The United States immigration system is complex, difficult to navigate, and expensive for immigrants. A startup named JustiGuide claims it can help with an AI-powered portal.
The idea is to help immigrants in the United States, and eventually in other countries, understand the law and determine which visas they may be eligible for. The platform also connects users with immigration attorneys, aiming to make the entire process cheaper and faster. JustiGuide’s founder, Bisi Obateru, stated that making technology more accessible empowers people to fill out their own forms and understand their options, allowing them to use lawyers primarily for the review process.
Obateru, who is from Nigeria, drew from his personal experience of navigating the United States immigration system after finishing his studies in the country. He later obtained an H1-B visa, a common visa for tech workers, and then a permanent residency green card. This journey inspired him to launch JustiGuide to help fellow immigrants. He explained that immigrants can use the platform to speak in their native language and understand what their immigration journey could look like.
The company recently won the best pitch in the Policy and Protection category at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference this year. According to Obateru, JustiGuide’s customers include startup founders who need help hiring immigrants, individuals with an H1-B visa exploring other options, international students considering starting their own business, as well as lawyers and law firms. He also expressed hope that government institutions may one day license the technology.
The platform itself consists of an AI legal research assistant and a system that pairs lawyers with immigrants. It promises to speed up the form filling process by providing a service that helps lawyers compile documents and streamline tasks typically handled by a paralegal.
JustiGuide’s platform has 47,000 users and relies on an AI called Dolores. Obateru described Dolores as a continuously refining, domain-specific AI that understands United States immigration law. This AI also performs translations into twelve different languages.
Dolores was trained on over 40,000 court cases, which JustiGuide sourced from the Free Law Project, a nonprofit that provides free access to legal materials. The startup is also in the process of registering as a law firm so it can directly connect its users and customers with its own immigration lawyers.
In its early stages, JustiGuide programmed Dolores to scan subreddits, Facebook groups, Instagram, and LinkedIn posts based on keywords. The AI would look for immigrants who needed help and message them with answers.
To protect immigrant privacy, JustiGuide’s platform is stored on-premise and encrypted. User information is only exchanged when an immigrant connects with a lawyer. Some user information is also anonymized.