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Clearing the Path to Citizenship
When Xiao Wang (MBA 2014) and his parents immigrated to the United States from China three decades ago, the process was a difficult and expensive one. The family spent the equivalent of five months’ rent on an immigration attorney to navigate the bureaucracy. “This is a story told by millions of immigrant families every year,” notes Wang.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. The enormous technological changes that have taken place since the Wangs went through the trying process offer an alternative. “Immigration is one of those overlooked areas where technology can truly do some real good in the world,” he says.
In early 2017, Wang cofounded Boundless Immigration, a Seattle-based startup that streamlines the immigration paperwork. The company’s online applications translate the arcane language of government documents into easy-to-answer questions that are customized for each client, and independent immigration attorneys review the applications. The company also helps the client prepare for the interview and even celebrates the final approval with them—all at a fraction of the cost of a personal immigration attorney, thanks to economies of scale. Boundless reports that it has assisted more immigrants than any single law firm—more than 7,000 a year—and the company boasts a success rate of 99.7 percent.
Ever-changing immigration policy is one challenge for Boundless, which is constantly updating its application to reflect the current state of affairs. But that’s not the only reason technology had not yet tackled this pain point, Wang says. Entrepreneurship often grows out of a founder’s own experiences. “For people who have not personally experienced this situation, you can’t appreciate how challenging it is,” he says. “This is the gauntlet that families have to go through to be able to stay in America.”
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