04 April

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Asylum and Refugee Status

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Asylum and refugee status are special protections granted to people who left their home country for their own safety and are afraid to return. The difference between asylum and refugee status depends on the person’s physical location. If the person is outside of the United States, he/she must apply for refugee status. A person who has already entered in to the U.S. border or the interior regardless of how he/she arrived (perhaps by using a visa or by entering illegally) may apply for asylum status within the U.S. Once granted, both the asylum and refugee status allow the petitioners to stay in...

01 April

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New STEM OPT rule has been published effective May 10, 2016

Posted by Metin Caglar

in News

The new rule pertaining to optional practical training (OPT) for certain students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) was published in the Federal Register on Friday, March 11, 2016. The OPT extension period for STEM OPT students is increased from 17 months to 24 months for applications adjudicated on and after the May 10, 2016. The 24-month extension, when combined with the period of standard post-completion OPT that must precede an application for STEM OPT, allows qualifying STEM students up to 36 months of post-completion optional practical training....

01 April

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What does authorized, issued, outstanding, treasury and watered stock refers in corporate law parlance?

Posted by Metin Caglar

in BLOG

Authorized stock is the maximum number of shares a corporation can sell.This number is specified initially in the corporation’s articles of incorporation or other charter documents, but it can be changed with a shareholder approval. A corporation usually sets greater numbers than required to provide flexibility to issue more stock in the future when needed. Issued stock is the number of shares the corporation actually sells. Outstanding stock is stock the corporation has authorized, issued, sold and purchased by current shareholders, investors and/or public. It also includes restricted shares owned by the corporation's officers and insiders. Treasury stock refers to the corporation’s buyback...

24 March

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The difference between trademark, copyright, servicemark and patent

Posted by Metin Caglar

in BLOG

A trademark is any word, name, phrase, slogan, sound, smell, color, symbol, design, group of letters or numbers, product configuration, device or combination of these elements which identifies and distinguishes the business names, trade names or commercial products or services of one party from others whereas copyrights protect individual, original works of expression of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, whether published or unpublished. A copyright protects works of songs, books, movies, and art. The duration of copyright protection for works created by an individual lasts for the life of the author, plus 70 years. For works...

23 March

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Last Call For H-1B Work Visas for the Fiscal Year 2017

Posted by Metin Caglar

in News

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions on April 1st, 2016. The cap on H-1B nonimmigrant work visas for 2016-2017 is 65,000. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for individuals with a U.S. Master's Degree or higher are exempt from the 65,000 cap.If more visas than the amount specified are submitted then a "lottery" is conducted. We believe that the cap will be filled for the first week of April, 2016 and then the lottery is conducted as last year....

12 March

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L-1 Şirketlerarasi Transfer Vizeleri Nedir?

Posted by Metin Caglar

in BLOG

L-1 vizesi hem yurtdışında hemde Amerikada faaliyet gösteren şirketlerin yurtdışı ofislerinden vasıflı çalışanlarını Amerika da ki şirketlerine transfer etmelerine olanak sağlayan bir vize çesididir. L-1 vizesi de kendi arasında ikiye ayrılır L-1A dediğimiz işletmeci, yönetici veya müdür transfer vizesi ve L-1B şirketlerarası uzman transferi vizesi. L-1A işletmeci, yönetici veya müdür transfer vizesi (manager/executives) L-1A vizesi yurtdışındaki şirket de işletmeci, müdür veya yönetici vasfinda çalışanların bu şirketin Amerika’daki bağlı şirket, kardeş şirket, şube ya da ana şirketine transfer edilmelerine (Affiliate, subsidiary, branch or parent of the foreign entity) olanak sağlayan bir vize türüdür.Bu vize aynı zamanda Amerika da ofisi bulunmayan şirketlerin Amerikaya acilmalarina, hizmetlerini...

09 March

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Florida revised its death penalty laws

Posted by Metin Caglar

in News

Recently, Florida legislature passed a new bill requiring at least 10 out of 12 jurors recommend death penalty for it be carried out. Florida previously required that a majority of jurors recommend death sentences. In January 2016, however, Florida U.S. Supreme Court found that Florida's current law unconstitutional reasoning that it allowed judges to reach a different decision than juries, which has only advisory role in recommending the death penalty for the convicted. Also, this new law prohibits judges from imposing the death penalty if the jury doesn’t recommend it. Death penalty still remains a controversial issue in the US. In February one of US Court of Appeals...

02 March

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New York judge ruled against the U.S. government that government can’t force Apple to unlock an iPhone to investigate a drug dealer.

Posted by Metin Caglar

in News

On Monday, NY federal Judge sided with Apple in a separate drug case indicating that a 18th-century law, called the All Writ’s Act, doesn’t give the government a power to force Apple to derive data from a locked phone. All writ's act was part of the 1789 U.S. Judiciary Act. The "Writ " means "Formal Order" that gives a federal judge to compel an individual to do necessary and proper things within the boundaries of law. Recently, however, a California judge in San Bernardino case sided with government saying that Apple should help government in unlocking a cellphone used by a shooter. The heart of the legal contention in California case was that whether the government can use...

29 February

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Tenants’ basic rights against landlords

Posted by Metin Caglar

in BLOG

If your landlord doesn’t fix the heat during winter, or you have a problem with electricity, running water etc. You have some rights as a tenant. First of all, every residential house must afford you an “Implied warranty of habitability”. In property law context, the standard for implied warranty of habitability is that premises must be fit for basic human dwelling in other words the premises must be in livable condition. The appropriate standards may be supplied either by local housing code or case law. Landlord is expected to fulfill an implied warranty of habitability by keeping basic structural elements of the building,...

26 February

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Federal judge approves nearly $1 billion settlement between US government and Native American tribes

Posted by Metin Caglar

in News

A federal judge has approved a nearly $1 billion settlement between the Obama administration and Native American tribes over claims the government shorted tribes on contract costs to manage education, law enforcement and other federal services even as far back as the 1970's. It is expected that nearly 700 tribes or tribal agencies will claim this approved compensation....

Author: Metin Caglar