Posted on February 28, 2017 in Illinois Family Law

If you are in the process of getting divorced in Oakbrook Terrace, you already may know about changes to Illinois family laws regarding child support. In brief, under Illinois law (750 ILCS 5/), child support has been determined based on a percentage-based model (or formula) that looks at the number of children for whom support is awarded, and the payor and payee parents are determined by who has primary physical custody of the child. For each child, a certain percentage of the payor parent’s income is the amount of child support awarded. However, as you may know, there have been a number of changes to family and divorce law in Illinois over the last year or so, and one of those changes concerns child custody. Parents are no longer awarded legal and/or physical custody, but instead, those terms have been replaced with “parental responsibilities” and “parenting time.”

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 Posted on February 18, 2017 in Islamic Divorce

At Farooqi & Husain Law Office, we have been assisting clients for years with a wide variety of family law matters, and we are committed to helping members of the Muslim community in DuPage County who have questions about filing for divorce and need representation. We understand how difficult a divorce can be even under the best circumstances, and we also know how important it is that your voice and needs be heard. In DuPage County, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/) governs most aspects of divorce, including property division, spousal maintenance, and child custody. We regularly represent clients who have concerns about property division and finances, as well as those whose primary concerns deal with the allocation of parental responsibilities and other matters involving your children.

In DuPage County, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/) governs most aspects of divorce, including property division, spousal maintenance, and child custody. We regularly represent clients who have concerns about property division and finances, as well as those whose primary concerns deal with the allocation of parental responsibilities and other matters involving your children.

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 Posted on February 01, 2017 in Illinois Family Law

When you are served with divorce papers in DuPage County, you are likely to have many questions about the next stages of the Illinois divorce process and how they will impact you. Whenever you are going through a divorce, it is extremely important to have an experienced DuPage County divorce attorney on your side. At Farooqi & Husain Law Office, we have years of experience helping members of the Muslim community in Oakbrook Terrace and surrounding areas, and we can speak with you about your case today.

In the meantime, it is a good idea to have a basic understanding of the steps that will follow after you have been served with divorce papers in Illinois.

Filing a Written Response to the Petition for Divorce

If you were served with divorce papers, this means that your spouse already has filed a petition for dissolution of marriage, which is required to begin the process of divorce under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). The IMDMA recently underwent some substantial changes, including the abolition of “grounds for divorce.” As such, the petition for dissolution of marriage filed by your spouse need not set forth any grounds for divorce under the way. Instead, Illinois is now what is known as a “no fault” state when it comes to divorce. This allows either spouse to file a petition for dissolution of marriage following a six-month period of living “separate and apart,” as long other specific requirements have been met.

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 Posted on January 19, 2017 in Illinois Family Law

In Illinois divorce cases, it is very important that you work with a dedicated Oakbrook Terrace family law attorney from the start of your case to ensure that all divorce matters are handled smoothly. It is a good idea to have a better understanding about how the divorce process will work. At Farooqi & Husain Law Office, we are committed to providing family law services to members of the Muslim community, and we can answer your questions about divorce today.

If you want to divorce your spouse, there are some key features of Illinois divorce that you should learn more about.

Have You Met the Requirements to File for Divorce?

Illinois family law underwent some major changes recently, and those revisions are reflected in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). There are no longer substantial requirements in order to file for divorce in Illinois, but there are some requirements that are important to meet. First, a person who files for divorce no longer needs to prove that there are “grounds for divorce.” Grounds for divorce have been eliminated from Illinois law, meaning that a person simply can file for divorce under a “no-fault theory” of irreconcilable differences.

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 Posted on December 31, 2016 in Immigration

Going through the immigration process can be difficult and anxiety-inducing, particularly for many members of the DuPage County Muslim community. We would like to focus on one aspect of the immigration process that many DuPage County residents have questions about: the immigration interview. Once you have applied for permanent resident status in the U.S. (also known as applying for a green card), you will begin a series of steps that likely will culminate in an interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). We know that an in-person interview can produce fear among many people who are new to this country, but we want to emphasize that this is a standard part of the “adjustment of status” procedure that can result in you becoming a permanent resident of the United States.

What should you expect to happen at this interview?

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 Posted on December 20, 2016 in Immigration

How much does it cost to file an immigration application or petition in the United States? Regardless of what those fees used to cost, they will rise this December. According to a news release from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the fees required for most immigration applications and petitions will increase, and those new fees take effect as of December 23, 2016. The fees may impact immigrants who are seeking certain benefits. At Farooqi & Husain Law Office, we are here to help Muslims in Oakbrook Terrace who have questions about immigration fees and other matters related to immigration applications and petitions.

Learning More about the Immigration Fee Increases

As the news release explains, USCIS will raise its fees, based on a final rule published in the Federal Register back in October, in an effort to provide additional funding to the agency. Specifically, the news release notes that “USCIS is almost entirely funded by the fees paid by applications and petitions for immigration benefits,” and in order to keep up with costs, federal law requires that USCIS review its fee schedule every two years to “determine the funding levels necessary to administer the nation’s immigration laws, process benefit requests, and provide the infrastructure needed to support those activities.”

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 Posted on November 23, 2016 in Immigration

Applying for a green card, or permanent resident status, in the United States can be a complicated process. Indeed, no matter what your current immigration status or that of a family member, the intricacies of immigration law can be frustrating and difficult to comprehend. Given that there are many members of the Muslim community in DuPage County that are learning more about the process of obtaining a green card, it is important to understand how the process works and whether you might be eligible for a “One Step Process.”

At Farooqi & Husain Law Office, we are committed to helping Muslims throughout DuPage County with all immigration law issues. One of our experienced Oakbrook Terrace immigration attorneys can speak with you about your case today.

Applying for a Green Card

As the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website explains, there are a number of different steps a person can take toward becoming a permanent resident of the United States, or a holder of a green card. The path you take largely will depend upon whether you are currently living in the United States. The primary avenues toward obtaining a green card include the following:

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 Posted on November 09, 2016 in Illinois Family Law

If you are in the process of filing for divorce in Illinois or are dealing with issues of child custody and child support, it is important to pay attention to changes in the law that will take effect on July 1, 2017. The changes to the law will impact the ways in which child support payments are calculated, and as such are likely to alter the ways in which residential parents must be responsible for playing a role in the financial support of the child in connection with the non-custodial parent. At Farooqi & Husain Law Office, we have years of experience assisting members of the Muslim community with complex legal issues concerning divorce and child support. We are here to help with your case today.

Learning More about the Changes to Illinois Child Support Law

Current Illinois child support rules under 750 ILCS 5/505 and 750 ILCS 5/510 follow a form that has become familiar in many states across the country: what is known as a “percentage of income” formula that determines that a child support payment will be based on the net income of the non-residential, or non-custodial, parent. Based on the net income of that parent, the amount of child support is standardized according to the number of children for whom support is owed. Currently, this is how child support determinations work:

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 Posted on October 26, 2016 in Illinois Family Law

When you are thinking about filing for divorce in Oakbrook Terrace or another area of DuPage County, you are likely to have many questions about property division. For many members of the Muslim community, issues surrounding property division can be complicated and frustrating given that property division involves more than just financial assets. To be sure, your home, and even valuable family heirlooms, can be subject to division in a divorce proceeding in Illinois.

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/), abbreviated as the IMDMA, governs property distribution in our state following a divorce.

Classifying Separate Property and Marital Property

In order for property to be subject to division during a divorce, it must be classified as “marital property.” Any property that is classified as “separate property” is not subject to division. It is important to recognize that “property” refers to both assets and debts, and both will be divided upon divorce if they are characterized as marital property.

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 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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