Gabrielle Orum Hernández, Legaltech News
These
three companies are using technology to cut through complex bureaucracy and
pricey attorney expenses to help users prepare their immigration applications.
Navigating the
U.S. immigration process is known to be a headache and a half—not only do
potential applicants need to properly categorize their current status, but they
need to figure out which specific forms and addendums to submit, make no
factual errors, and submit their names to exceedingly long waitlists.
At present, all applicants have to fill out and submit
paper forms to their local immigration office. Though U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) has promised an online submission system for
immigration applications, it's not expected to
be completed and functional until 2019 at the earliest.
While some immigrants need significant legal
assistance to deal with litigation, removal orders, and even detention, many
applicants are relegated to paying steep attorney fees simply to fill out their
application forms. These three startups, among others, are helping immigrants
steer through the complex waters of immigration law across language barriers
and on a budget:
1.
Clearpath Immigration
Using TurboTax as a base model, Clearpath took the 30
most commonly used immigration forms and broke them into simpler pieces for a
far more user-friendly form completion experience. Co-founder Michael
Petrucelli also has deep roots to the U.S. immigration system, having served as
deputy director of USCIS for two years.
Clearpath's software does not help users decide which
form they need to fill out, which lawyers often cite as one of the prime
reasons to seek direct legal assistance—attorneys help clients choose one among
many potential routes to legal status in the United States. Clearpath does,
however, have some user assistance and support in place, and will prompt users
to seek legal assistance directly if they offer unsuitable answers to the
forms.
Once forms are completed through the Clearpath system,
the company charges a flat fee, generally under $200, to prepare and print the
forms.
2.
SimpleCitizen
SimpleCitizen, Y
Combinator's second investment in immigration law-based startups, has also
drawn comparisons to TurboTax. The company aims to walk potential clients
through the immigration application process from start to finish with a similar
decision tree-based model for inputting form information, along with tutorials
and video lessons to help people understand next steps.
Currently, the company is working with a practicing
immigration attorney to review documents prepared through the SimpleCitizen
system, though it may look to conduct automated reviews with more data to work
from.
The form completion work comes at a flat fee of $249
for a full packet preparation, not including USCIS submission fees.
SimpleCitizen offers its services only for green card and citizenship
applications to date, with visa services soon to come.
3.
CitizenshipWorks
Though many form completion startups around
immigration keep client costs low and predictable, CitizenshipWorks is one of the
few startups that offers the service completely free. The platform was a collaborative
effort between the Immigration Advocates Network and Pro Bono, and it helps
users specifically with the naturalization and citizenship processes.
Immigration Advocates Network director Matthew Burnett
said in a statement that only 10 percent of those eligible for naturalization
take steps to apply for full citizenship. CitizenshipWorks hopes to encourage
the remaining 90 percent to apply for full.
The platform includes lots of contextual information
for users, who may be confused about some of the jargon-filled language in the
form's questions, along with free video conferencing with immigration
attorneys.
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