DIVORCE

Artem Saveliev

OK, here are my two cents. I think there's blame enough to go around for everyone. Given the well-known corruption within Russian government, I'm sure adoptive parents (whether Russian or American) are not given the full disclosure on the mental/physical status of these orphan kids and that information regarding any physical and mental disabilities is hazy at best. So I'm sure there is at least a grain or many grains of truth in the adoptive mother's claim that she wasn't given "full disclosure". However, you simply don't take a 7 year old child, even if he is a sociopath (by no means proven in this case), and "return to sender" if for no other reason than he is a 7-year old child!!! If you have a modicum of sense and see these kinds of problems in your child--doesn't matter if he's biological or adopted--you find help for that child. That's what a parent does. This one clearly didn't.

So, to the extent there's blame on both sides, hopefully it will get addressed on both side...

Adoption from Russia

I don't know the details of what went on in that house BUT from what limited information is available, I think that the fault lies with the Russian adoption officials. They need to do a far better job of psychologically evaluating the people they place these children with. I think that what happened to this boy is heartbreaking and that this "parent" is mentally unstable. She took a seven year old child, brought him to a strange country, changed his NAME, and immersed him in learning a foreign language in a home school environment. Did she expect a 7 year old to say "thank you" to her? What seven year old wouldn't act out under a far less stressful set of facts? He is not a dog - how can you change his name? How can you completely alienate him from everything familiar to him? How was he supposed to communicate, to express himself? Isn't it normal for kids to act out when they feel they have no control or when they are frustrated? I think maybe this kid was crying out for help. I have y...

Artem Saveliev. Review by American Lawyer

The recent international adoption scandal regarding a Russian boy, Artem Saveliev, and his American adoptive mother, Torry Hansen has understandably received much press coverage. What Torry Hansen did – sending the child back to Russia as means to annul her adoption - wins her no sympathies. However, she is not solely responsible for Artem's misfortune. Adoptive parents are often blissfully unprepared for the difficulties of raising a child with a history of neglect and abuse.

However, the reaction of the Russian authorities to the situation has been blown out of proportion. Most likely, Ms. Hansen is but one unbalanced woman who should not have been approved to adopt a school-aged boy in the first place. Ms. Hansen, as a single mother and a believer in home schooling system, in my opinion, was not a candidate for adopting a Russian child with undiagnosed physical, emotional, mental and/or developmental problems.

The questions remain: whether Torry Hansen have access to appropria...

Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions

Abstract: Any person who is not a United States citizen, including lawful permanent residents, can be deported because of a criminal conviction. Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, immigrants with criminal convictions have become one of the primary concerns of the Department of Justice and the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to DHS, during FY 2002, the then-Immigration and Naturalization Service initiated deportation proceedings for 48 non-citizens who had criminal convictions in Alaska. This article provides information on the possible consequences of criminal convictions upon immigrants, including deportation; possible remedies for deportation; and examples of deportation cases in Alaska involving criminal convictions.

September 11, 2001 has profoundly impacted the immigrant community. The Department of Justice and the U.S. Congress have passed at least two dozen statutes and federal regulations since September 11 that circumsc...

THE COLD GETS COLDER

In Volume 3, Number 4, “Come in From the Cold” (March 29, 2009), I discussed the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program specifically as it relates to offshore bank accounts. On my website STEINBERGTAXLAW.COM is an updated version of the article including coverage of the Frequently Asked Questions published and later updated by IRS.

The phrase “Come in from the Cold” refers to John Le Care’s novel turned into a 1965 movie, “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.” Richard Burton is Alec Leamas who is drawn in from the cold by his love interest, Clair Bloom. The phrase comes from the screenplay: Control says to Leamus: “We have to live without sympathy, don’t we? We can’t do that forever. One can’t stay out of doors all the time. One needs to come in from the cold.” Leamus goes back behind the Iron Curtain for one last mission only to find he has been duped by his own handlers. In the end, he chooses freedom of the soul over an emotionless life.

Roughly 14,700 taxpayers came in under the ...