At the Law Office of Lu & Associates, our overriding goal is to work alongside our clients as a trusted adviser, providing the highest-quality and most cost-effective legal services in an atmosphere emphasizing teamwork, creativity, responsiveness and diversity.
Our firm offers a wide range of immigration services with an outstanding record of success. The legal services that Lu & Associates provides include temporary work visa applications, such as H-1B, L, E, and O visas, employment based immigration petitions from EB-1 to EB-3 categories, investment immigration visas (also known as EB-5), family based green card applications, naturalization and more.
While located in San Francisco, we provide representation for a clientele located throughout the world. Our reputation and history of successful immigration cases and clients speak for themselves. We pride ourselves in helping individuals and businesses - large or small, which simply need to know how to proceed in the complex world of U.S. Immigration Law. At Lu & Associates, you are not “just another client”. We treat all of our clients with respect and take the time to carefully explain the process and what you can expect at the outset of our representation. When you retain our firm, you can rest assured that our attorneys will do their utmost to help you achieve your United States immigration goals.
Our San Francisco based immigration lawyer can help you work through a wide range of issues related to U.S. work visas, green cards, and citizenship.
Help from a reliable immigration lawyer can save time and money that would otherwise be spent to reopen a denied case or stop removal proceedings due to modest mistakes you inadvertently made in a visa or green card application.
Even officials at the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) agreed that immigration law was complex. "Immigration law is a mystery and a mastery of obfuscation, and the lawyers who can figure it out are worth their weight in gold," said INS spokeswoman Karen Kraushaar.
Because the immigration laws and regulations are constantly changing, keeping up with the changes requires dexterity. If you are facing legal challenges related to immigration, we can step in and increase your chances of success. We provide legal representation, should you need it.
It is always better to preemptively seek out legal advice before you file any immigration petition or application than to seek remedies when things turn bad. Quality legal advice will help you get your applications right the first time so you can meet your goals and avoid dealing with multiple applications, which may delay your immigration process for years. At worst, legal mistakes can result in removal proceedings or deportation. With such high stakes, it makes sense to contact an immigration law firm as soon as possible.
Becoming a permanent resident, for example, can take years and lots of resources to achieve. It may take even longer without support from a professional. Our San Francisco immigration lawyers are familiar with the immigration laws and the local United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices, which means we can provide more up-to-date advice.
Even very similar immigration cases can vary slightly depending on the person’s unique situation, which is why a lawyer's input is so essential. Small differences can make a significant impact on a person's immigration benefits.
An immigration expert will be able to provide specific, applicable advice that will lead you through a lengthy but smooth immigration process. When you submit an application correctly the first time, you'll save years of time and potentially thousands of dollars.
An immigration lawyer will help you navigate the legal system as you face immigration issues of any kind. It can be a challenge to obtain lawful immigrant or non-immigrant status without a lawyer's guidance. Organizing a coherent petition, meeting paperwork deadlines, submission of evidence, and other obstacles can get in your way.
An immigration lawyer can interpret the laws and update you about the changes of the immigration laws, regulations, and rules. Many immigration law firms provide free initial consultation for general questions, though a case specific analysis may require a fee. If you have any confusion about the laws or need someone to help you understand the application process, you may want to take advantage of the 20-minute free consultation generously offered by our firm.
An immigration lawyer normally assists you with analyzing case specific facts, strategies, options and guides you through every step of the immigration process. In addition, because the success of immigration related petitions/applications heavily rely on the paperwork that the petitioners or applicants submit, by hiring an experienced immigration lawyer, you will have a peace of mind knowing that the forms are properly completed and the requested evidence is included. Should you receive a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID), your immigration lawyer knows what to do and how to challenge the U.S. government’s incorrect application of laws or policies, if any. With the help of an experienced immigration attorney, you may avoid or shorten the delays and get an approval on your case in a timely manner.
Overall, we aim to help you have a successful adjustment to living in the United States, whether you're seeking a temporary visa or want to become a resident or citizen.
Choosing the right immigration lawyer will make the process go much more smoothly. Experienced lawyers can give your case the attention it deserves, and we can help you meet your goals.
Your lawyer should be accredited by the state bar association, with practical experience in the field, so that he or she can give you the best advice possible and guide you through your immigration case. U.S. immigration law is a federal law, which means that an immigration lawyer licensed in any U.S. state can help you, even if you are currently living in another state, or a foreign country.
A licensed immigration attorney is bound by the rules of professional responsibility and is regulated by the bar where he/she is admitted. However, there are many so-called “immigration consultants”. They are actually not lawyers but practising law without a license, which is a crime. Though they may charge a lower fee than immigration lawyers, due to the lack of necessary legal knowledge and experience, they are more likely to mess up cases and cause irreparable damages to you.
Our attorneys are licensed both in the United States and China. Serving individuals and businesses for more than a decade in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have gained peer recognition in the field of immigration law.
We only practice immigration law. By focusing exclusively on this nuanced and fast-moving area of law, we are able to keep up with the changes that could affect your case. We represent businesses, as well as individuals and families undergoing the U.S. immigration process. We take pride in the quality of our work and our attention to detail.
Here are some of the related practice areas our firm specializes in:
Serving as immigration counsel for businesses, we work closely with Human Resources (HR) in hiring decisions and advise on the best visa options for their employees and job candidates. We explain how the process will work, making sure that the HRs understand what they should expect. Immigration petitions can be very costly for employers, counting the legal fee, government fees, and advertisement costs if a Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) is needed. We try our best to save money for employers with strategic planning tailored for each specific case. Our goal is to make HR’s work easier and help employers retain their valuable employees.
While working with individual clients, we listen to their needs. Whether they are seeking a temporary work visa, a student visa or a green card, we can always come up with solutions that deliver favorable results for the individual clients and their families. We help our clients realize their American Dream.
Immigrant visas allow a person to live and work in the United States permanently. According to a report prepared by Migration Policy Institute in April 2019, in recent years, the United States has granted about 1 million green cards annually; roughly half are given to immigrants already in the United States who are adjusting from another status (for example temporary worker or student). The remainder go to applicants outside the United States. In both cases, the majority of these visas require sponsorship by a relative or employer.
Therefore, family based immigration and employment based immigration are the top two channels for people seeking U.S. permanent residency.
Family Based Immigration
Immediate family of U.S. citizens: U.S. citizens can sponsor their spouses, unmarried children under age 21, and parents for a green card. This category does not have annual numerical limits.
Family-sponsored preference visas: Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets an annual minimum family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000. U.S. citizens can sponsor both married and unmarried sons and daughters 21 years of age or older and siblings, while green-card holders can sponsor their spouses, unmarried children under 21 years of age, and adult children 21 years of age or older who are unmarried. Different visa preference categories may have different length of visa backlogs.
Employment Based Immigration
There are 140,000 green cards set aside each year for immigrants in five employment-based preference classes. Almost all employment-based immigrants need employer’s sponsorship, except those who possess extraordinary ability, whose work benefits the national interest or EB-5 investors.
The goal of our firm is to help with complex immigration cases and give immigrants a voice in the legal system when they need it most. The immigration process can be time-consuming and costly. We are grateful for the trust our clients put in us and strive to reward that trust with desirable results. Should you have general questions about the immigration laws and processes, feel free to schedule a free 20-minute one-on-one consultation with us.
Or, you may fill out a contact form on our website, stating your desire to be represented. Please include a brief overview of your current status or situation.
Once it has been determined that the law Office of Lu & Associates will represent you, you will receive a Legal Service Agreement (LSA) from our firm. The LRA will contain details about the service scope and the fee schedule.
After the LSA and the required initial payments are returned to us, we will start working on your case. We will keep you posted on the case progress. Our attorney is reachable throughout the process.
The Law Office of Lu & Associates provides service to the entire San Francisco Bay Area, including but not limited to San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda, Burlingame, Berkeley, Campbell, Cupertino, Daly City, Union City, San Mateo, Danville, Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon, Fremont, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Santa Clara, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Milpitas . We also serve clients nationwide and worldwide. Thank you for your interest in the Law Office of Lu & Associates. We look forward to helping you, your family, and friends in U.S. immigration matters!
As a law firm, our fundamental goal is to achieve the greatest benefit for our clients. Our values are:
At Lu & Associates, we work hard to earn your trust by giving wise counsel, offering attentive client care, and realizing beneficial results. We understand that each case is unique. We are totally committed to tailoring our service to your individual interests and needs. We will keep you informed of your case progress and respond to your concerns promptly.
To succeed in the practice of law requires a deep and sincerely desire to help people. For us, the desire to help people is not only a recipe for success but also the reason why Lu & Associates is founded. We are a group of people who passionately love doing our own job. We strive to excel in legal skills, customer delight and adherence to ethical principles.
At Lu & Associates, we treat everyone with courtesy and respect. We work closely as a team while encouraging everyone to show initiative. We believe that an atmosphere of openness and friendliness in the workplace is essential for the firm to go further.
