Visa chaos spurs tech startups like Gale to simplify U.S. immigration process.
From Biden-era visa rules to the current administration's escalating restrictions on both undocumented and legal foreign nationals, immigration lawyers are scrambling to keep up with constantly shifting policies. Amid the growing uncertainty, a new wave of technology startups is emerging to help ease the burden for those navigating the U.S. immigration system.
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"Things are changing every day under the Trump administration," said Vidya Parwani, founder and principal attorney of Parwani Law Firm, which specializes in business and family immigration services. For example, she noted that delays in application decisions have become common -- even for applicants who pay a hefty premium processing fee -- due to new requirements like mandatory biometrics. "There could have been a memo issued yesterday, and only attorneys would be aware of it by the time it comes in the news," Parwani added. "You've seen that with the current administration, they will just say something like, 'Now you can no longer do this,' but there's no implementation provided."
One company aiming to address these challenges is Gale, a Y Combinator-backed startup that recently raised $2.7 million in seed funding. The company was founded by three longtime friends and Canadian citizens -- Rahul Gudise, Rishabh Sambare and Haokun Qin -- who first met in middle school and have all faced the hurdles of U.S. immigration themselves. Each of them is seeking permanent residency in the U.S. They currently reside in Canada.
Gale's platform is designed to streamline the visa application process for both employers and prospective employees. By integrating with a company's human resources and payroll systems, the software automates much of the application paperwork while remaining compliant with evolving immigration rules. All submitted materials are still reviewed by a licensed immigration attorney to ensure accuracy and legal compliance, according to the company.
The need for such solutions is growing. Historically, about 12 percent of H-1B visas -- a popular employer-sponsored visa for highly skilled foreign nationals -- have been found to be non-compliant. Under prior administrations, this wasn't a major concern. But with compliance site visits increasing under the Trump administration, employers now face closer scrutiny and less room for error. Gale's system helps reduce these risks by enabling real-time updates to documentation and maintaining compliance standards. The founders also hope their platform can help relieve some of the anxiety that often accompanies the immigration process.
For Gale's founders, the work is highly personal. "When I was asking questions and clarifying information about my visa, I was pretty stressed," said Sambare, who serves as the company's chief technology officer. He received a TN visa, which allows Canadian and Mexican citizens to temporarily work in the U.S.
"We've all been through the process of immigration before," said Qin, Gale's chief product officer. "I was born in China. I immigrated to Canada initially, and every time my parents would go back to China, I'd be the one to file the visas for them, or write the visas on behalf of them. So I experienced the process."
Gale isn't the only company bringing software innovation to the immigration law space. Parwani's own law firm uses INSZoom, a global case management platform tailored for immigration attorneys. Another widely used tool is Docketwise, which also supports law firms with immigration workflows.
Parwani's connection to immigration is also deeply personal. Her family moved from India to The Netherlands to support her disabled sister, and she now practices law in Massachusetts. Parwani stresses the importance of building safeguards into immigration tech, especially as A.I. tools become more common. "Folks are going to be relying on this information, making decisions which affect their lives, so you have to ensure that they're getting the correct information," she said, adding that avoiding unauthorized legal advice is a core responsibility for platforms in this space.
Gudise, Gale's CEO and a former Tesla and Nvidia engineer, said delivering a smooth user experience is central to his startup's mission. "That's through clear communication on the dashboard [and] fast response times from the attorney so all of their questions are answered, sometimes even before they happen," he told Observer. To support this, Gale is developing a comprehensive knowledge base where users can access accurate, up-to-date answers to their immigration questions.
As immigration enforcement increases, Gale's founders believes that their platform will only become more important. "As this administration chooses to increase law enforcement across all categories, you will see tech like ours become more valuable to employers because they do want to be compliant," said Sambare. "They just don't really know how, and they haven't really had the facilities to do so in the past."
