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Foster LLP Privacy Notice

Foster LLP (“Foster” or “we”) takes data privacy very seriously. We are committed to protecting the privacy of our clients, business associates, and visitors to our website. This Privacy Notice explains what personal information our firm collects from you and what we do with that data. It also explains who to contact to exercise your privacy rights or to ask questions about our privacy practices.

By providing your personal data to us (whether via our website, online case management portal, by email, in person, or over the phone), you agree to the processing set out in this Privacy Notice. Further notices highlighting additional uses we wish to make of your personal data, together with the ability to opt in or out of selected uses, may also be provided to you when we collect personal data from you.

Please note: This Privacy Notice does not apply to, and Foster is not responsible for, any third party websites that may be accessible through links from this website. If you follow a link to any of these third party websites, they will have their own privacy policies and you will need to check these policies before you submit any personal data to them.

Who is Foster?

Foster LLP is a limited liability partnership organized under the laws of the State of Texas in the United States. We have offices in Houston and Austin, Texas. Foster also has affiliate an company in El Salvador (FosterGlobal SA de CV) and its representative office in Vietnam, and an affiliate company in China (Foster Beijing Business Management, LLC). Our postal address is 3 Greenway Plaza #800, Houston, TX 77046, USA. We are in immigration law firm providing immigration legal services and related services to corporations and individuals around the world.

Data collection and use

Client services

Purpose

As an immigration law firm, Foster is engaged by both individuals and employers to provide immigration legal services and related services.

When we are engaged by an individual directly, we will collect personal data about that individual and, as needed, his or her family in order to provide those services.

When we are engaged by an employer, we will collect personal data about the employer’s employees and contractors and, as needed, their families in order to provide those services.

What we collect

In order to provide immigration legal services and related services, Foster collects personal data such as an individual’s name, address, telephone number, birth date, passport number, employment history, educational qualifications, marital status, job title, immigration status, and immigration history. We also collect documentation such as copies of passports, photos, visas, resumes or CVs, vital records such as birth and marriage certificates, financial records, and educational certificates, among others. In some cases when it is required to provide the requested services, we may also collect Sensitive Personal Data, including data related to criminal history; sexual orientation or sexual history; racial or ethnic background; religious or philosophical background; trade union membership; and biometric data such as fingerprints.

How we collect your data

When Foster is engaged directly by an individual, we collect the personal data necessary to perform our services directly from that individual. When Foster is engaged by an employer, we collect personal data about the employer’s employees and/or contractors both from the employer, and from the employee/contractor. In some cases, we may also receive data about you from other third parties, such as educational institutions, professional organizations, law enforcement agencies, and other government agencies. We collect data through our secure online portals, via questionnaires and document uploads. Our clients may also choose to share information with us by email, postal mail, by phone, or through in-person consultation.

How we use your data and the legal bases for that use

Foster will only use your data in accordance with the instructions we receive from you, or from your employer if we have been engaged by your employer. Your data will be used to provide immigration legal services and related services, including providing legal advice; completing immigration and visa petitions and applications and related applications; and submitting applications and other filings to relevant government agencies. When we are engaged by an individual, the legal basis for this use is the performance of our contract with our client. When we are engaged by an employer, the legal basis for this use is that the processing of your data is necessary for the legitimate interests of your employer, and such interests are not overridden by your data protection rights.

We may also use your personal data to track the expiration of your visas and other critical elements of your immigration status, and to help your employer administer its immigration or global mobility program. This may include activity such as running reports on your data to determine if changes in law will affect your immigration status. In these cases, the legal basis for this use is that the processing of your data is necessary for the legitimate interests of your employer, and such interests are not overridden by your data protection rights.

We may also use your personal data to provide access to our online case management portal, both to you and to your employer if we have been engaged by your employer. The legal basis for your access to our case management portals is your consent for that use; the legal basis for your employer’s access to your data via our case management portals is that there is a legitimate interest for this use that is not overridden by your data protection rights.

Legal and regulatory obligations

Purpose

Foster uses personal data in order to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations. We process personal data to complete conflicts checks, to comply with anti-money laundering laws, to comply with anti-bribery laws, and to comply with other professional regulations.

What we collect

In order to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, Foster collects personal data such as an individual’s name, address, telephone number, birth date, and other data necessary to verify the identity of an individual. We may also collect background verification data such as copies of passports or utility bills, evidence of beneficial ownership, or source of funds.

How we collect your data

This personal data is provided directly by our clients, through our secure online portals, via questionnaires and document uploads, by email, by phone, or through in-person consultation.

How we use your data and the legal bases for that use

This personal data may be used to compare your identity to client records in our system, and to otherwise run conflicts checks, comply with anti-money laundering laws, comply with anti-bribery laws, and comply with other professional regulations. In these cases, the legal basis for our processing of your data is compliance with our legal obligations.

Pre-employment verification

Purpose

Where we are required by law to collect personal data to verify employment eligibility prior to or at the time of hire, such as in the United States, Foster will do so in accordance with applicable law.

What we collect

Foster collects personal data such as name, address, telephone number, email address, citizenship and employment eligibility information.

How we collect your data

Foster collects this data directly from you in accordance with applicable law.

How we use your data and the legal bases for that use

Foster will use your data only to verify your eligibility for employment as required by law, and to keep applicable records as required by law. In these cases, the legal basis for our processing of your data is compliance with our legal obligations.

Requests for information

Purpose

Foster is frequently contacted by potential clients with requests regarding our services.

What we collect

When we are contacted by potential clients, we collect the personal data they send to us and that we need to reply to the request. This may include personal data such as your name, contact information, and details of your personal immigration situation.

How we collect your data

This personal data is provided directly by individuals, through our secure online portals, via questionnaires, by email, by phone, or through in-person consultation.

How we use your data and the legal bases for that use

Your data will be used to respond to your request for information regarding our services. In these cases, the legal basis for our processing of your data is that we are taking steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you.

Our website and related technologies

Purpose

Foster operates our website to provide information about our firm and our services to the public.

What we collect

Website usage and other technical data such as details of your visits to our websites, or information collected through cookies and other tracking technologies.

How we collect your data

Through cookies and other related technologies.

How we use your data and the legal bases for that use

Foster uses this data to ensure that content from our websites is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your device.

Marketing activities

Foster would like to use your email address to share information with you about important immigration-related news, information about how changes in immigration policy may affect you, and to inform you about events and information that may be of interest to you. We will seek your consent to being contacted in this way.

If you no longer wish to be contacted in this way, you may click the Unsubscribe button on the emails we send you, or contact us at info@fosterglobal.com.

Ensuring we are paid

Foster may need to recover any payments due to us and where necessary enforce such recovery through the engagement of debt collection agencies or through taking other legal action (including the commencement and carrying out of legal and court proceedings).

In these cases the legal basis for our use of your data is the performance of a contract, the exercise or defense of legal claims, and the exercise of Foster’s legitimate interests in being paid.

How we share your data

Foster will not sell or share your personal data other than as described here, unless required by law.

Your information may be shared with the following types of recipients:

  • Among our affiliated companies.
  • With your current, potential, or past employer, as you or your employer instructs us and as necessary in connection with our services.
  • With third parties such as your employer’s relocation or tax advisors, as instructed by you or your employer.
  • With third parties such as translators, degree evaluation services, schools and universities, couriers, and government agencies such as vital records offices, as instructed by you or your employer and as necessary in connection with our services.
  • With government agencies and immigration authorities, as instructed by you or your employer in connection with the immigration benefits we have been engaged to pursue or to assist your employer with required legal filings.
  • With lawyers, immigration professionals, and other immigration services providers that Foster may engage when necessary in connection with our services.
  • With Foster’s contracted information technology firms, for purposes of maintaining our electronic systems, databases, and IT security.
  • To professional advisers insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes of the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.

International transfers of your data

Foster may need to transfer your data outside the borders of the United States, which may include transfers to countries that are not considered by the EU to have an adequate level of data protection. This may include the following:

  • To countries where Foster’s affiliated companies are located.
  • To countries where Foster’s remote employees are located, when they are performing work related to your case.
  • To countries where your employer’s offices are located or where your employer has operations.
  • To countries where we have engaged an immigration lawyer or other services provider in connection with our services and as instructed by you or your employer, such as in connection with visa or immigration filings submitted outside the United States.

When Foster transfers your data internationally to countries deemed not to have an adequate level of data protection by the EU, we ensure that there are appropriate and suitable safeguards of your data by putting in place data transfer agreements based on the applicable European Commission-approved Standard Contractual Clauses. In exceptional cases, we may rely on statutory derogations for international data transfers. You can send questions regarding relevant international transfer documentation to privacy@fosterglobal.com.

Data retention

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and processed, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, accounting or reporting requirements. Our retention periods are also based on our business needs and good practice.

Upon expiration of the applicable retention period we will securely destroy your personal data in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

How we protect your personal data

We use appropriate physical, technical, and administrative measures to protect your personal data against loss, theft and unauthorized use, disclosure or modification.

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.

While we strive to protect the information we maintain, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information that you transmit to us since no method of data transmission or storage is 100% secure.

Your privacy rights

If you reside in the European Union, you have the following rights with respect to your data, subject to the exceptions allowed by law:

  • To access your information.
  • To rectify or update your information.
  • In certain circumstances, to request that we erase the personal data we have about you, subject to our need to retain certain information for legal or other purposes.
  • To receive a copy of your information.
  • To object to or restrict the processing of your information.
  • If we have collected sensitive personal data from you with your consent, to withdraw your consent to our processing of the data at any time, subject to applicable law and without affecting the lawfulness of the prior processing.

You may exercise your personal data rights under the GDPR by contacting privacy@fosterglobal.com, or by contacting your employer if your employer engaged Foster.

Who is the data controller of your personal data?

When an individual engages Foster directly to handle an immigration matter, Foster LLP is the data controller of the data that is given to us.

When an employer engages Foster to handle immigration matters, we will receive personal data from the employer, generally about the employer’s employees, contractors, and their family members. In this context, the employer is the controller of the personal data we receive. You should contact the employer with any requests regarding your personal data that we receive from your employer.

How you can contact us

If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how we process your personal data, please contact privacy@fosterglobal.com.

Cookies and related technology

When you visit our website we may send a cookie to your computer. This is a small data file stored by your computer to help improve functionality or tailor information to provide visitors with more relevant pages. For details of the cookies employed by us, please see our Cookie Policy, which forms part of this Privacy notice. We may also analyze website traffic to identify what visitors find most interesting so we can tailor our websites accordingly.

How we may update this privacy notice

We may change the content of our websites and how we use cookies without notice and consequently our Privacy notice and Cookie Policy may change from time to time in the future. We therefore encourage you to review them when you visit the website to stay informed of how we are using personal data.

This Privacy notice was last updated in April 2019.