Month: July 2021

Why You Need An Experienced Miami Divorce Lawyer

Posted on by bwisotsky@gmail.com

Are you and your partner filing for divorce? Here are the most common reasons you may need our Miami divorce lawyer.

Choosing to file for a divorce is often an emotional and challenging decision. Whether one or both parties were in support of the decision to separate, there will likely still be some emotional response as you work through the process. You need to be able to separate the emotion of the situation from the legal tasks that need to be accomplished. This is one of the many reasons why it is so important to seek the help of an experienced Miami divorce lawyer like ours at Casais & Prias.

Divorce has many moving parts and many decisions need to be made. Having a divorce lawyer on your side will help you navigate this complex process.

Child Custody Concerns

If you and your partner have a child together, the divorce case is automatically more complicated and requires the help of an experienced law firm. When children are involved, you will need to work through:

  • Child support requirements
  • Custody concerns
  • Visitation expectations
  • And other issues

These issues are obviously very personal and must be handled carefully to ensure that your child will be cared for after the divorce has been settled. Attorney Nadja A. Prias is the head of the firm’s Divorce and Family Law Department and brings extensive legal experience to the practice. Working with Casais & Prias will ensure that your child’s best interest is kept at the forefront of the case.

Financial Support And Shared Assets

In many marriages, one person provides the other person with some form of financial support. This support may come in the form of insurance, living expenses, or just shared financial responsibilities. Whatever your case may be, our Miami divorce lawyers will help clarify where you will stand financially after the divorce. With their assistance, you will know what financial support may be rightfully yours after the marriage has been terminated.

Miami divorce lawyer

Having An Attorney Can Reduce Stress And Help You Avoid Mistakes

You are permitted to go through with your divorce without the help of a lawyer in the state of Florida. That route, however, is ill-advised by many, and this is why.

Divorce can be a stressful process. Even if you and your partner have agreed upon terms of the separation, including child support and visitation schedules, the divorce process can be lengthy and usually brings about some stressful decisions that have to be made. Additionally, divorce forms and documents can be complicated to navigate if you are not well-versed in legal terminology.

To greatly reduce your stress and avoid any mistakes that could halt the divorce proceedings altogether, you should work with an experienced lawyer for the best possible outcome.

Casais & Prias Is The Miami Divorce Lawyer For You

If you live in the Miami area and want to file for divorce, Casais & Prias is here for you. Our focus is in family law and we would be happy to assist you in any way we can. Contact us to set up a case evaluation. We look forward to working with you.

Naturalization and Selective Service Registration

Posted on by bwisotsky@gmail.com

If you are a male that wants to apply for citizenship in the United States, and at any time between your 18th and 26th birthday you live in the US, you are required to register for the Selective Service. But what happens if you fail to register with the Selective Service and want to apply for citizenship or naturalization? Your application for naturalization may be denied.

What To Know About Naturalization And Selective Service Registration

To become a naturalized United States Citizen, an application must show that he is a person “attached to” (believes in) the principles of the Constitution of the United States and is “well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States” during the five years immediately before the application is filed.

In general, immigration officers consider if an applicant for naturalization refused or knowingly and willfully failed to register for the Selective Service, and often decide that if that is the case, the applicant does not have the “disposition to the good order and happiness of the United States,” is not “attached to” the principles of the Constitution, and is not of good moral character.

And on that basis alone, can deny an application for citizenship. However, there are ways of overcoming an applicant’s failure to register with the Selective Service. If you are between the ages of 18 and 26 and would like to apply for naturalization, but have failed to register with the Selective Service, then you should register before submitting your application for naturalization.

If you are between the ages of 26 and 31 and failed to register for the Selective Service, it is likely that your application for naturalization will be denied. It is recommended that you wait until you are over 31 years old to apply, since the “statutorily prescribed period” that officers look back on is only the previous five years.

If you are unable to wait until you are 31 years old, then you will need to present evidence that your failure to register with the selective service was not willful and was an innocent oversight. However, the “burden of proof” falls on you, and you have to prove it to the immigration officer, which is not an easy thing to do.

Finally, if you are over 31 years old and failed to register with the Selective Service, this will generally not prevent you from naturalizing. This is because your failure to register is outside the five year “statutorily prescribed period” during which you must demonstrate good moral character.

Contact Us Today

An experienced immigration attorney from the Law Office of Casais and Prias can help you navigate through the technicalities of applying for US Citizenship. Our experienced immigration lawyers will assist you in filling out and submitting your citizenship application, will prepare you for your naturalization interview, and will attend the interview with you.

Contact our office today to set up a free case evaluation and to learn more about naturalization and selective service registration.

Can the IRS Cancel My Passport?

Posted on by bwisotsky@gmail.com

If you have a seriously delinquent tax debt, meaning that you owe the IRS more than $54,000 (including penalties and interest) and have a federal tax lien or levy, you may be wondering, “Can the IRS cancel my passport?” The short answer is yes. Here are your options.

Read on to hear immigration attorney Rolando Casais, Jr. explain why you should contact us if you have received notice your passport may be revoked.

Before requesting that the Department of State takes this action, the IRS will send you a notice asking that you contact them within 30 days to resolve your past due tax debt.

What Is The Process For Revocation Of A U.S. Passport?

The IRS will not request for the Department of State to revoke or deny your passport
application if:
1. You have a past due tax debt that is being paid timely though an IRS approved payment plan
2. If the tax debt is being paid through an approved “Offer in Compromise”
3. If a request for “innocent spouse relief” has been made
4. Or if a collections due process hearing (basically a chance to appeal to an officer on why you can’t pay) is timely requested.

Can The IRS Cancel My Passport After Bankruptcy?

Also, if you owe a seriously delinquent tax debt and have filed for bankruptcy or the IRS has determined that you are currently not collectable due to financial hardship, the IRS will not request to revoke your passport and/or to deny your passport application.

Can You Reverse A Passport Revocation?

If the IRS has already certified your tax debt to the U.S. Department of State as a seriously delinquent tax debt and requested revocation or denial of your passport application, there are ways of getting this reversed. You can wait until the statute of limitations to collect the past due tax expires and the tax debt is no longer enforceable, however this could be a lengthy wait of up to 10 years.

The simplest and most direct way to get this done is by paying the full amount of tax owed. If you are unable to full pay the balance, hiring an experienced tax attorney form the Law Office of Casais & Prias can help you in obtaining an alternative payment arrangement to have your serious tax debt certification reversed.

Contact our office today to set up a free case evaluation.

How To File For Divorce In Coral Gables | What You Need To Know

Posted on by bwisotsky@gmail.com

If you and your spouse choose to get divorced, you may be at a loss on where to start. Read on for some professional advice on how to file for divorce in Coral Gables from Casais & Prias, PLLC, a Miami-based law firm.

Read on to hear Attorney Nadja A. Prias explain more about divorce and how we can help.

To file for divorce in Coral Gables, there are important steps you need to follow for it to be done correctly. At Casais & Prias, PLLC, we focus in family law. We are here to explain the steps you and your partner will need to take to legally separate.

Our Coral Gables family lawyers are prepared to help simplify this experience. We work to ensure that you and your family are taken care of every step of the way. Below, we will describe the basic path you and your partner will take as you file for divorce in Coral Gables.

What Do I Do If My Marriage is Past Saving?

When looking to file for divorce in Coral Gables, the first step is to acknowledge that you or your partner believe that separation would be the best option. In some cases, judges may have you and your spouse attempt mediation or counseling. This is especially true if there are children involved, though it will depend on a variety of other factors.

This initial claim is the first step you must take to file for divorce and is the clear way of showing that you believe your marriage is no longer healthy and that it would be best for both parties if the arrangement was ended.

Note: The state of Florida does not require you or your spouse to have definitive reasons why you are filing for divorce, though certain reasons may sway the judge’s decision. Florida is a no-fault divorce state. This means neither party will have to prove that there were any problematic actions or behaviors from their spouse that would imply a needed separation. It is only required to claim that the marriage cannot be saved by any means.

How Do I Fill Out and File Divorce Forms?

This step can be simplified in cases where both parties agree on the terms of the divorce. If the divorce is amicable, you and your partner may benefit from looking into a simplified dissolution of marriage. However, if both parties are unable to come to an agreement on their own, you will need to move forward by filling out and filing the other forms. A simplified dissolution is often not allowed when:

  • Children and/or custody concerns are involved
  • One party supplies financial or other support
  • There are shared assets

It is in your best interest to have an experienced Coral Gables family lawyer there to help you through this process. When there are financial obligations and concerns regarding any shared assets, you need to have proper legal help. This ensures that you get what is rightfully yours when the divorce is said and done.

file for divorce in Coral Gables

How Can Casais & Prias Help Me File for Divorce in Coral Gables?

Divorce battles can be lengthy and are often emotionally charged. Some may even go to trial depending on the case. Casais & Prias, PLLC has over ten years of experience in the field of family law and is the Coral Gables family lawyer that can effectively fight for you.

If you are looking to file for divorce in Coral Gables, fill out the form on our website for assistance from an experienced Coral Gables family lawyer.

What Types Of Visas Are Available To Live And Work In The U.S.?

Posted on by bwisotsky@gmail.com

As an immigration attorney, clients often ask what types of visas are available in order to live and work in the United States. The answer is that there are only two ways to live and work in the U.S. – through family or through work.

Visa Through Family

Through family, you would need a United States Citizen (USC) spouse, parent (of a USC, age 21 or older), or child (unmarried and under age 21) who can file a petition on your behalf. These types of petitions are called immediate relative petitions and are usually processed faster than other family petitions. In addition to immediate relative petitions, family petitions may be filed by a USC or Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), which are subject to preference categories and normally take several years to be processed.

Under the preference categories, a USC may file a petition on behalf of their unmarried children over age 21, married children, and siblings. LPRs may file a petition for their spouses and children (under 21 years of age) and unmarried sons and daughters (over 21 years of age). Family petitions filed under the preference categories are subject to yearly numerical limitations per category and are issued to eligible immigrants in the order in which the petition has been filed.

Visa Through Employment

In order to come to the United States through work, generally, you need to have an employer sponsor you and file a petition on your behalf. Keep in mind that the majority of work visas are non-immigrant visas, meaning that they only allow a foreign national to work and reside in the United States on a temporary basis, depending on the type of visa. For example, the holder of an H1B visa, available to individuals in specialty occupations, may reside and work in the U.S. for a maximum of six years in H1B status. Furthermore, the L1A visa, available to multi-national managers and executives, is usually approved for an initial period of stay of three years and may be extended in increments of two years until the employee has reached a maximum stay of seven years.

types of visas

Labor Certification

There is also the option of obtaining permanent residence in the United States through work via a labor certification. An employer would need to apply and receive a certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certifying that the foreign employee’s skills are in short supply in the area of intended employment and that said employment would not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of other U.S. workers similarly employed. The DOL requires employers to take affirmative steps to recruit U.S. workers for the position a foreign national seeks to fill. If the employer is unable to recruit a suitable U.S. worker and receives DOL certification, the employer may then file an immigrant visa on behalf of the foreign worker, which should ultimately lead to permanent residency.

Contact Us For More Information

If you need more information on the types of visas available, contact us. Casais & Prias has served the area for over ten years and is equipped with the knowledge and experience needed to help you.

What Is The Difference Between A Fiancée Visa And A Marriage Visa

Posted on by bwisotsky@gmail.com

Frequently, clients who have partners living outside the United States inquire about the distinctions between a fiancée visa and a marriage visa.

There are many types of visas, so the difference between a fiancée visa and a marriage visa is important to understand. At Casais & Prias, we get questions about this distinction often, and we think it is important to keep our clients informed on these terms.

What is a Fiancé Visa?

A fiancée/fiancé visa is available to couples who are not yet married and one of them is a U.S. citizen (USC). In order to qualify for a fiancée/fiancé visa, the couple must demonstrate an intent to marry each other within 90 days of the fiancée/fiance’s admission to the United States. The couple must also demonstrate that they are both free to marry (meaning they are not currently married and/or all previous marriages have been lawfully terminated) and that the USC and foreign national have met each other in person at least once within the two-year period before the USC files the visa petition. The requirement to meet in person may be waived if it is shown that meeting in person would violate strict and long-standing customs of a foreign culture or social practice or if meeting in person would result in extreme hardship to the USC petitioner. Once the foreign national enters the United States with a fiancée/fiancé visa and is married to the USC within 90 days of admission, the foreign national may then apply to become a lawful permanent resident.

What is a Marriage Visa?

A marriage visa, on the other hand, is for couples who are already married, and one of them is a USC. If the spouse of the USC is living outside the United States, the USC would file a petition on behalf of the foreign spouse with USCIS. Once approved, the case is transferred to the US. Consulate in the foreign national’s home country. The foreign national will then attend an interview at the consulate and, if approved, receive an immigrant visa to enter the United States as an immediate relative (spouse) of a USC. In essence, the foreign national enters the U.S. as a resident.

Furthermore, in cases where the U.S. citizen (USC) and foreign national spouse are married and both are within the United States, the USC can submit a petition to USCIS on behalf of the foreign national. Simultaneously, the foreign national can apply for residency. Once these applications are approved, the foreign national obtains conditional residency if the marriage is less than two years old when the applications are processed. Alternatively, full residency is granted if the marriage spans more than two years at the time of application approval.

Should conditional residency be granted, the USC and the foreign national spouse must initiate the removal of conditions process 90 days before the two-year anniversary of conditional approval. During this phase, the couple must demonstrate their ongoing marriage and cohabitation, presenting evidence of their relationship over the preceding two years. This can include joint ownership of assets and debts, as well as any children born during the marriage.

Difference Between A Fiancée Visa And A Marriage Visa

Still Not Sure About the Difference Between a Fiancé Visa and a Marriage Visa? Call Us Today

If you still have some confusion about the difference between these two types of visas, we encourage you to contact our law office for clarification. Our attorneys are well-versed in immigration law and will be able to clearly explain what you need to know.

Copyright © 2025 Casais & Prias Law