you break the lease and move out early, you could owe the costs of finding a new tenant, plus rent until the end of the lease term or when the apartment is rented to someone else, whichever is earlier. Q. I work at a freestanding emergency clinic. I started in October and work four to five 12-hour shifts per month. I was notified two weeks ago that the company overpaid me by almost $900 due to the accountant’s error. Am I obligated to pay them back? This was their fault. They did not notice the overage for months, and I don’t have an extra $900. Thanks for helping. A. As far as the law is concerned, in most cases when someone makes a mistake and pays too much money, the person who receives it does not have the right to keep it. It doesn’t matter that it was their fault they overpaid you. The opposite is also true. If they underpaid you, and you didn’t discover it for several months, they would still owe you the money when you asked to be paid the proper amount. I suggest you speak with them about arranging a repayment plan you can afford. Q. My father deeded his house to me, but kept a life estate for himself. He now is moving into assisted living, and wants me to be able to sell the house free of his life estate. What can I do? A. As you know, the life estate gives him control over the property while he is alive. It is an interest in property and just like any other interest can be transferred or sold. If he wants to deed his interest to you he can, and that would give you the right to sell the property free and clear of his life estate. I suggest you speak with a local attorney, or even a realtor and title company, to find out the best way to do this. In my opinion, if he is still competent and will agree to sign a deed and sell his life estate with your interest in the house, it should not be a big deal. Q. I was married in another state, but moved to Texas shortly after the wedding. We have lived in Texas for four years. If I file for divorce, would I collect alimony under Texas law or the law of the state where I was married? A. If you live in Texas and divorce in Texas, you are subject to Texas law. Also, Texas does not have alimony. Texas is a “community property state,” which basically means you divide all the property you and your spouse acquired during the marriage. You also will be entitled to child support, assuming you were awarded custody. There is a provision in the law that is similar to short-term alimony, but this “spousal support” provision does not apply unless you have been married for at least ten years. I suggest you speak with a family law attorney who can fully describe your legal rights in the event of divorce. Q. I fell in a local bar. All my friends saw that I fell and was hurt. The bar says it is not responsible. Can I take them to justice court? A. First, just because you fell does not mean the bar has any liability. It is responsible if its negligence caused the fall, but not simply because it owns the property. For example, if you tripped over your own feet or another customer and fell, the bar has no liability. On the other hand, if there was a spilled drink the bar did not clean up in a reasonable period of time and that caused the fall, the bar would be considered “negligent,” and responsible. I suggest you think about what caused cause of the fall. If you believe it was the bar’s fault, ask for compensation for your medical expenses. If they do not pay, justice court may be the best place to get the matter resolved. Do you want to know more about your legal rights? Visit my website at www.peopleslawyer.net
FRIDAY, May 15, 2015
YOUR IMMIGRATION LAWYER Answers to your Immigration Questions by Sharlene Sharmila Richards, Immigration Lawyer:email at srichardslaw@aol.com ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT FILING AN AFFIRMATIVE ASYLUM APPLICATION Sharlene Sharmila Richards Q: I am thinking of filing for asylum as I fear returning to my home country. What do I need to show in order to file for asylum? A: An individual who has suffered past persecution in his or her home country or has a well-founded fear of persecution in his home country on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or because of membership in a particular social group may file for asylum for gain protection and legal status here in the United States. Q: I am in the United States illegally. I have been here for more than one year in this status and I was informed that it may be too late to file the asylum application. A: You may apply for asylum regardless of your immigration status. However, you are required to file the asylum application within one year of your last arrival in the United States. There are exceptions to that one year requirement: You may qualify for the exception if you can show changed circumstances materially affecting your eligibility for asylum. Examples of this are changes in country conditions in your home country or changes in activities you had become involved in that now places you at risk of persecution if you were to return to your home country. The other exception is extraordinary circumstances which resulted in your failure to file within the one year period. Examples of this can be if you suffered a serious illness or mental or physical disability including any effects of persecution or harm during the one year period upon your arrival in the United States which prevented you from filing the application in a timely manner. Q: I wish to include my fiancé in my asylum application. I believe he will also suffer persecution if he returned to my home country with me. Do we have to get married to include him? A: Yes you do. Once you are married, you may include your spouse as a dependent in your asylum application. You may include your spouse in the asylum application at the time you file or at any time until a final decision is made on your case. Q: What form do I use to file an asylum application? Is there a fee for this application? Where do I file the application? A: You will need to use form I-589 Application for Asylum and Withholding of Removal. You can obtain this form from the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under “Forms”. There is no filing fee for the application. Typically, the affirmative asylum application is filed at the USCIS Service Center that has jurisdiction over applications for the state where the applicant resides. Please check the instructions for the Form I-589 for the current filing address. Q: I have three children, two of them are under the age of 21 and the other is over the age of 21 years. Can I include all of them in my asylum application? A: You should list all your children in your asylum application irrespective of their age, whether they are married or not and whether living here in the US or abroad. However, only the children under the age of 21 and who are unmarried can be dependents on your asylum application. Your son or daughter over the age of 21 may, if eligible, file his or her own asylum application. Q: I presently have F-1 status and I want to apply for asylum. Will the application for asylum jeopardize my F-1 status? A: No, it will not. Q: My asylum application was denied by the asylum office. Can I appeal the decision? A: If the asylum officer decides not to approve your affirmative asylum application, there is no appeal. The officer will refer the case to an immigration court for removal proceedings. Only at the removal proceedings before the immigration judge can the applicant be denied asylum. In such a case, the applicant will be ordered removed from the US. It is at this stage that the applicant can file an appeal from the order of the removal by the immigration judge. Q: How soon before I receive my work authorization card after I have filed the asylum application? Can I file for work authorization at the same time as the asylum application? A: No, you cannot file for your employment authorization at the same time when you apply for asylum. You may apply for employment authorization if 150 days have passed since you filed your complete asylum application, excluding any delays caused by you such as requests for reschedule your interview and if a decision has yet to be made on your application. The filing date is date USCIS received your application. Q: What happens if my child turns 21 years old after I have filed my asylum application? A: Your child will continue to be eligible as a dependent or derivative on your asylum application if he or she turned 21 after the application was filed but while it is pending. Your child must have been unmarried and under 21 years old on the date the application was filed. Disclaimer: Any advice provided in this article is general in nature and not intended to constitute legal advice for any specific case. Please consult with an immigration lawyer about the specific circumstances of your case. My Bio Sharlene Sharmila Richards is a licensed Immigration lawyer practicing in Houston, Texas. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2000 and is a member of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and a member of the US Supreme Court. You may contact her at telephone number 713-623-8088 or by email at srichardslaw@aol.com to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.