Terms of Use: Communications & Confidentiality

These terms govern your use of acquestlaw.com, our client app, and every way you communicate with Acquest Law Inc. They work together with our Legal Notices & Privacy Policy. If the two conflict, the privacy policy controls how we handle personal information.

1. Who we are and what these terms cover

This website and app are published by Acquest Law Inc., a California professional law corporation, 3838 Watt Avenue, F-600, Sacramento, CA 95821. The attorney responsible for them is Nareshwar Singh Virdi, a member of the State Bar of California and a Certified Specialist, Immigration and Nationality Law, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.

These terms apply when you visit the website, use the client app, book an appointment, or contact us by phone, text, WhatsApp, email, video, or the client portal. By doing any of these things, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the website or app, and call the office instead.

These terms do not replace a signed fee agreement. If you become a client, your fee agreement controls the scope of our work, the fee, and how the representation ends. Where your fee agreement and these terms differ, the fee agreement controls.

2. When we become your lawyers

We become your lawyers only when the firm signs a written fee agreement with you. Visiting the website, calling, texting, emailing, booking an appointment, attending a free intake call, or sending documents does not by itself make you a client. Information on the website is general and is not legal advice for your situation.

A consultation is advice on the facts you give us that day. It does not mean we will file anything, appear for you, or watch your deadlines until a fee agreement is signed and, for immigration court, we have filed our notice of appearance (see Section 7).

3. If you contact us about hiring us (prospective clients)

When you consult us about possible representation, we keep what you tell us confidential, even if we never take your case. California law treats information from a prospective client with the same confidentiality as information from a client (Business and Professions Code section 6068(e)(1); Rules of Professional Conduct 1.6 and 1.18).

Before a fee agreement is signed, please share only what we need to check for conflicts of interest and schedule your consultation:

• your full name and the names of any other people involved, including family members and any opposing party;
• your A-number, if you have one;
• the immigration court or agency handling your case;
• any hearing date, filing deadline, or detention.

Please do not send declarations, criminal records, medical records, or a detailed account of your claim until the attorney asks for them. If we learn of a conflict, we may have to decline your case. Limiting what you share early helps protect you and lets us help others whose cases may relate to yours.

If we decline your case, we will tell you in writing. Declining is not an opinion on the merits of your case, and immigration deadlines keep running. Please contact another lawyer promptly.

4. Confidentiality

We keep your information confidential and do not reveal it without your informed consent, except where the law allows or requires it (Business and Professions Code section 6068(e); Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6). Our duty of confidentiality continues after your case ends.

Who sees your information inside the firm

Our paralegals, law clerks, and staff work on your case under the attorney's direct supervision and are bound by the same duty of confidentiality (Rule of Professional Conduct 5.3). Law clerks are not licensed to practice law in the United States, and staff who are not attorneys do not give legal advice.

Service providers

We use outside services to run the firm, such as case-management, scheduling, payment, video, email, and phone systems. We choose them with reasonable care and share only what they need to provide the service. Our privacy policy lists them.

Filing with the government

Representing you means filing your information with the immigration courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, USCIS, ICE, and federal courts. We file only what your case requires and only as your lawyers.

Asylum information

Information in an asylum application is protected by federal regulation and generally may not be disclosed to third parties without your written consent (8 C.F.R. § 1208.6). Please tell us before you share any part of your asylum claim with anyone, including community groups, reporters, or social media.

Family members and other people in the room

Your conversations with us may lose the protection of the attorney-client privilege if people are present who are not needed for the consultation (Evidence Code section 952). A relative who pays your fee is not our client unless the fee agreement says so. We will not discuss your case with them without your written permission, and we may ask to speak with you alone. Interpreters and others reasonably needed to help you communicate with us do not waive the privilege.

Recording

We do not record calls or video meetings without telling everyone first and getting their consent, as California law requires (Penal Code section 632). Please do not record calls with us without telling us. If you want a record of advice, ask, and we will confirm it in writing.

5. How we communicate with you

Use the secure client portal or client app for documents and case details. Use phone, text, WhatsApp, and email for scheduling and short questions.

• Client portal and client app: for documents, case details, and messages to your case team. Encrypted and login required. Preferred for anything confidential.
• Phone and Zoom: for consultations and case discussions. Private if you are somewhere others cannot hear you.
• Email (inquire@acquestlaw.com): for scheduling, short questions, and receipts. Not encrypted end to end. Avoid sending sensitive documents.
• Text messages (916-963-6554): for reminders, scheduling, and quick questions. Not encrypted, and visible on your lock screen and to anyone using your phone.
• WhatsApp (916-963-6554): for scheduling and quick questions, especially from abroad. Encrypted in transit, but run by Meta and stored on your phone.

Protect your own devices and accounts

Do not use an employer's email, phone, or computer to contact us; your employer may be able to read those messages. Do not use a phone or email account that someone else can open, including a family member or a person you fear. Tell us if it is not safe for us to call, text, or leave a message, and we will agree on a safe way to reach you. This matters especially in VAWA, U visa, and other cases involving abuse.

Our choice of technology

Before using a technology for client information, we consider how secure it is, how sensitive the information is, and any instructions you give us (State Bar of California Formal Opinion No. 2010-179). If you want us to avoid a channel or use extra protection, tell us and we will follow your instructions where we can.

Language

We communicate in English, Hindi, and Punjabi, and will use an interpreter for other languages. Tell us your preferred language. Important advice and your fee agreement will be explained in a language you understand.

Text message and WhatsApp terms

• Consent. When you text or message us, or give us your mobile number and ask us to contact you, you agree that we may text or message you about your appointments, case, documents, invoices, and payments.
• No marketing sharing. We do not sell, rent, or share your mobile number or your consent to receive texts with any third party for marketing. Our phone and messaging providers receive them only to deliver our messages.
• Not required. Agreeing to texts is not a condition of hiring us. You can ask us to use only phone calls, email, or the portal.
• Frequency and cost. How many messages you get depends on your case. Message and data rates may apply.
• Stopping. Reply STOP to stop text messages, or HELP for help. You can also tell us by phone or email. We will confirm once and then stop texting you. We may still need to reach you by phone, mail, or email about your case.
• No confidential details by text. We will not text you passwords, Social Security numbers, or the details of your claim, and we ask you not to text them to us.

6. Response times, deadlines, and keeping in touch

We will keep clients reasonably informed of significant developments, answer reasonable requests for information promptly, and explain matters so they can make informed decisions (Business and Professions Code section 6068(m); Rule of Professional Conduct 1.4). Federal immigration rules also require practitioners to keep in communication with their clients (8 C.F.R. § 1003.102(r)).

We aim to answer client messages within 2 business days. Messages sent after hours, on weekends, or on holidays are read the next business day. Court appearances may delay replies.

Deadlines

Immigration deadlines are strict and some cannot be extended. If you are not yet our client, do not rely on a message, voicemail, or booking to protect a deadline. If you have a hearing, a filing deadline, or a family member in detention, say so in your first message and call the office.

What clients agree to do

• Keep your address current. Tell us right away when you move. If you are in immigration court, you must also notify the court in writing within 5 days of moving, using Form EOIR-33 (8 C.F.R. § 1003.15(d)(2)). If your address is wrong, you may miss a hearing notice, and missing a hearing can lead to an order of removal in your absence. We will help you file the form.
• Keep your phone number and email current, and check the client portal regularly.
• Tell us at once about any notice, letter, or contact from the immigration court, USCIS, ICE, or police, and about any arrest, travel, or change in family status.
• Tell us the truth. We cannot submit information we know to be false, and we must correct false evidence if we learn of it (Rule of Professional Conduct 3.3; 8 C.F.R. § 1003.102(c)). Giving false information can destroy your case and lead to permanent bars.
• Review what we prepare. Read your applications and declarations before signing, with an interpreter if needed, and tell us of any mistake.

7. Representation before the immigration courts and DHS

We appear for you in immigration court only after we file a Form EOIR-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative Before the Immigration Court. EOIR's Immigration Court Practice Manual recognizes a practitioner of record only through that form (EOIR Practice Manual, ch. 2.1). Before the Board of Immigration Appeals we file Form EOIR-27, and before USCIS or ICE, Form G-28. Your fee agreement says which proceedings we are hired for.

Limited representation

If we agree only to help prepare documents, we may file Form EOIR-61 for that limited purpose. In that case we are not your attorney for hearings, and you remain responsible for appearing and for any deadlines outside the agreed task.

Notices come to us

Once we appear, the court and DHS generally send notices to us as your attorney of record. We will forward or explain every notice to you promptly. You still must keep your own address current with the court (Section 6).

Who may represent you

Only licensed attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives may represent you before the immigration courts or DHS. Notarios, notaries public, immigration consultants, and visa consultants may not. Acquest Law is a private law firm and is not part of EOIR, USCIS, ICE, DHS, or any court.

Professional standards

As practitioners before EOIR and DHS, our attorneys follow the federal rules of professional conduct in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.102 and § 1292.3, in addition to the California Rules of Professional Conduct. Those rules require competent representation, diligence, communication with you, respect for your decisions about the goals of your case, and truthful filings.

Ending or changing representation

If you hire another lawyer, or we withdraw, the immigration judge may need to approve the change. We will help with an orderly transfer and will release your client file to you promptly on request (Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16(e)).

8. Using the website and app

General information only

Website pages, immigration updates, and videos describe the law in general on the date posted. Immigration law changes often. Do not act on them without advice about your own case. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Our content

Text, videos, logos, and design on the website and app belong to Acquest Law Inc. You may share links and print pages for personal use. You may not copy or republish them, or present them as your own, without written permission.

Acceptable use

Do not use the website, app, or portal to send unlawful, threatening, or harmful content; to access another person's account; or to interfere with the site's security.

Other websites and services

We link to government sites and to services we use, such as Calendly, Docketwise, Clio, Zoom, and WhatsApp. Those services have their own terms and privacy policies, and we do not control them. Government forms are free on official government websites.

Payment safety

We accept payment only through our payment page, our secure payment portal, or Zelle to Acquest Law Inc. We will never ask you to pay by gift card, cryptocurrency, or wire to a personal account. If anyone gives you different instructions, call 916-963-6554 before paying.

9. Records

We keep client files for as long as California law and the State Bar rules require, and we return your file to you on request at the end of the representation. We may keep records of consultations to check conflicts of interest in the future.

10. Limits of these terms

The website and app are provided "as is." We try to keep them accurate and available but cannot promise they will be error-free or uninterrupted. To the extent the law allows, Acquest Law is not liable for losses caused by using or being unable to use the website or app. This limit applies only to the website and app. It does not limit our duties or liability to clients for legal services, which California law does not allow a lawyer to limit by agreement (Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8.8).

11. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by California law. Any dispute about these terms will be heard in the courts of Sacramento County, California, unless the law requires otherwise. If you are a client and have a dispute about fees, you may have the right to request arbitration under California's Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program (Business and Professions Code sections 6200–6206). The State Bar of California also accepts questions and complaints about lawyers at calbar.ca.gov.

12. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. We will post the new version on this page with a new effective date. Changes do not affect a fee agreement already signed.

13. Translations

Hindi and Punjabi versions of these terms are provided for convenience. If there is a difference in meaning, the English version controls.

14. Contact

Acquest Law Inc., 3838 Watt Avenue, F-600, Sacramento, CA 95821 · 916-963-6554 · inquire@acquestlaw.com