Levitt & Needleman, P.C. is committed to protecting your privacy, and we treat all of your information with the utmost respect.
Levitt & Needleman collects, uses, shares, and otherwise processes personal information in compliance with data privacy laws, including EU Regulation 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). We want to ensure that you are informed about the security and use of the personal information that we receive, store, and process on your behalf.
Accordingly, this Privacy Policy and Notice (“Privacy Notice”) is intended to inform you about Levitt & Needleman, P.C.’s privacy practices. This Privacy Notice describes the types of personal information we collect, how we may use that information, our legal bases for using your personal information, and with whom it may be shared. It also outlines the measures taken to ensure your personal information’s security, how long we keep your personal information, and your rights regarding your personal information. This serves as your guarantee that we will maintain the confidentiality and privacy of the personal information that you have entrusted to us.
In this Privacy Notice references to “we,” “our,” “the Firm,” or “us” are to Levitt & Needleman, P.C., a New York registered professional corporation.
Types of Personal Information We Collect About You and How We Collect Your Personal Information
For purposes of providing immigration consulting and legal services, the Firm collects certain personal information about you. We will not be able to provide immigration consulting or legal services if we are not provided with all relevant personal information. We will only seek to collect personal information that is adequate, relevant and not excessive to fulfill the purpose(s) for which it was requested.
To provide necessary immigration consulting and legal services, the Firm collects and processes personal information including , but not limited to, your name, birthdate, marital status, nationality, passport and visa information, contact information, and educational and employment background. Where required for the service, the Firm also collects certain personal documents, including but not limited to, passport copies, IDs, photographs, educational documents, resumes, visa copies, birth certificates, marriage certificates.
Certain categories of personal information that we request from you may be considered “sensitive” and are subject to a higher level of data protection. These categories may include race or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, sex life or sexual orientation, physical or mental health or condition, data relating to offenses and/or criminal convictions. In the context of the services we provide, the Firm may collect sensitive personal information in limited circumstances when such information is necessary to provide you with immigration consulting or legal services. We will ask for your explicit consent to process such sensitive data whenever necessary.
We receive personally identifiable information that you voluntarily submit in the course of our business acceptance procedures, or when you send us an email, or by other direct contact with our lawyers and staff. In addition, we may obtain personal information from third-party sources, such as your current or prospective employer, business associates, or relatives. In the event that we collect such information from a third-party source, we will inform you within a reasonable period after obtaining the data. We will not, however, share your information with those or any other third parties unless it is within the scope of the legal services we are providing to you. Even if you are just a subscriber, and do not receive direct services from us, we will not be disclosing your personal or contact information to third parties without your consent.
Legal Bases for Using Your Personal Information And How We Use Your Personal Information
If you do provide your personal information and if you are or become a client of the Firm, we may use your personal information to provide you with immigration consulting and legal services, including, but not limited to: analyzing, completing and processing immigration, visa and related filings and submissions to relevant government agencies, providing legal and consultative advice as to eligibility to obtain immigration benefits, and responding to any requests or inquiries you may have.
We may also use your personal information in other instances in connection with the services we provide when processing of your personal information is in our legitimate interests and/or the legitimate interests of a third-party to do so. In addition, we may process personal information to comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
How we share your personal information
We do not disclose information except as described in this Privacy Notice. We will not sell, share, transfer, rent, use, or distribute your information for purposes other than those disclosed here unless required by law or as authorized by you.
As part of the immigration consulting and legal services we have been directed to provide, the Firm discloses personal information to government agencies and immigration authorities. We also share information with certain third-party service providers we have retained in connection with the services we provide, such as translators, education evaluation services, information technology service provider, case management solutions provider, and photocopying and scanning service providers. We take steps to require that service providers protect the information consistently with this Privacy Notice. These third-party service providers are authorized to use the information only as necessary to perform services on our behalf or to comply with the law or legal process.
How We Protect Personal Information
Our firm has developed and implemented security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the personal information that we keep. We take all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps taken to protect your information include premises security, restricted file access to personal information, deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access, and internal password and security policies. We also ensure that any of the Firm’s employees who deal with personal information are properly trained and are aware of the necessary measures and appropriate standards of conduct with regard to the protection of personal information.
We take steps to require that third parties who assist in our provision of services abide by all applicable privacy and data protection laws and prohibit them from using your information other than in connection with the services they have been engaged to provide.
How long we keep your personal information
We retain your personal information for the length of time required for the specific purposes for which it is processed by our Firm and which are set out in this Privacy Notice, after which, we take steps to delete or anonymize the information. However, we may be obliged to keep your personal information for a longer period, for example, where required by our legal and regulatory obligations or in order to ensure we have effective back-up systems. In such cases, we will ensure that your personal information will continue to be treated in accordance with this Privacy Notice, and ensure that they are held securely and kept confidential.
Your rights regarding your personal information
If you reside in the EU you may have the following rights under EU data protection laws:
- To request access to your personal information. This enables you to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
- To correct any incomplete or inaccurate personal information that we hold about you.
- To request us to delete or remove from our systems your personal information where there is no legal basis for us continuing to process it.
- To request us to suspend processing of your personal information, for example, if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.
- To request the transfer of your personal information to a third party.
- To withdraw any consent that you have provided to us for processing your personal information.
- To make a complaint to a local supervisory authority about how we are processing your personal information.
If you reside in a jurisdiction outside the EU, you may also have rights under applicable laws in connection with your personal information that we collect, hold and process.
Updates to this policy
We may change this privacy policy at any time, and will make an updated copy of such Privacy Policy available on our website. Please check this policy regularly to ensure that you are familiar with its contents.
Contact information
If you have any questions about this privacy policy or you would like to exercise any of your rights relating to your personal information, please contact us at:
Levitt & Needleman, P.C.
145 W 57th Street, 10th Floor
New York, New York 10019
T: 212-757-8438
F: 212-713-0746
Levittandneedleman.com
Email:
Arivera@levittandneedleman.com