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 January
2009
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Why Are You Getting This Newsletter?
This free e-mail newsletter is sent to current and
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have specifically asked to receive it, and to
those who have contacted our firm for legal
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The City of Dallas has begun in earnest with the new policy of towing the vehicles of uninsured motorists. I hope the word spreads quickly and greatly reduces the number of drivers who don't carry the mandatory auto liability coverage. This would be a great benefit to our personal injury clients, and to motorists in general. On New Year's Day Dallas police towed 20 vehicles. It remains to be seen if that will be indicative of the pace of towing throughout the month.
I've written many times about the problems Texas has with uninsured motorists. More than 25% of Texas drivers have no auto insurance, even though it's required by state law. This new policy of towing uninsured cars will disproportionately affect poor people, who find it harder to afford insurance. But the law is the law - even poor people are required to carry insurance, and I don't think poverty is a good excuse to drive uninsured.
If you drive in Dallas and you either haven't bought insurance or you have let your insurance lapse, you better take care of that soon or you could be facing very expensive costs to get your car out of the pound.
Free Legal Advice?
Yes, at Kraft &
Associates we are glad to provide our clients
and friends with free information on a variety
of subjects. If you want details about how to
lower your automobile insurance rates,
Texas Workers' Compensation law or
Social Security Disability claims, please
contact us and we will send you any of these
brochures without charge or obligation. |
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Suite 1300
2777 Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 999-9999
(817) 999-9999
(800) 989-9999
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FOR THE RECORD |
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| FOR
YOUR INFORMATION |
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Last
month
we
wrote
about
how
nearly
any
disease
can
be
disabling
if
it
is
sufficiently
severe.
A
good
information
resource
for
individuals
with
various
disabilities
is
available
from
The
U.S.
National
Library
of
Medicine
and
the
National
Institutes.
As
the
Web
site
points
out,
a
significant
percentage
of
the
population
has
some
form
of
disability.
Most
often
the
disability
does
not
preclude
gainful
employment
In
our
practice
of
Social
Security
Disability
law,
we
often
are
assisting
individuals
with
the
most
severe
of
disabling
conditions.
We
provide
referrals
to
people
who
are
interested
in
resuming
lighter
duty
work
or
require
retraining
through
vocational
rehabilitation.
But
when
full
time
employment
is
not
possible,
we
help
people
secure
Social
Security
Disability
benefits,
Medicare,
and
Medicaid.
If
you're
considering
applying
for
Social
Security
Disability,
please
refer
to
this
Factsheet
from
the
Social
Security
Administration.
As
you
can
see,
significant
information
is
available
online
from
the
Social
Security
Administration
about
the
types
of
benefits,
duration
of
impairments,
medical
support,
length
of
time
for
the
application
process,
etc.
No
matter
where
in
the
process
you
are,
feel
free
to
contact
us.
If
we
are
unable
to
represent
you,
we
will
be
glad
to
refer
you
to a
lawyer
or
government
agency
who
may
be
able
to
help.
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| FEATURED
EMPLOYEE |
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 Melva
Butcher
Legal
Assistant
E-mail:
melvab@kraftlaw.com
Ms. Butcher is a Dallas native and graduate of
Adamson High School, who attended a community
college for work-related specialized classes. She
joined our firm in 2000 as a Social Security
Assistant. Before coming to work with our firm Ms.
Butcher had more than 22 years' experience with the
Social Security Administration. There, she was a
Legal Assistant to the Administrative Law Judges,
and fulfilled detailed positions as a Decision
Writer at the Social Security Administration Office
of Hearings & Appeals. Ms. Butcher acts as a liaison
between our law firm and the Office of Hearings and
Appeals.
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| FEATURED
CASE |
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Our firm represents religious workers seeking visas. In an effort to detect and deter fraud in the religious worker program, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented significant changes to the special immigrant and non-immigrant (R-1) religious worker rules. The new rule became effective November 26, 2008.
Some of the changes in the new rule requires sponsoring employers to submit the petition on the foreign national's behalf for R-1 status, provides increased on-site inspection by USCIS, includes compensation requirements, reduces initial period of admission on R-1 status to 30 months, and increases employer’s evidentiary requirements.
One significant change is that an employer must sponsor the nonimmigrant religious worker by submitting the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129). Additionally, the employer must now submit a determination letter by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which will verify the religious organization’s tax-exempt status. In order to obtain a determination letter, the religious organization must pay a one time fee to the IRS. R-1 visa holders will now be admitted for an initial period of up to 30 months and may extend their stay for an additional period of 30 months.
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| HOW
CAN WE HELP YOU? |
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Our law firm has helped thousands of clients
over the years. Sometimes clients who use
our firm for one type of case may not
realize that there are other legal problems
we could help them solve.
We handle
most types of injury claims — including
automobile collisions, "slip and fall"
cases, injuries suffered as a result of
defective products, injuries resulting from
inadequate security, medical malpractice
claims, nursing home negligence claims,
prescription drug injuries and many others.
We invite you to call us about any
serious injury to see how we can help you.
Kraft & Associates also represents people
who have been denied their Social Security
Disability benefits. We can help at the
Initial stage, the Reconsideration stage or
the Hearing stage. We can help you, your
family or friends with any Immigration question.
Our law firm represents people who have immigration
problems of any kind, whether family-based
immigration or employment-based immigration.
We also help people who have problems
regarding family issues, such as divorce, child
support, adoption, modifications, enforcements,
attorney general disputes, paternity and other similar
matters. We also represent clients who have been
arrested or charged with committing a crime.
Please feel free to call us with any
legal questions you may have. If we cannot
represent you, we will try to refer you
to another attorney or to a government
agency that can help you. There is no
charge or obligation for that first phone
call. |
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Copyright
© 1997- 2009 Kraft & Associates : Injury &
Disability Lawyers, P.C. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Personal Injury,
Automobile Accident, Wrongful Death, Nursing Home Negligence,
Social Security Disability.
DISCLAIMER:
This newsletter is presented by Kraft & Associates for
informational purposes only, and not as legal advice.
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