Your Rigths In A Foreign Country
Often times when tourists travel to a foreign country their goods during a vacation can turn into a nightmare. Most countries, especially developed countries have embassies throughout the world. One of the reasons for these embassies is to provide some recourse to their citizens in case they have a need for assistance when their vacation turns into a nightmare. Often the embassy will provide such services as assistance in obtaining an attorney or provide for airfare to return them home. In some cases, these services are of little help, since some a catastrophic event may have already taken place, such as death or serious injury or illness. In our own country we don't even think about the fact that most major cities have many different embassies. Mexico for example being so close by has several in Arizona and California and even has one in Utah. Throughout Latin America the United States, Great Britain, France, Spain, and other nations are also represented. The greater the country's interest the greater the need for a consulate and embassy in foreign countries. A lot of the issues are relatively complicated and require great expertise and attorneys are employed often. Sometimes tourists are surprised to find out that they are in a foreign land and that their native lands law does not apply. They are often surprised to see that they actually have greater rights in the foreign land than in their own. With the great influx of immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries, undocumented residents are often the victims of serious injury accidents, death and exploitation. The Mexican consulate often provides assistance so the deceased can be transported back to their native land. The Mexican consulate often provides assistance in obtain legal representation, so the individual can pursue a legal cause of action. Many businesses in the US often exploit immigrants and are later surprised they have committed a very serious crime or have incurred great civil liability. The rights we enjoy for the most part extend to all undocumented immigrants and the same is true when we travel. Undocumented workers have the same protection as legal residents and can and do bring personal injury actions, wrongful death actions, and unpaid overtime actions. Some lawyers do significant TV and other advertising to reach this particular segment of the community. Employers often threaten deportation and ask for legal residency documentation and are surprised when they find that California law and other states actually prohibit inquiries of that nature after a claim has been filed. The time to determine a legal right to work in the US is before employment begins. Generally rights are more limited in foreign countries and on occasion tourists get into serious trouble when they discover that they don't have the same rights in the foreign country as they did in their native country. Sometimes a foreign country imposes a duty to act, to do certain things and individuals who are unfamiliar with the country they are visiting may be arrested or penalized for failure to take the responsibility expected of anyone in that country.