Frequently Asked Questions

No. A consultation is billed at $500 per hour. If you hire us for the matter we discussed, the consultation fee is credited toward your fees for that matter.

We will tell you the fee before the consultation is booked.

Yes. Consultations can be held by video (Zoom or WeChat video), by phone, or in person at one of our offices. Tell us which you prefer when you book.

Our attorneys work in English and Mandarin, and JJ Zhang also speaks Shanghainese. Our office staff can also help in Spanish.

West Covina (main office), City of Industry, Pasadena and Newport Beach in California, and Flushing, New York, for immigration matters only. Call 626-888-6856 to book at any office.

Any letters, notices or court papers you have received, with their envelopes; contracts, leases or other documents about the problem; your immigration documents (passport, visa, I-94, any USCIS or immigration court papers) if it is an immigration matter; and a short timeline of what happened. Copies or phone photos are fine.

It depends on the matter: a flat fee for many immigration filings and estate plans, hourly billing for litigation and ongoing work, and a percentage of the recovery for many injury cases. Before we start, you receive a written fee agreement that says what the fee covers and how it is paid.

Immigration law is federal, so we handle immigration matters for clients anywhere in the United States. Other matters (lawsuits, real estate, landlord-tenant, estate planning and injury) are handled under California law.

Not automatically for most people any more. For renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025, USCIS ended the automatic extension that used to keep many work permits (EADs) valid while the renewal was pending. A few categories are still covered by separate rules.

File your renewal as early as the rules allow (generally up to 180 days before the card expires) and keep your receipt notice.

Both protect someone who fears persecution in their home country because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Asylum can lead to a green card and can include a spouse and children. Withholding of removal only stops removal to that country; it does not lead to a green card or cover family members, and it requires a higher showing (that persecution is more likely than not).

Withholding has no one-year filing deadline, which makes it important for people who missed the asylum deadline.

Yes. Asylum generally must be filed within one year of your last arrival in the United States. There are exceptions for changed circumstances and for extraordinary circumstances that caused the delay, but they are narrow. If you are near or past the deadline, speak with a lawyer promptly.

Sometimes. Who may ask an immigration judge for a bond, and who is held without one, has changed several times in 2025 and 2026 through agency decisions and federal court rulings, and it can depend on how and when the person entered the United States. Some people may need to go to federal court (a habeas petition).

Act quickly: find the person’s A-number and detention location, and talk to a lawyer about the options that apply to them.

Only with care. Leaving the United States while an adjustment of status application (Form I-485) is pending usually abandons it unless you first get advance parole. Even with advance parole, travel can carry risks for some people, depending on their history. Speak with a lawyer before you book a trip.

Family petitions and green cards, employment visas (including L-1 intracompany transfers) and investor visas, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJ) for young people, naturalization, asylum, immigration court defense, appeals, and federal court cases such as habeas petitions and mandamus lawsuits over delayed applications.

California’s intestacy rules decide who inherits. Generally the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner receives the community property, and the separate property is shared between the spouse and the children (or, if there are no children, parents or siblings). An estate above the small-estate limits usually has to go through probate.

A will says who receives your property, but property passing under a will usually has to go through probate, which is public and can take a year or more. A funded living trust holds your property during your life and passes it to your beneficiaries without probate. Many California homeowners use a trust for that reason. A will is still useful alongside a trust, for example to name guardians for minor children.

No. Property held in a trust, in joint tenancy, or with a named beneficiary (life insurance, retirement accounts, payable-on-death accounts) passes outside probate. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, personal property and other assets totaling up to $208,850 can usually be collected with a small-estate affidavit, and a primary residence worth up to $750,000 may pass through a simpler court petition instead of full probate.

Often about 9 to 18 months for a straightforward estate, and longer if there is a dispute, real estate to sell, or a tax issue. Court calendars in Los Angeles County can add time.

In California a tenant generally has 10 court days (weekends and court holidays are not counted) after being served with an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit to file a response. If no response is filed, the landlord can ask for a default judgment. Do not wait: read the papers right away and get advice.

It depends on the reason. For unpaid rent, a 3-day notice to pay or quit (weekends and court holidays are not counted). To end a month-to-month tenancy, usually 30 or 60 days’ notice, or 90 days in some subsidized housing. Many California rentals are also covered by the Tenant Protection Act or a local ordinance, which require a just-cause reason and sometimes relocation payments. A defective notice can sink the case, so it is worth getting it right.

In California, generally two years from the accident for personal injury and three years for property damage. If a city, county, state agency or other public entity was involved, a written claim usually must be filed within six months. Other deadlines can apply, so do not wait.

Get medical care first. Then exchange driver, insurance and vehicle information, take photos of the scene and the vehicles, get witnesses’ contact details, report the accident to your insurer, and keep your medical records and bills. Be careful what you say to the other driver’s insurance company before you get advice.

If your brand matters to your business, usually yes. A federal registration gives you nationwide rights, a public record of your ownership, and the right to use the ® symbol. The USPTO’s base filing fee is $350 per class of goods or services (2025 fee schedule). It is worth searching for conflicting marks before you file.

In California, generally four years from the breach for a written contract and two years for an oral contract. A contract can sometimes shorten these periods, and other claims have their own deadlines.