Legal help in Pakistan for Pakistanis living in the US.
Property, inheritance, family and child adoption matters in Pakistan, run from Lahore while you stay in New York, New Jersey, Houston, Chicago, Virginia or California.
Short answer. Pakistanis living in the US can instruct a Lahore firm on property, inheritance, family and child adoption matters in Pakistan without travelling. The power of attorney is signed through NADRA’s online system, at the Embassy of Pakistan, Washington DC, or consulates general in New York, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles, or before a local notary with an apostille from the Secretary of State of the state where the notary is commissioned (or the US Department of State for federal documents), because the Apostille Convention operates between the US and Pakistan.
Reviewed by Khalil Ahmad Bhullah, Founding Partner · Last reviewed 22 September 2026 · Pakistani law only
What Pakistanis in the US bring us.
Pakistan Origin Card holders can use the online route
Many Pakistani-Americans hold a POC rather than a NICOP. NADRA’s online power of attorney accepts CNIC, NICOP and POC holders. A US citizen with no Pakistani identity document at all cannot use it and must go through a US notary and state apostille, or the mission.
Four time zones, one court morning
Lahore hearings happen in our morning, which is your late evening or night. We send the order summary on WhatsApp the same day so it is waiting when you wake up on the East Coast, and in the small hours on the West Coast.
Property occupied or sold behind your back
Relatives, qabza groups, tenants in default, forged transfers. Special courts for overseas Pakistanis, the Illegal Dispossession Act and civil suits.
Power of attorney from the US
Drafted narrowly for one property or one case, signed by the route that works from the US. Revocation if one is being misused.
Inheritance and succession
NADRA succession certificates with biometric verification from the US through the Pak ID app, inheritance mutation, and court cases when a share is withheld.
Divorce, khula and custody
Talaq notice, khula, maintenance and custody in Pakistan, with a straight note on how the US treats Pakistani family orders.
Documents from the US.
The single most expensive mistake overseas clients make is paying for the wrong signing route.
Notary plus apostille works from the US
Sign before a notary in the US and have it apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state where the notary is commissioned (or the US Department of State for federal documents). Pakistan accepts that apostille without attestation by a Pakistani mission or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some Pakistani registrars still prefer a mission-attested document; we check the specific office before you pay for an appointment.
NADRA’s online power of attorney
CNIC, NICOP and POC holders can apply at poa.nadra.gov.pk: upload the document, give biometrics for yourself and two witnesses, pay online, and take an online interview with the Pakistani mission you select. Foreign nationals with no Pakistani identity document must attend the mission.
Documents issued in the US for use in Pakistan
Death certificates, court orders and other public documents from the US are apostilled by the competent authority and then used in Pakistan — typically for inheritance, divorce and child adoption files. Ask us which certified form the Pakistani office needs before ordering.
Working with Lahore from the US.
- In New York, a 10:00 AM Lahore hearing is midnight outside daylight saving and 1:00 AM during it. Our office day, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in Lahore, runs 11:00 PM the night before to 8:00 AM (midnight to 9:00 AM in daylight saving). Pakistan does not change its clocks, so the gap moves when yours do.
- In Chicago, a 10:00 AM Lahore hearing is 11:00 PM the night before outside daylight saving and midnight during it. Our office day, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in Lahore, runs 10:00 PM the night before to 7:00 AM (11:00 PM the night before to 8:00 AM in daylight saving). Pakistan does not change its clocks, so the gap moves when yours do.
- In Houston, a 10:00 AM Lahore hearing is 11:00 PM the night before outside daylight saving and midnight during it. Our office day, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in Lahore, runs 10:00 PM the night before to 7:00 AM (11:00 PM the night before to 8:00 AM in daylight saving). Pakistan does not change its clocks, so the gap moves when yours do.
- In Los Angeles, a 10:00 AM Lahore hearing is 9:00 PM the night before outside daylight saving and 10:00 PM the night before during it. Our office day, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in Lahore, runs 8:00 PM the night before to 5:00 AM (9:00 PM the night before to 6:00 AM in daylight saving). Pakistan does not change its clocks, so the gap moves when yours do.
- WhatsApp is read Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Pakistan time. A message sent after hours is answered the next business morning in Lahore.
Questions from Pakistanis in the US.
Sign before a notary in the US and have it apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state where the notary is commissioned (or the US Department of State for federal documents). Pakistan accepts that apostille without attestation by a Pakistani mission or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some Pakistani registrars still prefer a mission-attested document; we check the specific office before you pay for an appointment.
In New York, a 10:00 AM Lahore hearing is midnight outside daylight saving and 1:00 AM during it. Our office day, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in Lahore, runs 11:00 PM the night before to 8:00 AM (midnight to 9:00 AM in daylight saving). Pakistan does not change its clocks, so the gap moves when yours do. We book calls in the overlap.
Usually, yes. With a power of attorney signed from the US, we file in Punjab’s special court for overseas Pakistanis’ property, under the Illegal Dispossession Act, 2005, or by civil suit, depending on the facts, and appear at the hearings. A court can require your attendance or evidence by video link at a particular stage.
That is decided under the law of the US, not Pakistani law. For a child, ask USCIS and the US Department of State before anything is filed in Pakistan. For a divorce, take local family-law advice. We make the Pakistani process correct and properly documented so it has the best chance of being accepted.
Your matter, step by step from the US.
Living in the US? Tell us the district in Pakistan and send the papers.
Fintech, NBFC and virtual assets in Pakistan
If you are a company (not a family file), the usual doors are fintech and digital payments, NBFC and business finance, and virtual assets and crypto. China-origin groups use the dedicated China desk. Method: international corporate clients.