Privacy Policy

1. About this policy

The Law Office of Shifa Soressa ("the Firm," "we," "us") is an immigration law firm located in New York, New York. This policy explains what personal information we collect about people who visit shifalaw.com or use our client portal at portal.shifalaw.com, how we use it, how we store it, and the choices you have regarding it. It applies to information collected through the website, the client portal, and the case-management tools the Firm uses internally to represent its clients.

This policy does not describe the confidentiality obligations the Firm owes to its clients under the New York Rules of Professional Conduct and applicable attorney–client privilege rules, which are separate from and broader than this policy.

2. Information we collect

We collect the following categories of personal information:

a. Contact information — name (first, middle, last), email address, mailing address, telephone number, country of birth or citizenship, language preference.

b. Immigration case information — A-number, USCIS receipt numbers (e.g., WAC2590156148, MSC2390123456, IOE0000123456) issued to the client for each filed petition or application, court hearing dates, USCIS appointment dates, deadline dates, case type (e.g., asylum, adjustment of status, naturalization), priority date, filing date, and the documents the client provides to the Firm in connection with their case.

c. Communications — emails, SMS text messages, voice-call metadata and transcripts (when permitted by Quo / OpenPhone plan), portal messages, and notes the Firm creates about a matter.

d. Billing information — name, billing address, invoice amounts, payment history, and (for online payments) the last four digits of a card or the bank account masked identifier. Full card and bank account numbers are processed by our payment processors (Square and AffiniPay / LawPay) and are not stored by the Firm.

e. Website usage information — IP address, browser type, pages visited, time of visit, and referring URL (collected by the website hosting service and analytics tools).

We do not intentionally collect personal information from anyone we know to be under 13 years old. If a parent or guardian provides such information in connection with a child client's immigration matter, we treat that information under the same confidentiality and security standards as adult-client information.

3. How we collect it

We collect the categories above:

• When you complete a contact form, a consultation-booking form, or an online intake form on shifalaw.com.
• When you email, call, text, or send a message through our client portal.
• When you upload documents to the client portal or send them to us by email or mail.
• When you sign an engagement agreement and provide information about your case.
• When the Firm queries the USCIS Case Status API on your behalf (see Section 4).
• When you visit shifalaw.com (limited usage data, automatically collected by the website host).

4. How we use your information — including USCIS Case Status API

a. Legal representation. We use the personal information we collect to provide legal services to our clients: opening and managing case files, preparing and filing applications and petitions, communicating with USCIS, EOIR, federal courts, consulates, and opposing counsel on your behalf, tracking deadlines, and billing.

b. USCIS Case Status API. With our clients' authorization (granted in the engagement agreement), the Firm transmits its clients' USCIS receipt numbers to the official USCIS Case Status API to retrieve the current status of those filings. We do this at most once per receipt number per day, through an authenticated server-to-server connection. When the API returns a status that differs from what we have on file, we record the new status in the client's case file, notify the responsible attorney, and (at the attorney's discretion) share the update with the client through the secure client portal. The status data returned by USCIS is used solely to manage the client's representation. We do not aggregate, sell, share, or otherwise monetize this data.

c. Communications. We use your contact information to communicate with you about your case, send appointment confirmations and deadline reminders, share documents, and respond to inquiries. SMS messages are sent through Quo (formerly OpenPhone). You may opt out of non-urgent SMS reminders by replying STOP.

d. Billing and payments. Billing information is used to invoice you for services rendered and to process payments through Square and AffiniPay / LawPay.

e. Website operation. Usage data is used to operate, secure, and improve shifalaw.com.

We do not use your information for marketing, advertising, profiling, or any purpose not directly related to your representation or the operation of the website.

5. How we store and protect it

Client personal information is stored in the following systems, all of which are encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest:

• Supabase (Postgres database) — case records, deadline anchors, appointments, user accounts.
• Google Drive (Google Workspace) — uploaded documents and case notes, stored in per-client folders under the Firm's Workspace account.
• Square / AffiniPay (LawPay) — invoicing and payment processing.
• Quo (OpenPhone) — SMS message history and call records.
• Railway — the application server that runs the Firm's case-management system.

Access to these systems is restricted to Firm staff who need it for their work and is protected by individual logins, multi-factor authentication where available, and role-based permissions. Documents and case notes are stored in folders dedicated to each client and are not commingled.

6. When we share it

We share your personal information only as needed to provide legal services or as required by law:

• With government agencies and courts when filing petitions, applications, motions, briefs, evidence, and related submissions on your behalf (including USCIS, EOIR, the State Department, federal courts, and consulates).
• With opposing counsel, mediators, interpreters, and expert witnesses as required by the matter.
• With the service providers listed in Section 5, who process information on our behalf under written agreements and are not permitted to use it for any other purpose.
• When required by a subpoena, court order, or other legal process, after asserting any applicable privileges.

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We do not share it with marketers, advertisers, or data brokers.

7. Retention

We retain client information for the duration of the engagement and afterwards in accordance with our records-retention policy and applicable rules of professional conduct. In general, client files are retained for at least seven years after the matter closes, after which records are securely destroyed unless we are required by law or a court order to keep them longer. Information about prospective clients who did not retain the Firm is generally deleted within a reasonable period after the inquiry.

You may request that we delete information about you that we are not required to retain (see Section 9).

8. Cookies and analytics

The shifalaw.com website uses essential cookies required for the site to function. We do not use third-party advertising trackers. The client portal at portal.shifalaw.com uses a secure session cookie to keep you logged in.

9. Your choices and rights

You may:

• Ask us what personal information we have about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate information.
• Ask us to delete information we are not required by law or professional rules to retain.
• Opt out of non-urgent SMS reminders by replying STOP to a text message.
• Withdraw consent at any time for any optional processing (for example, you may instruct us to stop querying the USCIS Case Status API on your behalf — note that this will require the Firm to monitor your case status manually).

To make any of these requests, email info@shifalaw.com or call 212-564-0088.

10. Mobile / SMS messaging consent

When you provide a mobile phone number to the Firm, you consent to receive case-related SMS messages from us — including appointment confirmations, deadline reminders, and case-status updates — at that number. Standard message and data rates may apply. We do not share mobile phone numbers or the content of SMS messages with third parties for marketing or promotional purposes. SMS opt-in data and consent are not shared with third parties for any purpose other than delivering the messages you have asked us to send. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date at the top of the page indicates when it was last revised. Material changes will be brought to clients' attention through the client portal or by email.

12. Contact

Questions about this policy or any of the rights described above:

The Law Office of Shifa Soressa
1 West 34th Street, Suite 702, New York, NY 10001
Email: info@shifalaw.com
Phone: 212-564-0088