Immigration and Family Law Blog

According to a recent Fairfax County Circuit Court’s decision in Livingston Jr. v. Stark (VLW 023-8-093), which appears to be a matter of first impression, a request to modify custody arrangement based solely on a child’s preference does not rise to a level of a material change in circumstances, provided nothing else has changed from the…

Posted by Juan D. Bustamante As with most legal matters relating to children in Virginia, the central question for the court will always be what is “in the best interest of the child?” When preparing for a custody hearing, even the most well-intentioned petitioners may face some pushback from Virginia courts when faced against factors…

Many people find themselves in Immigration Removal proceedings (also called deportation). While some people are being deported for simply being in the US without a visa or similar legal status, other people are being deported for criminal convictions. In fact, a lot of people being deported for criminal convictions have some sort of legal status…

Posted by Kayla Brown Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) allows certain children who came to the United States from another country and cannot be reunified with one or both of their parents to obtain lawful permanent immigrant status. Juveniles seeking SIJS first begin in a local state court after abuse, abandonment, or neglect has occurred.…

More often than not, divorcing spouses do not stand on equal financial footing, especially when one of them has been the principal income-earner of the family, while the other had focused mostly on raising the children, managing the household, and allowing the earning spouse the opportunity to do just that – earn.  Time and time again, clients…

Posted by J. Garrett Kizer A Pre-Marital agreement (also called a “prenuptial agreement” or “prenup”) is a useful tool to protect your assets when you’re planning on getting married. A prenup can include many features. Most prenups will define certain pieces of property that the couple owned before they were married as “separate property.” In…

Posted by Andrei J. Kublan Since contested divorce cases can take approximately a year (and in certain cases even longer) to be fully adjudicated in court, each party to the litigation has a right to request certain temporary relief from the court while their case is pending in court.  As a party to a divorce…

Posted by Volha (Olga) Hirynskaya An E-2 treaty investor visa is a NON-immigrant visa that available for foreign entrepreneurs of countries that have a treaty of trade and commerce with the United States. The E-2 investor visa allows an individual to enter and work in the U.S. based on an investment he or she will…

In my practice of domestic relations law, I have frequently encountered this question: “Will I be guilty of desertion if I leave my abusive spouse?”.  Both male and female clients have asked this question. The answer, as with almost everything in the law, is “it depends.”  First, in Virginia, the grounds for divorce are provided in the statute.…

Posted by Christian K. Campbell Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) is an immigration classification that allows minor children to obtain lawful permanent immigration status through the state juvenile system who meet certain criteria.  The specific requirements include that the applicant be under 21 years old, unmarried, declared dependent in a juvenile court, that reunification with…