Posted on October 12, 2016 in Immigration

Many members of the Oakbrook Terrace Muslim community have dealt with immigration law issues concerning family members’ immigration. In order for family-based immigrants to come to the United States, there is a requirement of the I-864 Affidavit of Support under Section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

What is this Affidavit of Support? In short, it is used to show the federal government that the immigrant seeking to come to the U.S. has “adequate means of financial support,” according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, and thus that the immigrant is “not likely to rely on the U.S. government for financial support.”

Who Must Submit an I-864 Affidavit of Support

When you file the I-864 Affidavit of Support, you must follow the instructions exactly. The government’s instructions for the form specify that all of the following immigrants must have a completed Form I-864 in order to be eligible:

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 Posted on September 21, 2016 in Islamic Lawyer

Have you received a phone call from someone who claims to be calling from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), demanding payment for owed taxes and threatening to call the police to have you arrested in the event that you do not pay? You are not alone. According to a recent report from NBC News, there has been a surge in consumer complaints about scammers claiming to be federal investigators. To be sure, the recent rise in complaints suggests that this new scam tactic is among “the most pervasive in history.” All too often, these scams target members of the immigrant community.

Understanding Fraudulent IRS Calls

As the NBC News report explains, these scammers often call and claim that the recipient has only a short period of time to pay owed taxes before the police get involved. Why do so many people fall for such a scam? It does not have anything to do with a person’s intelligence or ability to root out fraud. To be sure, the NBC News report suggests that “many people fear the IRS,” and as a result, they “believe [such a call] may be real.”

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 Posted on September 07, 2016 in Islamic Estate Planning

For Muslims in Oakbrook Terrace who are currently planning for Hajj, you should ensure that you have your affairs in order before you begin upon this once-in-a-lifetime journey. While preparation for Hajj is an important time to create a Last Will and Testament, it is important for everyone, regardless of your income or the economic value of your possessions, to think about inheritance issues. Islamic law has specific mandates when it comes to inheritance, and if you do not prepare a last will and testament, your estate may be subject to Illinois intestate succession law.

The Hajj is the largest gathering of people worldwide, and for many Muslims, and given the sheer number of people, accidents can happen. To be sure, millions of people undertake this annual five-day pilgrimage, and you should have plans for your estate in place before you travel. An experienced Islamic lawyer in DuPage County can assist you today.

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 Posted on August 31, 2016 in Child Custody

For Muslim families in the Oakbrook Terrace area, family law issues involving parenthood and the termination of parental rights can be difficult ones to face. Generally speaking, the Illinois courts want to do their best to keep both parents in a child’s life and to ensure that the child has both parents play a role in the child’s life and upbringing as long as it is in the best interests of the child. Yet in some situations, it may be in the best interests of the child to terminate the rights of a parent. What does it mean when the law decides to terminate a parent’s rights? In short, it means that the parent not only will not be responsible financially for the child, but that parent also will not make any decisions about the child’s care or upbringing.

Voluntary Termination and the Adoption Act

It is important to understand that Illinois law does not allow one parent simply to petition to terminate the other parent’s rights. Rather, parental rights can be terminated either voluntarily or involuntarily, and the court takes these cases very seriously. Under 750 ILCS 50/1 and other relevant Illinois law, the voluntary termination of a parent’s rights generally can occur in one of the following circumstances:

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 Posted on August 17, 2016 in Family Law

Last year, Illinois family law changed in a number of ways, and it is important to understand how these changes might impact you and your family in the event of divorce. Divorce is difficult for Muslim families in DuPage County under any circumstances, but understanding how our state’s laws function during divorce proceedings can help you to be prepared for the weeks and months ahead.

No Fault Divorce in Illinois

We mentioned above that Illinois family law has recently undergone some changes. All of those alterations are reflected in the current Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). One of the first major changes concerns grounds for divorce. Until just recently in Illinois, divorcing spouses could cite grounds for divorce such as adultery, impotence, mental anguish, and habitual drunkenness. However, those terms are different now.

Like numerous other states, spouses in Illinois who seek a divorce will simply cite irretrievable breakdown or irreconcilable differences. In other words, spouses no longer will claim that one party is at fault for the divorce, thus the shift to “no-fault” divorce in our state. To get divorced based on no-fault grounds, the parties must be separated for six months and must waive a two-year waiting period. In the event that one of the spouses will not waive the two-year waiting period, the other spouse still may seek a no-fault divorce once the two-year waiting period has completed.

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 Posted on May 27, 2016 in Business Law

Sometimes customers or other individuals get hurt in slip and fall accidents at businesses. For business owners, learning about a serious slip, trip, and fall injury can be disconcerting, given that these accidents can result in severe injuries to the head, neck, and back, and sometimes they also result in broken bones. In short, slips and falls are serious, and businesses can be held liable in certain circumstances.

Litigation can be costly when someone falls and suffers serious injuries at your business. At Farooqi & Husain Law Office, we understand how detrimental it can be to a small business owner to face a serious premises liability lawsuit. We are here to help members of the DuPage County Muslim community, and we want to do all that we can to ensure that your business thrives. In order to prevent a costly premises liability claim, it is important to think carefully about purchasing premises liability insurance anytime you decide to open your own business.

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 Posted on May 13, 2016 in Criminal Defense

If you are arrested on drug charges, it is important to understand your rights. In particular, members of the Muslim community in Oakbrook Terrace should have a sense of their rights under the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits illegal searches and seizures of property. Constitutional law can be extremely complicated, and you should always discuss your case with an experienced DuPage County criminal defense lawyer.

However, it is nonetheless a good idea to have a sense of when and how the Fourth Amendment can protect you in the event that you are stopped or your property is searched. For example, when you refuse to give consent, can a law enforcement official still search your car or your home? And what does it mean for a law enforcement official to have "probable cause" to stop to conduct a search of your automobile or your home?

Fourth Amendment Overview

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 Posted on December 16, 2015 in Spousal Support

If you are filing for divorce or are in the midst of dissolving your marriage, how will you be impacted by the availability of temporary support? For many Muslims in DuPage County, temporary support is a significant issue. If you were the primary earner in your household during your marriage, you will need to be aware that the court can order you to pay temporary support for your spouse and children until other orders are finalized. And if you were not the primary earner in your family, you are likely to have questions about whether you will be eligible for temporary spousal support and temporary child support until your divorce is completed.

Major changes to Illinois’s marriage and divorce laws will take effect on January 1, 2016, and one of those new laws deals specifically with temporary support.

Establishing the Need for Temporary Support

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 Posted on November 27, 2015 in Family Law

If you have been served with an order of protection or are facing domestic violence charges, it is important to have an experienced Oakbrook Terrace criminal defense lawyer on your side. Being charged with domestic violence is a criminal offense, and it can have a serious impact on your life. Crimes involving domestic violence are government by the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 (750 ILCS 60/). According to the statute, our state recognizes domestic violence as a "serious crime against the individual and society which promotes family disharmony in thousands of Illinois families."

If you were charged with domestic violence, you could be facing serious penalties. At the Farooqi & Husain Law Office, we are committed to helping members of the Oakbrook Terrace Muslim community with a wide variety of family law and criminal defense matters. Many Muslims in Illinois face domestic violence charges, and an experienced attorney can help to ensure that you are treated fairly and have a proper defense.

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 Posted on November 18, 2015 in Family Law

What is an order of protection in DuPage County? According to the Illinois Attorney General’s website, orders of protection are court orders that "restrict an abuser." They are designed to prevent an abuser from doing any harm to the petitioner or to his or her children. It is important to know that they are only available to family members of members of the same household. In other words, orders of protection are not designed to protect individuals from casual acquaintances or persons they do not know very well. Rather, they are to protect individuals from a violent family member or from another person who lives in the same household.

Domestic violence is an issue that impacts member of the Muslim community in DuPage County. If you have questions or concerns about an order of protection, you should speak with an experienced DuPage County family law attorney.

Who Counts as a Family or Household Members?

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