Jath Shao knows what it feels like to sit on the other side of the table.
He filled out the same forms his clients fill out. He waited for the same callbacks. He navigated embassies, consulates, and federal agencies not as a lawyer but as an immigrant from the Philippines, building a life in America from scratch.
That is why he practices the way he does. Tell you the truth. Lay out your real options. Fight for your case like it is his own.
Over a decade of immigration law experience. A naturalized American citizen. And someone who genuinely understands the road you are on.
Passion. Experience. Diligence.
Jath Shao came to Cleveland to study law at Case Western Reserve University, and before he ever represented a single client, he had already lived the B-1/B-2 tourist visa process, the F-1 student visa, the H-1B, adjustment of status to lawful permanent residency, and naturalization. The whole journey, from the outside.
That experience did not just shape his empathy. It shaped his entire approach to the law.
Today, with over a decade of immigration legal experience, Jath helps individuals, families, and businesses navigate the full spectrum of U.S. immigration: family-based petitions, employment and business immigration, asylum and humanitarian relief, and deportation defense in immigration court. He brings the same commitment to every case. Tell clients the truth, lay out their real options, assess the actual risks, and fight for their future as if it were his own.
He believes we go further together. That partnership, not just between attorney and client, but between communities, cultures, and dreams, is at the center of everything he does.
When he is not in the courtroom or consulting with clients, Jath is on the tennis court or basketball court with his son, or fronting his dad rock band. He speaks Chinese and Filipino fluently, and is working hard on his Spanish. Three of the top four languages of immigrants to the United States, because language is one more way to meet people where they are.
Jath Shao became an American citizen. Now he helps others get there.
