July 2021

In Law

All about H1B visa: Things employees and employers must know!

July 30, 2021 No Comments

Understanding immigration matters can be complicated, and you are not alone. For the uninitiated, H1B visa is a type of employment-based visa for foreign workers willing to find work in the US. In case of employment-based, the employer must make a job offer to the concerned professional, after proving that equally skilled US workers were not available for the role. The employer is required to file the H1B visa petition. Businesses often need to hire foreign workers for selected roles, and many companies work directly with immigration attorneys. Working with a reliable law firm, or business immigration lawyer in Dallas, can help in many ways. Here are some things to know about the H1B visa in general.

The basics

The H1B visa, like other visas, is issued by The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and every year there is a cap on that. A total of 65,000 H1B visas are granted in a given year, and additional 20,000 H1B visas are available for qualified people, who have completed their Master’s degree, from a university in the United States. There are deadlines, and employers are required to complete the formalities within that time. The cost of filing – called the filing fee for H1B visa – is to be paid by the employer.

Facts for employees

A foreign worker in the US on a H1B visa can stay in the country for three years, following which their stay can be extended to another 3 years. Also, on the H1B visa, employees can choose to travel in and out of the country as many times as needed H1B visa holders can bring their unmarried children and spouse on the H4 visa, for the same duration. Employees also have the scope to apply for Permanent Residence (Green Card) later, depending on the circumstances.

Do you need an attorney?

Hiring an immigration lawyer does add to the cost of hiring foreign talent, but the advantages are real. First and foremost, understanding immigration laws, which often change, can be hard, and since there are timelines to be adhered to, employers find it easy to work with a lawyer. A skilled immigration lawyer knows the legal aspects, will take necessary steps to complete the extensive paperwork, and ensure that clients get the support they need.

For finding a reliable immigration lawyer, you can check online. The first consultation with an attorney is usually free, and it makes room for discussing relevant aspects.

In Finance

Understanding the tax deductions on the fees of financial advisors

July 30, 2021 No Comments

The significance of financial advisors has grown in the past years. They are considered important in the financial markets due to the financial advice that helps the investors in the industries. They are often paid for the service they offer. Tax changes have started to come in after 2018 since it was possible to avail few tax deductions for such fee payments before 2018. However, for an investor in the UK, it is not possible to directly deduct the payments of financial advisors.

Analyzing the investment strategies

An investor is always concerned about the returns. There are many ways offered in the UK by which tax breaks can be obtained other than going behind the tax deductions from your advisor’s payments. One of the many ideas is to have a diverse portfolio in projects that can provide tax breaks. More tax breaks can lead to more deductibles and hence more returns. Financial Advisor Services columbus oh can provide you the most efficient mortgage advice for start-ups as well.

Making investments also play a great role in providing returns and the type of taxes that has to be paid. Anyway, no loophole can be made in the fees for financial advisors and more efficient strategies have to be planned for tax deductions. Financial advisors can help you in managing the taxes efficiently. Due to the huge growth of financial markets, the need for financial advisors is growing at the same pace. Independent mortgage advice can be easily delivered depending on the situation.

Even the top UK mortgage firm would prefer to get professional help while dealing with funds. The data provided by such professionals can help you in getting more returns and structuring your investment strategies. Mortgaging broker for small business can play an important role due to the growing speed of financial markets and the huge demand to avail expert help.

Managing taxes

Hence these professional advisors can help you in a better way to route your taxes and manage them properly. They can play a great role in taking your project to higher levels and provide better ways for making investments and hence their demand is very well realized and hence the businesses can consider seeking such expert help to make the most from their investments to get better returns as well. Most people are interested in reducing the investment fees and hence looking for deductibles in the fees that have to be paid to the financial advisor. One of the best strategies is to keep looking out for tax benefits and such opportunities to avail of the deductibles.

In Featured

Collateral: The Difference Between Secured and Unsecured Credit

July 30, 2021 No Comments

Do you consider yourself credit savvy? If so, do you know the difference between secured and unsecured credit? Many Americans do not. They have no idea how lending works, let alone the finer details of our financial system in general. That is unfortunate. A lack of knowledge makes it more difficult to use credit wisely.

All forms of credit can be divided into the two categories of secured and unsecured. In all likelihood, you have experience with both. You may not know it, but it is pretty common for American consumers to utilize both types of credit simultaneously.

Types of Secured Credit

Secured credit is designated as such because there is some sort of asset that secures the loan from the bank’s perspective. If you have a mortgage on your home, the mortgage is secured by your house. What does this mean? It means that your home is a means of security for your lender.

If you decided to stop making your monthly mortgage payments, your lender could foreclose on you. That means the lender can legally take ownership of your home, kick you out, and sell the property at auction to recover the money it loaned you. This ability to foreclose essentially secures the bank’s interests.

Hard money is another form of secured credit. Salt Lake City hard money lender Actium Partners says hard money is typically off-limits to consumers. Rather, it is reserved primarily for investors and businesses. Hard money loans are secured by a variety of assets ranging from real estate to business equipment.

Other types of secured credit include:

car loans
home equity loans
secured personal loans.

Any loan that carries the risk of property being seized and sold in the event of default constitutes secured credit. That is pretty much it in a nutshell. Do you have any secured credit you are currently paying off?

Types of Unsecured Credit

Now that you understand secured credit, it should be obvious that unsecured credit is just the opposite. Unsecured credit is obtained without any hard assets to back up what is loaned. Lenders take a substantial risk by offering unsecured credit instruments.

The most common form of unsecured credit is, by far, the credit card. A credit card represents a type of revolving credit more or less issued on the honor system. When you apply for a credit card, you are promising to pay what you borrow without pledging collateral.

Revolving lines of store credit, payday loans, and traditional personal loans are additional examples of unsecured credit. Lenders rely on credit scores and histories to make approval decisions.

If you have ever wondered why credit card interest rates are so much higher than the rates you get for mortgages and car loans, it boils down to the lack of collateral. The fact that a credit card is unsecured presents more risk to the lender. Where risk is higher, so are interest rates.

When Credit Goes into Default

Collateral makes all the difference when a credit account goes into default. Default on your mortgage or car payment and the lender can seize your property and sell it. Default on your credit cards and there isn’t much the lender can do but take you to court. Even if the lender wins a judgment in its favor, you still control the outcome. You either pay or you don’t.

Credit is an important financial tool in the modern world. Whether you use secured credit, unsecured credit, or both, use all your credit wisely. Use it responsibly as well. Doing so will benefit both you and your creditors.

In Business

Employee Handbooks

July 24, 2021 No Comments

If you’re a mid-size business today, the chances are that you were a small business just yesterday. With growth has come a need for more structure. The on-the-fly practices that served you well in the early days need to give way to more organization and consistency. HR is one area that particularly benefits from definition and clarity. Have you thought about creating an employee handbook? If not, here are four reasons why you should give it serious consideration:

Efficiency

Having one consistent place to communicate your policies makes life much easier for HR and other managers. With a well-written handbook, you can be certain that all team members get the same information about your organization. Handbooks communicate expectations and policies equally. Regardless of position or experience, every employee gets the same message about your company and its missions and values.

Completeness

Onboarding a new employee is complicated. You’ve got lots of information to present, and it’s easy for things to be forgotten and slip through the cracks. Some of your managers may be more skilled at onboarding than others. A handbook ensures that all the info is covered, including the many perks and benefits your company has to offer.

Consistency

When your policies are standardized and written out for all to see in an employee handbook, decisions will be more consistent across the organization. For example, when mid-size business background checks policies are included in your handbook, everyone involved will know that background screenings are being conducted fairly and consistently according to the guidelines in the handbook. Managers don’t need to make subjective judgment calls, but can rely on the handbook to guide their decisions which makes many management tasks easier and fairer.

Protection

Having a solid handbook in place protects your organization from accusations of bias or favoritism. A handbook serves as a resource that everyone in your organization can use to resolve disputes. Well-written, consistently applied policies shield managers and employees from unfair treatment. Your employee handbook can also serve as a defense against legal claims brought by current and former employees. It may also decrease the likelihood of such claims, as employees will be aware of your efforts to be transparent and non-discriminatory.

Be Proactive

A comprehensive employee handbook is a proactive measure designed to define your organization’s culture and be fully transparent with all your employees. Great handbooks reflect your values and contribute positively to the company. They make life within the business at all levels easier. If you don’t already have a handbook, now is a great time to create one for your growing business.

In Law

Resources for Starting the Best Law Firm Around

July 24, 2021 No Comments

Law firms all have a number of things in common. Of course, each legal team will bring unique aspects and assets to the fore, but at their core, each and every law office shares the same basic recipe for success

This starts with client relations and incorporates fantastic legal knowledge and execution. Your legal team will require a smattering of educational backgrounds—as well as top-notch legal education, of course—and a variety of customer service-focused amenities in order to make each client feel represented and cared for to the best of your firm’s ability at each step of the way.

Legal assistance is an intimate process.

Take it from Malliha Wilson, the law is an intimate creation. Wilson is a Tamil Canadian lawyer who served as the Assistant Deputy Attorney General of the Government of Ontario from 2008 to 2016. She has worked on dozens of Supreme Court of Canada cases and specializes in human rights and indigenous rights issues.

For Wilson, the law is a tool for ensuring justice, especially for those who have seen justice gone unserved for many years, or even generations. The law is a powerful thing, but leveraging it for just causes takes an unwavering commitment to the greater good. This is what your legal team should be striving for. The truth is that an unshakeable moral character is crucial for any new hires that you bring into the office. Each lawyer that you bring onboard will shape the future of your practice, so choosing wisely is an all-important step when considering the resources you will need in order to field a successful and upstanding legal practice.

In addition to the moral authority that your team brings to the table, knowledge is also a must. Clients who speak to your team will immediately walk away with a sense of how you will approach their case, even if they have no prior experience with the law. Making a great first impression is crucial to winning over new clients and then going on to triumph on their behalf in the courtroom or negotiating table.

Customer service is key.

In addition to a knowledgeable and forward-thinking litigation group, it important to bring in high-quality customer support services as well. Bright Pattern is a great option in this field (see more at brightpattern.com). Bright Pattern offers contact center solutions to businesses of all shapes and sizes, and the cloud-based rollout that Bright Pattern brings to the table is a state-of-the-art option for law firms. Bright Pattern’s pricing models are out of this world as well. Because there is no bulky equipment to install with a Bright Pattern setup, the costs involved in building out this customer experience booster are often some of the best in the industry.

Bright Pattern has revolutionized the ways in which customer service agents interact with clients who need fast support for their most pressing problems. Creating a framework for agile calling isn’t easy, but with Bright Pattern’s digital calling solutions, incorporating a highly versatile contact center plugin for your office is fast, affordable, and provides the perfect resource for your clients who need to reach you at a moment’s notice.

In addition to the direct customer support option provided by Bright Pattern calling software, the firm also leads the way in the use of multipurpose bots, SMS assistance, Chatbots, and GDPR compliance (in advance of the inevitable transition to this same data framework in the United States and Canada).

Building a law firm takes patience and a vision for the future, today. With the help of smart hiring and a contact center solution that takes your needs into consideration, creating a robust law firm becomes simple.