A non-US citizen desiring to study as a nonimmigrant at a US educational institution must obtain a student visa. The F-1 visa is the most common US student visa because it is an academic visa used to attend a college, university, or other learning institution that is accredited by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), part of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). There are other student visas, including the M-1 visa for vocational programs and the J-1 visa for other exchange programs, but this article discusses the F-1 visa.

Whether you're planning your own funeral or that of a loved one in West Virginia (WV), people are increasingly choosing the option of cremation. Those who choose to be cremated must also decide how to direct loved ones regarding the ashes or cremains. It is important to consider the legal issues around ash scattering in WV before you make a final request for yourself or dispose of a loved one's remains. Can you spread ashes in WV under state law?

A class action may well strike fear into the heart of a corporate defendant. Instead of one lawsuit, the class action may encompass hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of persons making a claim. Lawyers on both sides of a class action also know that the stakes are high and that they must be at the top of their game. That's why both lawyers and potential class action parties need to be aware of class action rule amendments that went into effect December 1, 2018.

A recent Jenkins Fenstermaker article provided a summary of several bills pending in the West Virginia (WV) Legislature that could have significant impacts on employers, workers' compensation insurers, and claim administrators if enacted. Most of the 2019 WV workers' compensation bills died in the legislature, so there are not many changes to report, but following is an update of the bills and their potential effect in the Mountain State.

Insurance is a valuable tool that allows people to distribute risk more broadly and prevent the financial devastation that can come with the various tragic and unpleasant situations that inevitably arise in life and business. Insurers in West Virginia (WV), and the WV insurance defense lawyers who assist them, know the importance of preventing and controlling financial losses due to fraudulent or unreasonable claims.