FIRST client is 48 and married in the last 4 years. Husband was a foreigner who professed his love for her in so many ways. Unfortunately, his love for her was actually for her U.S. citizenship. Client, who had never been married before, fell head over heels for her newfound Romeo whom she met in a party in her hometown. He looked handsome and dashing in his own peculiar way. Never mind that he was height challenged at 4 feet 4 in and had web fingers and toes. He was an athlete and was the fastest swimmer in their town. His nickname was ‘Aqua-Man.’ All of these traits did not bother client; in fact, it was these traits that endeared him to her. She called him my “BB” for baby “beluga”. She reasoned that he would have no problem getting a job in California. Sea World in San Diego would certainly offer him a job to swim with the dolphins and whales.
Well you know how the K-1 fiancée visa works. You have to prove to the INS that you met your loved one at least two years before the petition date with evidence consisting of pictures with dates on them, cards, letters, emails, the works. It’s just too bad that there is no camera that can take a picture of the real intent of the human heart. Client petitioned husband for his green card as soon as they were married. It wasn’t a $15M wedding like Kanye and Kim’s in 2014. Client’s reception was held in a popular restaurant a block from Trump Towers. All of client’s family, her brothers and sisters attended her wedding, all of them trying to convince her not to marry the guy. “Why him?” “You’re better off being single than marrying that human milkfish!” said her older brother. Her guest of honor, FBI director Comey said, “It just makes me nauseous to see you marry this guy, he looks fishy to me!” But despite all of the well-intentioned objections of family, friends and the FBI, client tied the knot. She charged their honeymoon, a 2-week cruise in the Mediterranean, to MasterCard. That was followed by a romantic river cruise at St. Petersburg in Russia and a 3-week Asian tour of China, Japan, Korea and all the Southeast Asian countries. The honeymoon set her back $50K but thanks to MasterCard and visa, she was given the opportunity to make minimum payments of $1500 a month for the $50K of credit cards. Money she thought was well spent. It was her dream come true, to see the world with her prince charming.
She was a certified nursing assistant who grossed $3K a month. Her take home pay is $2400. 62.5% of her take home pay or $1500 is for monthly minimum payments on her $50K credit cards. So she has $900 left before rent. They rent a room for $600 so she has $300 left for food. What about her husband? Well, he did not want to work because he said that as head of family, she should be the one working. He decided he would just stay in the room and watch Disney movies the whole day. So, client decided to get a second job to pay for monthly necessities and the immigration lawyer fees for husband’s green card. Since the petition was filed before the Trump era, husband beneficiary was not fully vetted. He obtained FBI clearance despite Mr. Comey’s objections, and soon enough he became a legal permanent resident of our country which at that time was not “great again.” Our country, at that time, was just “so-so”.
As it turned out, beloved husband was actually secretly married in his country of origin. So again, the FBI did not uncover this anomaly so the INS allowed a criminal bigamist to become a legal permanent resident. “Bigly Bad!” “That’s a no-no!”
As soon as he got legalized, he disappeared. Client hired the best private investigator that money, or credit cards could buy. It was finally determined that he had gone to another state. He filed for divorce from client since he already got legalized and client had maxed out her credit cards. No more honeymoons for free around the world. Thus, being now of sound mind and body, client decided to forget her fake husband and start fresh without accumulated debt. She decided to discharge the $50K of credit cards with a Chapter 7 petition. Finally, she’s making the right decision for herself.
Second client is 45. He owes $20K of credit cards. He pays $750 a month for minimum card payments. He is self-employed because he makes his living by driving full time for UBER. By full time, I mean 5 days a week. He has a late model SUV, which he pays $400 a month. His gas expense is $125 a week or $500 a month. So, if you are wondering how much you can make driving UBER 5 days a week, you will gross $3500, less $500 for gas. You can net about $3K without considering car insurance and car payments. In client’s case, he has family abroad and needs to send them money every month. So he decides to discharge his $20K of credit cards with Chapter 7, so he can send $750 back to his family monthly.
I have another client who drives UBER part time. He has a full time job. He makes about $800 a month gross from UBER.
If you are saddled with debt, now is the time to get them discharged. Better now than later when you are about to retire. But if you have not yet gotten rid of your debts yet and you are now a senior, believe me, you need to get rid of your debts now that your income is less than half of what it was when you were younger.
If you need bankruptcy relief, please call my office for an appointment and I will analyze your case personally.
“I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME.” PHILIPPIANS 4:13H
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Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S. Fremont Ave, Mailstop 58, Building A-1 Suite 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803.