In this episode of Immigration Law for Tech Startups, my amazing law partner, Anita Koumriqian, who is an expert in family immigration law matters, talks with Lydia Hsu and Kara Foster, the co-founders of Foster Hsu, LLP, a family law firm based in San Jose. Founded in 2019, Foster Hsu offers a full range of family legal services, including prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, domestic violence, divorce, and child custody.
Lydia and Kara primarily discuss prenups, postnups, and divorce, and issues to consider when a soon-to-be spouse, spouse, or soon-to-be ex-spouse is an immigrant, and where family immigration law takes precedence over family law.
Anita points out that for marriage-based green cards, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers want to see that couples are commingling funds in a joint bank account, which points to a good-faith marriage. If you are commingling funds, own property, own equity in a startup or own a business or all of the above, you should talk with a family law attorney before getting married—or it’s too late for that—talk with a family law attorney about a postnuptial agreement, particularly if you live in a community property state like California, say Lydia and Kara.
“A prenup may not be right for you,” says Kara, “but at least you should be educated going into a marriage and know what you’re going to be responsible for, what your obligations are going to be, and how California is going to treat your property, assets, and income during the marriage. We have a lot of people coming in later for a divorce saying, ‘If I knew this, I would have done everything differently.’”
Please share this episode with individuals who are engaged or anyone else who can benefit from it. Reach out to us if we can help you determine your immigration options whether you’re in the U.S. or abroad.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
- What prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are and what each agreement typically covers
- Why prenups are more common these days
- What it means to live in a community property state like California
- Options for structuring spousal support
- What USCIS prefers to see in marriage-based green card cases
- Whether prenups and postnups are public record, and can they negatively impact an immigration case
- Whether each individual should be represented by her/his own attorney when drawing up a prenup or postnup
- Some of the reasons why prenups or postnups end up in court
- How to keep costs down when working with a family law attorney on a prenup, postnup, or divorce
- The effect the Affidavit of Support in a marriage-based green card petition has on spousal support in a prenuptial agreement and divorce settlement
- Whether a prenup or a postnup should be translated into the native language of the individuals
- What immigrants should know about the divorce process in the U.S. and enforceability of prenups and postnups
- What happens when a sponsoring spouse threatens to have the immigrant spouse deported
Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with other top technology thought leaders, venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, and futurists on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or whatever your favorite platform is. We welcome your rating and review!
Resources:
Immigration Law for Tech Startups Podcasts
- Episode 13: Show the Love: Family-based Alternatives for Technology Professionals
- Episode 49: Never Do This in Immigration – Family
Founder Law information, publications and courses:
- Path to Green Card handout
- Family green card options
- Subscribe to the Founder Law Newsletter
- Immigration Options Chart
- Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook
- Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.