This reporter can attest to how tough it is to legally immigrate to the U.S. There are countless forms to fill out and complex processes to follow, not to mention that lawyers’ fees can be crushing.
And though local nonprofits like Nationalities Service Center and HIAS Pennsylvania do what they can to help, one immigrant entrepreneur is taking a crack at making things simpler through tech with a company called Borderwise.
Jeremy Peskin, himself a Canadian immigrant and immigration lawyer, started Borderwise in February of 2016 to see if it was possible to guide immigrants through the pricey, complex process of filing for an immigrant visa. To do so, the company just raised $250,000 through a friends and family round. Also, they just got accepted to Philly Startup Leaders’ accelerator program (more on the rest of the cohort soon).
“People don’t realize that a major barrier to legal immigration is the application itself,” Peskin said in a press release. “A green card application can require 40 pages of paperwork on over twelve different forms. For immigrants that aren’t fluent in English and can’t afford $3,000 in legal fees, this is a real problem.”
Peskin, 33, told Technical.ly that the company is in the process of building a network of immigration lawyers in the U.S. who will review users’ visa applications and provide consultations either in person or via phone or Skype. Users will pay for the consultations through the system, with Borderwise collecting a fee.
According to its website, users can apply for a visa through the online platform for the sum of $500 (that’s way below usual lawyer fees, which regularly oscillate between $2,500 and $5,000.)
The company has three full-time employees: Peskin, cofounder and immigration attorney James Pittman and an India-based developer.
Though the platform is currently only available for family-based green card applications, by 2017 the company hopes to add naturalization and work visa processes as well.
Before you go...
Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.
3 ways to support our work:- Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
- Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
- Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
Join our growing Slack community
Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!
