If you are a long-term visitor to the United States, you likely have some experience with the US visa process. Once a long-term visa expires, it is expected that the visa holder will return to his or her home country. However, the government realizes that certain problems can arise with a visa holder’s home nation that may prevent it from receiving any of its nationals from abroad. If your country is one such place, you can apply for temporary protected status to stay in the United States. Temporary protected status, or TPS, allows you to stay in the U.S. longer than planned in order to accommodate any upheaval in your home country. The government decides what countries are applicable based on any problems that they may be facing at the time. Examples of upheaval that may result in TPS decisions include:
-A natural disaster such as an earthquake or flood
-Armed conflict like civil war
-Other conflict situations, such as civil strife

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The automatic stay provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code are some of the most powerful and immediate protections for people who need to be shielded from their creditors. The stay, however, is not perfect nor permanent. In fact, there are limitations built into the automatic stay provisions that limit the effectiveness for people who have filed prior bankruptcy cases. In the old days (before the current law came into effect in 2005) people could file case after case in rapid succession, dismissing the ones that didn’t work out and filing new ones to stop their creditors. For most people, these “serial filings” (as they came to be known) were made in good faith and with the best of intentions; someone would file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to stop a foreclosure, they’d miss a few post-petition payments and the mortgage lender to obtain relief from the automatic stay. Then the homeowner would get a better job and be able to make the payments. So rather than stay in a Chapter 13 without the benefit of the stay, they’d dismiss their case voluntarily and file a new one – and get a new automatic stay in place to protect them. Not so anymore. Under the 2005 amendments to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, a case is presumptively filed in bad faith and subject to a limitation of the automatic stay if a prior case was filed and dismissed within the past year. If 1 previous case under any of chapters 7, 11, and 13 in which the individual was a debtor was pending within the preceding 1-year period, then the automatic stay is in effect for only thirty days.

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There’s been an huge upswing in the number of people seeking to modify their home loans. This is mostly the result of the record numbers of job losses, lay-offs, and severe cutbacks in work hours throughout the country. Another reason for the current popularity of home loan modification plans stems from the fact that adjustable rate mortgages were the first choice of many homeowners. It was inevitable that most people would find it difficult, even impossible, to handle the added financial burden caused by rising mortgage interest rates. It used to be that foreclosures were just business as usual. It was a given among lending institutions and banks that they could expect defaults on a percentage of their loans. It would be an understatement to say that the rapid rise in foreclosures has had a negative impact on a number of banks. Actually, many of these banks have gone out of business and others have been the target of government takeovers. So how does that affect people in the market for a fair and reasonable home loan modification program? Basically it means that getting your mortgage terms modified will be easier now that ever before. At present, the federal government is actively working to keep families in their homes, and has given hefty financial incentives to a number of lending institutions so that they’ll work with you to come up with the best possible adjustment for your mortgage. To do this, they’ll either completely rewrite your loan or revise your current mortgage terms. In most cases, banks consider a person’s overall situation before choosing which approach is best. As part of the process to determine how best to preserve the good standing of your mortgage, the bank will need to consider certain factors, such as your present income level, your home value, your debt-income ration, and other points.

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The aim of bankruptcy is to provide a consumer with a fresh financial start. It should relieve them of overwhelming debt and let them start over. In principle, it is a good idea but between changing laws and social stigma, it is something almost all consumers would prefer to avoid.There are two types of bankruptcy that apply to consumers. Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Both are designed to help eliminate debt, but they are quite different in how they work. Chapter 7 is also known as credit card bankruptcy, and it is largely a type of reorganization for finances. The consumer gets to keep all property but must make monthly payments over a three to five year period to repay all or at least part of the debts owed. There are many exceptions that vary from state to state, and in some cases property can be taken.Chapter 13 is more commonly known as a wage earner bankruptcy. In this case, the consumer must have steady income that can be used to repay a portion of debts. There are also restrictions on amounts of secured and unsecured loans. It is possible to avoid property foreclosures by making up missed payments as a part of the repayment plan.Due to laws that changed in 2005, not only is bankruptcy harder to file for, it no longer erases all debt either. There are many restrictions about what can and cannot be included in the proceedings. Alimony, back child support, student loans and certain tax debts are but a few that are not included. The standards are now very difficult to meet, and it is all a part of a lobbying effort made by credit card companies who felt that consumers were abusing the system. For the consumer in serious, unpayable debt, it is no longer the easy solution it once was.

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Basically, when you owe money, you are a debtor, and persons or companies who you owe the money, are Main creditors. The legal process that can protect debtors from their creditors is commonly known as bankruptcy. But bankruptcy, is not for everyone in debt, can be useful, depending on particular circumstances.There are more than one type of procedures of bankruptcy – in fact five different types. The most common procedures are known as Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Usually, when people speak of “declaring bankruptcy,” they refer to Chapter 7, which is the procedure that gives you the chance to erase everything, avoiding almost all debts without having to make further payments in the future.Naturally, there are strict limits on how often can a person apply the procedures in Chapter 7. Chapter 13 is a different kind of arrangement. It can consolidate your debts and stop all or part of them while protecting you from being disturbed by your creditors. It’s often an excellent alternative when the Council of Consumer Credit or Chapter 7 are not available options.Will bankruptcy help me in my situation? Bankruptcy can give you a fresh start and often may seem very attractive to people in huge debt. However, the process is not for everyone. Declaring bankruptcy can affect your credit years or have serious consequences you will need considered.

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