TUKKI’S CHOICE OF BUSINESS MODELS TO IMPROVE THE US IMMIGRATION EXPERIENCE.

Should we replace immigration lawyers or catalyze their knowledge?

Contributor

Ramiro Roballos

Reading time

3 mins read

Date published

Aug 9, 2024

I'm still convinced that execution is more important than strategy. However, some strategic decisions can make or break your business.

One key decision is choosing the industry you want to enter. Many years ago at Kellogg, I read a statistic that stuck with me: 50% of a business's success depends on the industry you choose.

The next crucial decision is your business plan and positioning. Even though our team at Tukki chose to work in immigration, we could have gone in different directions, like selling software to lawyers or automating the immigration process to replace lawyers. Each option would lead to very different business models, clients, company types, required skills, and economic implications.

I’m asked a lot why we chose to work with lawyers instead of running other business model options. I’ll answer that in this article.

Why not sell to lawyers?

To make a significant impact in the industry, we need to address the biggest pain points, which do not lie with the lawyers, but with the immigrants.

After interviewing dozens of lawyers and immigrants, it became clear that immigrants face the most challenges: inefficient processes, lack of visibility, slow responses, stress, and uncertainty. While lawyers could benefit from better technology, we believed we could make a bigger impact by working directly with immigrants.

Additionally, we think that the pain points that immigrants currently experienced can't be solved by software alone. It requires a combination of software and operations. Great lawyers are part of the operations piece, but bringing in business best practices from other industries makes a huge difference for the immigration experience and ease of process for lawyers.

Why not replace lawyers?

Involving immigration lawyers from the start is essential to providing the best service to immigrants — we’ve learned this from personal experience. Immigration law is complex and rarely clear-cut. You need the expertise and judgment of an experienced lawyer. While many steps in the process can be automated, there are moments where a lawyer's input is crucial, such as:

  • The initial strategy meeting to shape the case
  • To address legal questions that arise during the process
  • The final review and legal arguments

Additionally, obtaining a visa or a green card is a life-changing event; immigrants want a team they can rely on, someone to chat with and answer their questions. Our vision of the best immigration experience is the opposite of a self-service, impersonal experience with an AI. We believe in providing a warm, supportive environment with real human interaction.

Why not simply be lawyers?

People often ask, "If you still have lawyers on your team, why should I work with Tukki instead of going directly to a lawyer?"

We combine the best of both worlds: expert knowledge from lawyers and a highly efficient, customer-focused process enabled by our technology.

Neither can deliver the best experience to immigrants alone; you need both.

I admit, this approach didn't come without its challenges! It’s far more complicated to acquire customers, service them, get great lawyers, manage operations end-to-end, and build a great product than just focus on one section of the journey. Scaling is also much easier when you're building a B2B SaaS solution compared to managing operations. That's why, since day one, Tukki has obsessively focused on streamlining operations with technology to become exponentially more efficient and scalable than the status quo.

If you want to truly reinvent an industry, you need to go all in, and that's what we signed up for.

To tap into that expert knowledge from lawyers and efficient, customer-focused process enabled by our technology, start with our Visa Match tool, and find out what your best options for US immigration are.

WE CAN HELP

Need more clarity?

Find quick answers to frequent visa questions from our legal experts

How important is peer-reviewed research in EB-1A or EB-2 NIW cases?

It depends. For scientists and academics, publications in peer-reviewed journals are often a cornerstone of the case. For professionals in business, arts, or other industries, other types of evidence (press, awards, leadership, impact) may carry more weight.

Do I need a job offer or employer sponsorship for an EB-2 NIW?

No, one of the main advantages of the EB-2 NIW is that you can self-petition, meaning you do not need a U.S. employer to sponsor you or go through the labor certification (PERM) process, which is typically a lengthy and complex requirement for employer-sponsored Green Cards.

Instead, you must prove that your work is in the national interest of the U.S. and that waiving the job offer requirement would benefit the country.

Can the spouses of O-1 visa holders work?

No. Spouses of O-1 visa holders receive an O-3 visa, which allows them to live in the U.S. but not to work.

They can study, get a driver’s license, open a bank account, and travel in and out of the country freely, but employment is not permitted.

What is the difference between a visa and a green card?

A visa allows you to enter and stay in the U.S. for a specific purpose and duration (e.g., work, study, tourism).

A green card is permanent residency: it lets you live and work in the U.S. indefinitely, travel more freely, and eventually apply for citizenship.

Can I travel once I start my adjustment of status?

Generally no, unless one of the following applies:

A) You are in H-1B or L-1 status (or their dependent categories).

B) You obtain Advance Parole (Form I-131).

C) You receive an emergency travel permit.

If you leave without one of these, your green card application will likely be considered abandoned.

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